Ratings Rat Race: World Series Ends With A Bang; What Comedies Will ABC Pick Up?
UPDATE 2:30 PM: The finals are in, and Game 6 of the World Series went up to 19.2 million viewers and a 5.7 in 18-49. World Series 2013 averaged 14.9 million viewers and a 4.2 in 18-49, both up 17% from last year. Also, Super Fun Night and CSI went down a tenth to a 1.7. The Middle and Arrow were adjusted up a tenth.
PREVIOUS 9:30 AM: First off, congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for winning their first World Series on home turf in almost a century. Fox sure wouldn’t have minded a seventh game in this highly rated series, but the six games it got were two more than the last time the Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals faced off in the Series nine years ago — a 4-0 sweep for Boston. Last night’s Game 6 drew 18 million viewers and a 5.4 rating in 18-49 in the fast nationals, a high for the series that will go even higher in the finals (Game 5 was adjusted up 5%). It gave Fox a big nightly win in viewers and 18-49 and total viewers to log Fox’s most watched Wednesday in more than year.
Outside the World Series decider, the most intriguing developments last night were on ABC where The Middle (2.1) and Back In The Game (1.7) held onto their fast nationals ratings from last week when they faced Game 1 of the World Series, while Super Fun Night (1.8) fell 14% to a new low following a Modern Family repeat vs. an original last week. The results are significant because ABC is nearing a decision on which freshman comedies to pick up for the rest of the season. On Tuesday, The Goldbergs (1.7) and Trophy Wife (1.4) also held steady week to week, so all four newbies are in similar ratings territory. The Goldbergs pretty much sealed its pickup this week by staying even week to week despite its lead-in, Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., airing a repeat. The heavily promoted 1980s comedy became the only ABC freshman half-hour to build on its lead-in, by 42% on Tuesday. While the lowest rated among the four, Trophy Wife is the only one without an established lead-in, the only one owned by ABC, and it has a lot of support at the network. It also has been airing with virtually no marketing support.
Back In The Game has shown solid lead-in retention and viewership numbers and has James Caan, while Super Fun Night boasts Rebel Wilson. The decision which one to go seems to be highly subjective, possibly tied to Wilson’s fan appeal. Elsewhere last night, ABC drama Nashville (1.4) was down 13% to a series low. CBS’ Survivor (2.3) matched its series-low fast national from last week. Criminal Minds (2.4) was down 11% to tie its low, while CSI (1.8) dropped 14% from its 300th episode last week to a series low. NBC’s Revolution (1.4) was flat and was followed by SVU repeats. The CW’s Arrow (0.7) was down 22%, while The Tomorrow People (0.6) matched its fast national from last week.
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