The Pearsons had a rough night Tuesday, thanks to that heartbreaking flash-forward twist at the end of the “This Is Us” Season 3 finale. But what they shed in tears, they made up for in NBC’s Nielsen ratings, as the family drama rebounded from last week’s series low with better numbers for its season closer.
NBC was first in ratings with a 1.2 rating/6 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second in total viewers with an average of 5.9 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 8 p.m., “Ellen’s Game of Games” landed a 1.1/5 and 5.2 million viewers. The Season 3 finale of “This Is Us” at 9 scored a 1.8/8 and 8.1 million viewers. At 10, “The Village” received a 0.8/4 and 4.3 million viewers.
CBS was second in ratings with a 0.9/4 and first in viewers with 9.3 million. At 8, “NCIS” posted a 1.1/5 and 11.6 million viewers. At 9, “FBI” had a 0.9/4 and 9.1 million viewers. “NCIS: New Orleans” at 10 got a 0.8/4 and 7.3 million viewers.
ABC and Fox tied for third in ratings, each with a 0.7/3. ABC was third in viewers with 3.1 million, Fox was fourth with 2.3 million.
For ABC, following back-to-back repeats, “Black-ish” at 9 posted a 0.7/3 and 2.7 million viewers. At 9:30, “Splitting Up Together” settled for a 0.6/3 and 2.3 million viewers. At 10, “The Rookie” received a 0.7/3 and 3.8 million viewers.
For Fox, “MasterChef Junior” at 8 opened the night with a 0.7/4 and 2.7 million viewers. At 9, “Mental Samurai” managed a 0.6/3 and 1.9 million viewers.
Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. Univision was fifth in viewers with 1.4 million, Telemundo was sixth with 1.2 million.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.2/1 and in viewers with 796,000. The network filled its primetime block with reruns.