ABC’s debut of its revival of “American Idol” on Sunday came in below the series’ final bow on Fox in 2016, according to Nielsen overnight data.
Launching at 8 p.m. on the Disney-owned network, “American Idol” pulled in a 2.3 rating/8 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and 10.3 million viewers.
Though those numbers made for a solid return for “Idol” — and grabbed ABC the top show of the night — the series’ first episode on its new network is already down 23 percent from Fox’s “farewell” season premiere and finale, both of which earned a 3.0 rating.
Now home to the return of the Ryan Seacrest-hosted program, ABC was first in ratings with a 1.7 rating/7 share in the key 18-49 demo and in total viewers with an average of 8.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 7, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” had a 1.1/5 and 6 million viewers. From 8-10, the premiere of “American Idol” landed a 2.3/8 and 10.3 million viewers. At 10, the premiere of “Deception” took a 1.3/5 and 6.1 million viewers.
Fox was second in ratings with a 1.0/4 and third in viewers with 3.5 million. Following a repeat, at 7:30, “Bob’s Burgers” had a 0.7/3 and 1.8 million viewers. From 8-10, the first ever airing of the 2006 special”OJ Simpson: The Lost Confession” earned a 1.2/4 and 4.4 million viewers.
NBC and CBS tied for third in ratings with a 0.8/3.
CBS was second in viewers with 8 million. At 7, “60 Minutes” took a 0.9/4 and 9.2 million viewers. At 8 a second episode of the series received a 0.9/3 and 8.5 million viewers. At 9, “NCIS: Los Angeles” managed a 0.9/3 and 8 million viewers. At 10, “Madam Secretary” settled for a 0.6/2 and 6.3 million viewers.
NBC was fourth in viewers with 3.4 million. From 7-10 p.m. “American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World” took a 0.9/3 and 3.5 million viewers. At 10, the second season premiere of “Timeless” had a 0.8/3 and 3 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.5/2 and in viewers with 1.7 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.4/1 and in viewers with 874,000.
The CW does not nationally program Sunday nights — yet. The youngest-skewing broadcaster plans to expand its schedule next season.