ABC’s “The Bachelorette” didn’t quite sizzle like your Memorial Day steak last night, when the dating competition settled for its lowest-rated and least-watched season premiere yet.
To be fair to Becca and her many male suitors, the reality series was still Monday’s most-watched show overall. Plus, it has not traditionally kicked off a run on the national holiday, a questionable scheduling move that doesn’t send viewers racing to their television sets in general. Last year, “The Bachelorette” began one calendar week earlier when it had the added benefit of a “Dancing With the Stars” finale as its lead-in.
This time around, NBC was primetime’s highest-rated and most-watched broadcast channel, airing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights.
Airing just ice hockey, NBC was first in ratings with a 1.6 rating/6 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 4.8 million, according to preliminary numbers.
ABC was second in ratings with a 1.1/4 and in viewers with 4.6 million. The two-hour “Bachelorette” starting at 8 p.m. received a 1.4/5 and 5.6 million viewers. At 10, “The Crossing” had a 0.5/2 and 2.7 million viewers.
CBS and Fox tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.5/2. CBS was third in total viewers with 3.9 million, Fox was fourth with 2.4 million.
For CBS, following reruns, “Elementary” at 10 got a 0.4/2 and 4 million viewers.
For Fox, Hour 1 of “Lucifer” at 8 had a 0.5/2 and 2.6 million viewers. A second 60 minutes at 9 maintained the same demo numbers, but dipped to 2.2 million overall audience members.
Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. Univision was fifth in total viewers with 1.3 million, Telemundo was seventh with 1.1 million.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.3/1 and sixth in viewers with 1.2 million. “Supergirl” at 8 got a 0.4/2 and 1.6 million viewers. At 9, the “iZombie” season finale managed just a 0.2/1 and 759,000 viewers.