overnights

On a very strong night for broadcast, NBC’s hit singing show The Voice grew to a season-best rating despite facing a highly rated NCAA men’s basketball final on CBS. Voice averaged a 4.9 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., the show’s best rating this season and up 4% over last week. In fact, it tied as the highest-rated episode of Voice since March of last year. Voice, which made its season four debut two weeks ago, peaked with a 5.2 rating in its final hour.

Airing against mostly repeats, CBS’s 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards saw big gains over last year’s telecast. The three-hour show averaged a 4.3 adults 18-49 rating starting at 8 p.m., shooting up 39% over 2012’s rating. The ACMA preempted CBS’s usual Sunday lineup and gave the network its best Sunday rating since the Super Bowl in February. The network averaged a 3.6 and 10 share in the demo for the night, more than double the No. 2 network, Fox.

NBC’s well-reviewed new drama Hannibal premiered to unremarkable numbers last night. The show averaged a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating, finishing a distant third in the hour behind ABC’s Scandal and CBS’s Elementary. But though its rating wasn’t great, there were some promising signs for the show. It bettered the network’s season average in the timeslot by 45%. And it drew NBC’s best rating in the hour since March of last year.

With a big lead-in from Modern Family, ABC’s new comedy How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) bowed to promising numbers last night, posting the highest rating in its timeslot for the network since November. Parents averaged a 2.9 adults 18-49 at 9:30 p.m., holding 70% of Family’s 4.1 lead-in.

The Voice became the rare show to grow in week two, perking up 5% in its second Tuesday episode of season four. Voice averaged a 4.3 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up from a 4.1 last week. It became the highest-rated Tuesday program on broadcast since Voice’s third-season finale in December.

The Voice stayed on pitch in its second week, declining just a tenth from last week’s fourth-season premiere. The NBC singing competition averaged a 4.6 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., off 4% from last week. It was easily the night’s No. 1 show. In fact, it doubled the rating of the night’s No. 2 program, 10 p.m. lead-out Revolution, which averaged a 2.3.

On an Easter Sunday littered with reruns, NCAA men’s basketball coverage led CBS to a primetime victory on broadcast. The network averaged a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share last night, nearly double the No. 2 network, NBC, with a 1.3/3. CBS’s coverage of the Duke-Louisville Elite Eight game bled into primetime, with basketball airing until 7:41 p.m. That pushed the rest of CBS’s scheduled starting times back by 41 minutes, and it also gave a big lift to usual 7 p.m. show 60 Minutes.

Fox’s American Idol led the network to a relatively comfortable first-place finish for the night among 18-49s, but it wasn’t the night’s top-rated show. That honor belonged to ABC’s Modern Family, which posted a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating, edging the two-hour Idol’s 3.1. It was the second straight original episode of Family to finish ahead of the Wednesday edition of Idol, although it was the comedy’s first original episode since Feb. 27.

Fox’s American Idol led the network to a relatively comfortable first-place finish for the night among 18-49s, but it wasn’t the night’s top-rated show. That honor belonged to ABC’s Modern Family, which posted a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating, edging the two-hour Idol’s 3.1. It was the second straight original episode of Family to finish ahead of the Wednesday edition of Idol, although it was the comedy’s first original episode since Feb. 27.

NBC claimed Tuesday night’s top show among viewers 18-49, but CBS’s more consistent lineup led it first place for the night. NBC’s The Voice was No. 1 for the night in the demo with a 3.9 rating, ahead of CBS’s 8 p.m. timeslot competitor NCIS, which was No. 2 for the night with a 3.1. The second episode of the new Voice season was the highest-rated Tuesday program to air on the Big Four broadcast networks since Jan. 15, and it was up 22% versus the show’s Tuesday premiere a year ago. Still, it was CBS that finished first for the night among 18-49s with a 2.4 average overnight rating and a 7 share.

The fourth-season premiere, which featured the debut of new judges Usher and Shakira, averaged a 4.7 overnight rating among viewers 18-49 from 8 to 10 p.m., up 12% from a 4.2 for its most recent season premiere in September. Perhaps more encouraging for NBC, The Voice grew during each of its four half hours, posting a 4.0 rating at 8 p.m., a 4.5 at 8:30, a 4.9 at 9 and a 5.2 at 9:30.

CBS’s coverage of the NCAA college basketball tournament bled 45 minutes into primetime on Sunday, helping the network finish No. 1 for the night among viewers 18-49. CBS averaged a 2.4 and a 6 share. It posted a 3.4 in the demo in the 7 p.m. hour, which much of that due to basketball. As always is the case with live sporting events, ratings for CBS’s NCAA coverage are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data. Final ratings will likely be out tomorrow.

