ABC has got a new gimmick for its revival of “American Idol” — and it’s working. The Ryan Seacrest-hosted series’ second live coast-to-coast telecast brought in impressive Nielsen numbers for the program Sunday.
The show (broadcast at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) saw a significant bump in ratings and total viewers with its first go at a simulcast last week and this next attempt came out strong too — with just a tiny dip. But not enough to bring it back down to the numbers it was hitting prior to its new live telecast format.
ABC was first in ratings with a 1.3 rating/5 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second in total viewers with an average of 6.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 7, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” had a 1.1/5 and 5.5 million viewers. At 8, “American Idol” scored a 1.8/7 and 8.6 million viewers (That data includes adjusted numbers for its live broadcast across the United States, as well as its original 5-7 p.m. telecast on the West Coast). At 10, “Deception” got a 0.7/3 and 3.4 million viewers.
CBS and Fox tied for second in ratings with a 0.7/3.
CBS was first in viewers with 7.4 million. “60 Minutes” at 7 put up a 0.8/4 and 8.9 million viewers. At 8, “Instinct” saw a 0.7/3 and 7 million viewers. “NCIS: LA” at 9 earned a 0.8/3 and 7.7 million viewers. At 10, “Madam Secretary” managed a 0.5/2 and 5.9 million viewers.
Fox was fourth in viewers with 1.7 million. Following a repeat at 7, a fresh episode of “Bob’s Burgers” at 7:30 took a 0.7/3 and 1.5 million viewers. At 8, “The Simpsons” posted a 0.9/4 and 2.1 million viewers. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” at 8:30 landed a 0.7/3 and 1.7 million viewers. At 9, “Family Guy” got a 0.9/3 and 1.9 million viewers. At 9:30, the season finale of “Last Man on Earth” settled for a 0.7/3 and 1.7 million viewers.
NBC was fourth in ratings with a 0.5/2 and third in viewers with 2.7 million. “Dateline NBC” at 7 got a 0.6/3 and 3.2 million viewers. A special telecast of “Genius Junior” at 8 had a 0.5/2 and 2.8 million viewers. At 9, another episode of “Genius Junior” took a 0.6/2 and 2.7 million viewers. At 10, “Timeless” managed a 0.5/2 and 2.3 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.4/2 and in viewers with 1.2 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 792,000.
The CW does not broadcast nationally on Sundays.