Ratings: ABC’s ‘Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda’ Draws 2.4 Million Viewers Ahead of ‘Wakanda Forever’ Premiere

ABC’s Friday airing of “Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda” drew 2.4 million total viewers a week ahead of the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” premiere, according to Nielsen’s live plus same-day figures.

The one-hour program hosted by Robin Roberts, which explores the evolution of Black Panther from the 1960s comic to the 2018 film, drew 45% less total viewership than last Friday’s Diane Sawyer interview with Matthew Perry, which also aired in the 8 p.m. slot on ABC and brought in 4.4 total viewers on average and earned a ratings score of 0.47 in the 18-49 demographic, as compared the ratings score of 0.30 earned by “Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda.” Both specials were available to stream the next day on Hulu.

Here’s how primetime broke down across the major broadcast networks:

Fox was first in ratings with an average 0.48 rating in the key demo and fourth in total viewers with an average of 2.1 million, according to official live + same day Nielsen data, with “Friday Night Smackdown” driving a primetime ratings win for the network.

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CBS was second in ratings with an average 0.40 in the demo and first in total viewers with an average of 5.6 million. Kicking off the night at 8 p.m., “S.W.A.T.” earned a rating of 0.43 and drew in a total viewership of 5.1 million on average — up from last week’s 4.6 million viewers. At 9 p.m. “Fire Country” stayed steady by scoring 0.42 in the demo and drawing in 5.5 million viewers on average. “Blue Bloods” brought the largest audience of the night by drawing in a viewership of 6.1 million and scoring 0.35 in the key demo in the 10 p.m. hour.

ABC tied for third in ratings with an average 0.31 in the demo and came in second place in total viewers with an average of 2.6 million.

NBC was also third in ratings with an average 0.31 in the demo and took third place in total viewers with an average of 2.3 million. The premiere of “Lopez v. Lopez,” the spiritual follow-up to “The George Lopez Show,” in NBC’s 8 p.m. slot brought in a total viewership of 2.7 million on average and garnered a rating of 0.31 in the demo. The premiere of the dysfunctional yet loving family, which is based on George Lopez’s real-life relationship with his daughter, upped the ante from last week’s Capital One College Bowl which drew in 1.5 million average viewers and earned a 0.22 in ratings. In the 9 p.m. hour, NBC’s season three premiere of “Young Rock” brought in a viewership of 1.8 million and earned a rating of 0.31 in the demo.

The CW was fifth in ratings with an average 0.08 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 684,000.

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Neither The CW nor Fox air primetime programming at 10 p.m.

In terms of Spanish-language networks, Univision came in first with a 0.5 rating in the demo and 1.4 million total average viewers in primetime. At 8 p.m. “Vencer La Ausencia” started off the night with a rating of 0.4 and a viewership of 1.4 million on average. “Los Ricos También Lloran” came next at 9 p.m.,  earning a ratings score of 0.5 and brought in 1.6 average million viewers. At 10 p.m. “La Madrastra” received a rating of 0.4 and an average viewership of 1.2 million.

Telemundo came in second place both in terms of rating in the demo and total average viewership, as the network saw a 0.2 rating and 757,000 average total viewers for Mondays primetime. “Exatlón Estados Unidos” ran from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and brought in a ratings score of 0.2 and received an average viewership of 794,000. At 9 p.m. “La Reina del Sur” drew in a 0.2 rating and received 769,000 total viewers on average. “El Fuego del Destino” closed out the night at 10 p.m. with a rating of 0.1 in the demo and a total viewership of 684,000 on average.

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