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy finished as the top show among viewers 18-49 on Thursday, beating even Fox’s American Idol, and it may have the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to thank. With CBS airing college basketball rather than its 9 p.m. drama Person of Interest, Grey’s was the only drama airing in the hour, and it clocked a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating, up 12% from last week and making it the top show of the night in the demo.

Absence apparently made the hearts grow fonder for fans of Criminal Minds. Ratings for the veteran CBS drama shot up for its first original episode in three weeks. Minds averaged a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m. last night, up 15% over its most recent original on Feb. 27. It finished as the night’s No. 2 show behind Fox’s American Idol, and it gave lead-out CSI a boost. The latter also saw a big increase over its last showing on Feb. 27, up 21% to a 2.3.

Reality is proving a winner for ABC at midseason. After a good run for The Bachelor and a strong premiere for Dancing with the Stars earlier this week, the network’s latest reality program to score is Splash. The celebrity diving show got a decent start last night, averaging a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m. Splash marked the network’s best reality show debut in two years, and it was the highest-rated unscripted series bow on any broadcast network since The X Factor in September 2011.

Season 16 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars is off to a much more promising start than season 15. Last night’s two-hour premiere averaged a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 24% over last fall’s bow. The show was the highest-rated program on broadcast last night in the demo, and it averaged 16.7 million total viewers, better than all but one edition of Fox’s American Idol, TV’s top reality show, this season.

It was another limp Sunday night on broadcast with all but one Big Four network, NBC, seeing week-to-week declines in primetime and the night’s highest-rated show mustering a mere 2.3 adults 18-49 rating. That show was Fox’s Family Guy, which just barely edged CBS’s The Amazing Race and ABC’s Once Upon a Time as the evening’s top program. Guy was off 12% from a 2.6 last week.

A number of broadcast shows fell to season lows last night, including American Idol, which also hit a series low, as daylight saving time continued to take its toll on television. Idol averaged a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., the lowest-rated regularly scheduled edition of the program ever. Idol was off 6% from last week and finished as the night’s No. 3 show behind CBS’s The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men.

On a night littered with reruns, Fox won its ninth straight Wednesday evening with a two-hour edition of American Idol. Idol drew a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating, down 3% from last week. It was easily the top-rated show of the night. CBS’s Survivor was the No. 2 program with a 2.5, one of just four original programs on the Big Five English-language networks last night.

Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen diced up some low-rated competition last night. The 11th-season premiere of the reality show drew a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., finishing as the top program on a slow night. Underscoring just how low ratings were, CBS’s NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles reruns tied for No. 2 behind Hell’s” with a 1.9 apiece. Hell’s did fall 8% from last summer’s premiere, which averaged a 2.4. The program helped Fox to No. 1 for the evening.

The finale of The Bachelor surged to a season high last night, lifting ABC to its best Monday night in one and a half years. Bachelor averaged a 3.3 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., up 14% over last year’s season ender. (Note that the finale ran until 10:07 p.m., which is not reflected in the overnight rating, so the number may adjust upward when final ratings come out.) The strong numbers came against weak competition on the other broadcast networks.

Fox had the top show of the night and CBS had the No. 2 program, fueling the networks to a tie for first place on Sunday. Both averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating and 5 share, just barely outpacing third-place ABC with a 1.7/5. Family Guy was the night’s No. 1 program, averaging a 2.6 at 9 p.m., up 8% from its most recent original three weeks ago.

It was apparently a smart move for CBS to switch Golden Boy permanently to Tuesdays. The show was originally scheduled to air on Fridays after a two-week sneak preview on Tuesday, but CBS decided last week to keep the show on Tuesdays after it drew so-so ratings. The network nonetheless ran one episode of Boy this past Friday, and it drew terrible numbers. It averaged a mere 1.0 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m.,  finishing fourth in its timeslot and 17% below the 1.2 that the season finale of CSI: NY, the show that had been airing in the timeslot, drew two weeks ago.

Fox won its sixth consecutive night last night with an extended edition of American Idol. Idol ran from 8 to 9:30 p.m., a half hour longer than usual. It averaged a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating, down 5% from last week. But that average may rise slightly when final ratings come in, as Idol ran two minutes longer than usual, and that time is not included in the overnight rating.

On a night littered with reruns, Fox was the only Big Five network with an all-original schedule. And though American Idol fell once again from last week, it still powered the network to a dominant win on the night. Idol averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down from a 3.9 last Wednesday. But it was up from a season-low 3.4 for Tuesday’s episode. Only three other original programs aired on the Big Five last night.

In what’s becoming a familiar story for American Idol, the Fox singing competition saw its ratings fall, but the network still won the night by a sizable margin anyway. Idol averaged a 3.4 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m. last night, off 11% from last Wednesday’s edition. It was a special episode for Idol, which always expands from two to three nights during the semifinals.

With CBS in reruns, Fox grabbed first place on Monday night, led by the highest-rated program of the evening, the recently renewed drama The Following. Following drew a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, even to last week’s rating.

