The “Grammy Salute to Prince” on CBS beat the “Empire” series finale (and everything else) in Tuesday’s primetime ratings among adults 18-49.
The Prince tribute actually finished second in terms of total viewers, ranking only behind its own lead-in, an “NCIS” rerun. CBS won the night outright.
“Empire” concluded to a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49, which is the key demographic for primetime entertainment advertisers, and just under 3 million total viewers.
CBS was first in ratings with a 0.9 rating/5 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 6.9 million, according to preliminary numbers. After the “NCIS” repeat, the Grammys special from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. averaged a 1.0 and 6.5 million viewers.
NBC and Fox tied for second in ratings, both with a 0.6/3. NBC, which aired all reruns, was second in total viewers with 3.4 million viewers. Fox was third in viewers with 2.8 million.
For Fox, following a rerun, the “Empire” finale drew a 0.8 and 2.9 million viewers.
Univision was fourth in ratings with a 0.5/2 and fifth in viewers with 1.6 million.
ABC was fifth in ratings with a 0.4/2 and fourth in viewers with 2.4 million. Following repeats, “For Life” at 10 got a 0.4 and 2.2 million viewers.
Telemundo and The CW tied for sixth in ratings, both with a 0.3. Telemundo had a 2 share, The CW got a 1. Telemundo was sixth in total viewers 995,000, The CW was seventh with 892,000.
For The CW, “The Flash” at 8 had a 0.4/2 and 1.1 million viewers. At 9, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” got a 0.2/1 and 665,000 viewers.