Empire and Modern Family were the top shows of the night Wednesday but the bragging rights end there. A week ago, the collective 18-49 rating for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC on Wednesday was down about 30 percent from premiere week in 2016. This week, every show on the Big 4 fell from its premiere rating.
Empire and Modern Family tied for the lead in the demographic with 1.9 demo ratings, down 0.5 and 0.2 from their respective debuts last week. Empire tied its series low, and Modern Family, which tied Empire for the first time, also matched its third-lowest mark ever. Total viewers for Empire were 5.82 million viewers while Modern Family hit 6.35 million viewers.
At ABC, The Goldbergs (1.6 demo rating, 5.72 million viewers), American Housewife (1.4, demo score, 4.94 million viewers) and Designated Survivor (0.9 demo rating, 4.83 million viewers) all slipped two tenths of a point vs. last week, while Speechless (1.3 demo score, 4.59 million viewers) was off a tenth. All three of NBC’s dramas lost a tenth vs. last week as well. The Blacklist dipped to a 1.0 demo rating and 5.77 million viewers, Law & Order: SVU hit a 1.3 demo rating and 5.77 million viewers while Chicago PD came in with a 1.2 demo score and 6.13 million viewers.
Criminal Minds hit a series low 1.1 demo rating and 6.16 million viewers CBS while their new series SEAL Team took a three-tenths loss to finish at 1.2 demo score and 8.36 million viewers in its second week, but it held onto the title of the night’s most-watched in total viewers. Star was off four tenths at a 1.4 demo rating and 4.64 million viewers on FOX.
Can the Wednesday shows rebound from the steady declines? Check back next Thursday for the Wednesday ratings recap!