The premiere of ABC’s new drama Red Widow didn’t make much of a ratings splash. Neither did the return of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. Widow averaged a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m. Sunday night, tying the recent premiere of Zero Hour as ABC’s lowest-rated drama bow of the season. Apprentice, meanwhile, aired in the same two-hour timeslot and managed just a 1.6, the show’s lowest-rated premiere ever.

It was pretty clear that the February sweeps came to a close on Wednesday. On Thursday night, with only four original shows airing on the Big Five, Fox cruised to an easy victory over competition that consisted mostly of repeats. American Idol averaged a 3.8 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., off 3% from last week.

For the first time ever on a Wednesday night, Modern Family drew a better rating than American Idol. Idol slid to a performance episode season low last night, averaging a 3.8 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m. Family was slightly ahead at 3.9, though Fox notes that Idol will probably increase by a tenth when final ratings come out later today.

The new CBS drama Golden Boy won its admittedly very weak timeslot in its debut last night, posting an okay rating. Boy averaged a 1.8 in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen, improving a solid 20% on former timeslot occupant Vegas’ 1.5 last week. Boy doubled the rating for NBC’s competing Smash and finished 50% ahead of ABC’s Body of Proof in the 10 p.m. timeslot. Still, it wasn’t a remarkable rating even considering the late hour. Boy dropped 38 percent of its strong lead-in, NCIS: Los Angeles, which averaged a 2.6.

ABC continued its midseason Monday night surge, finishing No. 1 for the second straight week with a lineup fueled by The Bachelor. The network averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share in primetime, just ahead of Fox at 2.5/7 and CBS at 2.5/6. Last week ABC and CBS tied for first for the night, but last night CBS aired a rerun at 10 p.m., which pulled down its nightly average.

With ABC airing the Academy Awards last night, the other networks were largely in reruns. CBS was the only Big Four network that aired an original show, The Amazing Race. Not surprisingly Race was broadcast’s highest-rated show against the awards program, though it sunk to a series-low rating. Race averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., falling 28% from last week’s season premiere.

Fox grabbed its first Thursday sweeps win last night with a double dose of American Idol. A two-hour episode of the show boosted Fox past CBS, which won the first two Thursdays of the February sweeps. Idol averaged a 3.9 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., jumping 8% week to week in the demo. It grew from a 3.8 in its first hour to a 4.0 in its second. But CBS still had the night’s top-rated show, The Big Bang Theory, which averaged a 5.4 at 8 p.m.

CSI got a little sweeps spring after posting a series-low rating last week. CBS’s long-running procedural saw the biggest week-to-week improvements for any show on a night when a handful of broadcast programs saw gains. CSI grew 21% from a 1.9 to a 2.3. It also tied ABC’s Castle as the highest-rated 10 p.m. program on the Big Three so far this week.

Last night ABC’s third-year drama Body of Proof returned to low ratings, and it finished third in the timeslot, behind CBS and Univision but ahead of NBC’s Smash, which slid to another series low. Proof averaged a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating at 10 p.m., off 29% from its 1.7 season-long average last year. It also tied a series low. Also in that hour, week two of NBC’s Smash averaged a 0.9, down from a 1.2 for its second-season premiere two weeks ago. (Last week’s episode was preempted by the State of the Union address.)

The long-running ABC reality show, whose popularity seems to go in cycles depending on the likeability of the bachelor, is in an up cycle right now, hitting a season high for the second straight week. Bachelor averaged a 3.0 in adults 18-49 from 8 to 10 p.m., up 11% from last week. It marked the highest-rated non-finale episode of Bachelor since March 7, 2011. And it helped lift lead-out Castle to a season-high 2.2 at 10 p.m., where it won its timeslot.

On a holiday weekend Sunday when TV usage was down 6% overall, both of ABC’s drama offerings rebounded from series lows. Once Upon a Time‘s trip to “Manhattan” took along 7.5 million total passengers while netting a 2.3 demo rating, up 6% and a tenth from last week’s nadir. Likewise, Revenge (with 6 million and a 1.8) surged 15% and 29%.

Viewers were clearly more interested in exchanging Valentines than in watching television last night. With TV usage by adults 18-49 off by 6 percent on Valentine’s Day compared to the previous week, a number of shows tumbled to season or series lows. The night’s lone premiere, ABC’s new thriller Zero Hour, was hit particularly hard. It managed just a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., becoming the lowest-rated in-season drama premiere ever for the network.

American Idol topped Wednesday night for Fox in both adults 18-49 and total viewers, though it did hit some noteworthy lows in the process. The two-hour episode recorded 13.4 million viewers and a 4.3 rating among adults 18-49, both lows for a Wednesday outing since the series’ debut season in 2002. Survivor (2.4 adults) staged a relatively soft return to CBS, down 23% from its opener in April and 25% from the fall debut.