Perhaps NBC shouldn’t have bothered bringing back “Timeless” for a two-hour series finale. And maybe CBS’ call to not tack on extra “Murphy Brown” episodes this season was the right one.
ABC was first in ratings with a 0.9 rating/4 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second in total viewers with an average of 4.1 million, according to preliminary numbers. A re-airing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at 8 p.m. had a 1.2/6 and 5.1 million viewers. The two-hour “The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition” at 9 got a 0.7/4 and 3.6 million viewers.
CBS was second in ratings with a 0.8/4 and first in viewers with 5.4 million. Shoehorned between reruns, the “Murphy Brown” finale put up a 0.7/3 and 5.2 million viewers.
NBC was third in ratings with a 0.6/3 and in viewers with 3 million. The “Timeless” series finale at 8 had a 0.6/3 and 3.2 million viewers. A repeat followed.
Fox and Univision tied for fourth in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. Fox was fourth in total viewers with 1.5 million, airing an encore of its “A Christmas Story Live!” musical. Univision was fifth in viewers with 1.2 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/2 and in viewers with 1.1 million.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.2/1 and in viewers with 1 million. From 8 to 10, CW aired “The 4th Annual Howie Mandel Stand-Up Extravaganza,” averaging those numbers.