Ratings: NFL football drags down ‘NCIS: Los Angeles,’ ‘Madam Secretary,’ ‘Elementary’
Over the weekend, we were extremely high on the ratings for “NCIS: Los Angeles” so far this season, and for good reason. The show’s absolutely killing it both in terms of its content and its numbers, and all of this makes it all the easier to be confident that the show will eventually get a renewal for a ninth season at some point in the weeks ahead.
Unfortunately, there is some bad news to report for the show today in the ratings — but it’s fairly expected when you consider the competition. In the live ratings alone, more than 32 million people had a chance to catch the playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Would you really want to air against that?
CBS – The LL Cool J – Chris O’Donnell drama fell to its lowest rating of the season in a 1.0 — remember, you do have to also consider NFL coverage from the Dallas Cowboys / Green Bay Packers game a factor here, as well. It’s a shame given that this was such a great episode, but hopefully these missing viewers will get a chance to catch up later. We do question somewhat the decision by the network to air such an important episode against the competition, but maybe they’re confident in their DVR metrics.
Meanwhile, the smaller lead-in was a factor in seeing the ratings for “Madam Secretary” (0.8) and “Elementary” (0.6), two shows in need of as many viewers as possible.
Fox – Thanks in part to NFL lead-ins, “The Simpsons” averaged a 2.3 over the course of its hour-long, “Empire”-inspired episode. This bump helped “The Mick” also score an impressive 1.6; Fox already ordered some more episodes of the series, which they may be considering more of a long-term comedy contender now with its recent success in mind. All signs point towards it being renewed.
Finally, “Family Guy” aired outside of Fox’s normal primetime hours, but still drew a 1.4 rating.
ABC – “To Tell the Truth” held up better than expected during its two hours, drawing a 0.8 and a 0.9 rating. Meanwhile, “Conviction” scored a 0.5 for its penultimate episode. Given that it’s likely over, it’s best hope is to not end with a whimper.
What did you watch on Sunday night? Be sure to share some of your thoughts with a comment! (Photo: CBS.)