New Ryan Murphy Fox series “Scream Queens” got off to a lackluster start on Tuesday night, attracting only 4 million viewers and a 1.7 rating/5 share in the advertiser coveted 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary numbers.
Given that “Minority Report,” another new Fox offering, also opened to disappointing numbers on Monday, the “Scream Queens” debut is troubling for the network, especially given the massive marketing campaign mobilized behind it.
On a positive note, however, “Scream Queens” lit up social media during its debut, with over 400,000 tweets being sent about the program during its two-hour premiere from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. Next week, the show will move to its normal 9 p.m. time slot.
Other new programs fared far better in the ratings. The CBS adaptation of “Limitless” enjoyed a solid debut with 9.8 million viewers and a 1.8 rating/6 share in its 10 p.m. time slot. Over at ABC, “The Muppets” got 8.9 million viewers and a 2.8 rating/10 share.
NBC was first in the key demo with 3.0/10 and second in total viewers with 10.1 million. “The Voice” was the No. 1 show of the night in the demo with a 3.4 rating/11 share and 12.1 million viewers in the 8 p.m.-10 p.m. time slot. “Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris” was up in the demo with a 2.2/7, up from 1.7/7 during its premiere last week. The variety show also attracted 6.1 million viewers at 10 p.m.
CBS was second in the key demo with 2.0/7 but first in total viewers at 13.3 million. The season premieres of “NCIS” and “NCIS: New Orleans” both fared well at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively. The former show nabbed a 2.4/8 in the demo and 17.7 million viewers, making it the No. 1 program of the night in total viewers. “New Orleans” scored a 1.7/5 in demo and 12.5 million viewers, followed by “Limitless” at 10 p.m.
ABC was third in ratings with 1.8/6 and in total viewers with 8.8 million. Following the premiere of “The Muppets” at 8 p.m., the season premiere of “Fresh Off the Boat” at 8:30 p.m. got a 1.9/7 and 6 million viewers. A special two-hour episode of “Dancing With the Stars” followed at 9 p.m., which got a 1.5/5 and 9.5 million viewers.
Fox came in fourth in ratings with 1.6/5 and in total viewers with 4 million, airing only “Scream Queens” from 8-10 p.m.
Univision came in fifth in ratings with 0.6/2 and in total viewers with 1.6 million.
The CW, airing only reruns, tied for sixth place with Univision in the ratings with the English-language network scoring a 0.5/2 while the Spanish-language channel got a 0.5/1. However, CW was ahead in total viewers, nabbing 1.3 million versus Univision’s 1 million.