When CBS had ”Big Brother“ to fall back on
As it turns out, two hours of “MasterChef” are better than one. Or at least, a second hour of “MasterChef” is better than “Beat Shazam.”
With the Gordon Ramsay cooking competition as the only show on Fox’s primetime schedule last night, the broadcast network separated itself from everyone but CBS in the key demo’s ratings.
Last Wednesday, all four of the so-called Big 4 broadcast networks finished in a tie for first place in ratings among adults 18-49. This week they went two and two.
CBS and Fox tied for first in ratings, both with a 0.5 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. CBS was third in total viewers with an average of 2.5 million, according to preliminary numbers. Fox was fourth with 2.3 million total viewers.
For CBS, “Big Brother” at 8 p.m. posted a 0.9 rating and 3.6 million total viewers. At 9, “House Calls With Dr. Phil” had a 0.3 rating and 1.8 million total viewers. An episode of “48 Hours” at 10, which was coded as a special, got a 0.3 rating and 2.2 million total viewers.
Fox aired “MasterChef” throughout the entirety of its two-hour primetime period. Fox and The CW nationally program 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. each night. CBS, ABC and NBC schedule the 10 o’clock hour as well.
NBC and ABC tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.4. NBC was first in total viewers with 3.04 million, ABC was second with 2.96 million.
For NBC, the “America’s Got Talent” results show at 8 drew a 0.6 rating and 5.5 million total viewers. At 9, “Family Game Fight!” got a 0.4 rating and 2.1 million total viewers. A rerun followed.
“AGT” was enough for NBC to squeak out a total-viewer victory — but just barely.
For ABC, “Press Your Luck” at 8 received a 0.4 rating and 3 million total viewers. At 9, “$100,000 Pyramid” had a 0.4 rating and 3.4 million total viewers. “Superstar” at 10 got a 0.3 rating and 2.5 million total viewers.
The CW was fifth in ratings with a 0.1 and in total viewers with 428,000. “Riverdale” at 8 had a 0.1 rating and 520,000 total viewers. At 9, “In the Dark” settled for a 0.0 rating and 336,000 total viewers.
We do not have early ratings for Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.
Tony Maglio
TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio