NBC’s “Great News” may be the latest proof that journalism is dying.
At 9 p.m. last night, the new sitcom slipped 33 percent from the series’ debut. Its second half-hour performed even worse, falling 40 percent from the comparable 9:30 episode last week. You don’t even want to know the math from Episode 1 to Episode 4.
To be fair, in its premiere week, “Great News” went up against some reruns — so those initial numbers were inflated. Last night, the competition was all originals.
Thanks to “The Voice,” NBC still managed to tie CBS across primetime averages in the key 18-49 demographic, though it wasn’t anywhere near the “NCIS” home in terms of total viewers.
CBS and NBC tied for first in ratings, both with a 1.2 rating/5 share in the advertiser-coveted demographic. CBS was first in total viewers with an average of 10.6 million, according to preliminary numbers; NBC was second with 5.9 million.
For CBS, “NCIS” at 8 posted a 1.4/6 and 12.5 million viewers. At 9, “Bull” put up a 1.2/4 and 10.6 million viewers. “NCIS: New Orleans” at 10 received a 1.0/4 and 8.6 million viewers.
For NBC, “The Voice” at 8 had a 1.6/7 and 8.7 million viewers. At 9, “Great News” managed a 0.8/3 and 3.7 million viewers. A second episode at 9:30 settled for a 0.6/2 and 2.6 million viewers. At 10, “Chicago Fire” got a 1.2/5 and 5.9 million viewers.
ABC was third in ratings with a 0.9/3 and in viewers with 3.3 million. “The Middle” at 8 had a 1.1/5 and 5 million viewers. At 8:30, “American Housewife” got a 1.2/5 and 4.4 million viewers. “Fresh Off the Boat” at 9 landed a 1.0/4 and 3.3 million viewers. At 9:30, “Imaginary Mary” received a 0.7/3 and 2.7 million viewers. “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” at 10 finished prime to a 0.7/3 and 2.2 million viewers.
Fox was fourth in ratings with a 0.8/3 and in viewers with 2.1 million. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” at 8 got a 0.6/3 and 1.7 million viewers. At 8:30, the season finale of “The Mick” had a 0.7/3 and 1.9 million viewers. “Prison Break” at 9 received a 0.9/3 and 2.4 million viewers.
The CW and Univision tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.6/2. The CW was fifth in total viewers with 1.81 million, Univision was sixth with 1.73 million.
For CW, “The Flash” at 8 had a 1.0/4 and 2.6 million viewers. At 9, “iZombie” got a 0.3/1 and 984,000 viewers.
Telemundo was seventh in ratings with a 0.4/1 and in viewers with 996,000.