Turns out, “Bachelor in Paradise” was just warming up. Last night, the ABC dating competition jumped two-tenths of a Nielsen ratings point from the previous week.
“BiP” tied NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” on Tuesday in the key demo of adults 18-49. “AGT” easily topped total viewers, however, and a better performance from NBC’s “Capital One College Bowl” vs. ABC’s “The Ultimate Surfer” provided primetime with one clear winner — in the earliest-available ratings data, at least.
Lower down the Nielsen sheets, CBS reruns tied Fox originals in the demo. In terms of total viewers, those CBS repeats didn’t just top Fox (and The CW, which is perennially in last place), they also bested ABC originals.
NBC was first in ratings with a 0.7 in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and third in total viewers with an average of 5.3 million, according to preliminary numbers. “America’s Got Talent” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. averaged a 0.8 rating and 6.7 million total viewers. At 10, “Capital One College Bowl” got a 0.4 rating and 2.5 million total viewers.
ABC was second in ratings with a 0.6 and third in total viewers with 2.4 million. “Bachelor in Paradise” from 8 to 10 averaged a 0.8 rating and 3 million total viewers. At 10, “The Ultimate Surfer” had a 0.2 rating and 1.3 million total viewers.
CBS and Fox tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.3. CBS was second in total viewers with 3.2 million, Fox was fourth with 1.4 million.
CBS aired all repeats on Tuesday. In order, the broadcaster aired two “FBI” encores and one “FBI: Most Wanted” rerun.
For Fox, “Lego Masters” at 8 had a 0.4 rating and 1.4 million total viewers. “Fantasy Island” at 9 got a 0.2 rating and 1.4 million total viewers.
The CW was fifth in ratings with a 0.1 and in total viewers with 559,000. “DC’s Stargirl” at 8 had a 0.1 rating and 640,000 total viewers. At 9, “Supergirl” got a 0.1 rating and 478,000 total viewers.
We do not have early Nielsen numbers for Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.
Find last Tuesday’s early ratings here.