Is there nothing that can take down — or even flatten out — Fox’s growing “Empire”? The hip-hop soap opera rose once more with its fifth episode, scoring a 4.6 rating/14 share in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic.
That big number is an increase of seven percent from last week’s 4.3 rating. The demo was flat a week ago following three prior episodes of growth, but total viewers had ticked up again last Wednesday. This week, both metrics rose, as “Empire” was seen by 11.5 million total viewers — the fourth week in a row that the number of tuned-in eyeballs climbed.
ABC’s “Fresh Off the Boat” had a solid premiere on Wednesday — especially for a comedy. The show earned a 2.5/8 and 7.9 million viewers, though ticked down a bit in a second episode that aired against the mighty “Empire.”
Fox was first in ratings with a 3.8/12 in the key demo and in total viewers with an average of 11.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. “American Idol” at 8 p.m. earned a 3.0/10 and 10.9 million viewers. “Empire” followed at 9, scoring the night’s top marks.
ABC was second in ratings with a 2.2/7 and third in viewers with 7.3 million. “The Middle” at 8 received a 2.2/7 and 8.2 million viewers. “Fresh Off the Boat” at 8:30 debut to the above-mentioned numbers. At 9, “Modern Family” earned a 3.4/10 and 9.9 million viewers. A special second episode of “FOTB” at 9:30 had a 2.4/7 and 7.6 million viewers. “Nashville” at 10 got a 1.3/4 and 5.1 million viewers.
CBS was third in ratings with a 1.5/5 and second in viewers with 8.9 million. “The Mentalist” at 8 had a 1.2/4 and 8.9 million viewers. “Criminal Minds” at 9 received a 2.0/6 and 10.3 million viewers. At 10, “Stalker” got a 1.3/4 and 7.3 million viewers.
NBC was fourth in ratings with a 1.3/4 and in viewers with 6.7 million. At 8, “The Mysteries of Laura” received a 1.0/3 and 6.3 million viewers. “Law & Order: SVU” at 9 had a 1.3/4 and 6.2 million viewers. “Chicago P.D.” at 10 got a 1.6/5 and 7.5 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 1.2/4 and in viewers with 3 million.
The CW was sixth in ratings with a 0.9/3 and in viewers with 2.2 million. At 8, “Arrow” received a 1.2/4 and 2.9 million viewers. “The 100” at 9 had a 0.6/2 and 1.6 million viewers.
Telemundo was seventh in ratings with a 0.6/2 and in viewers with 1.3 million.