With “Empire” off the air, everyone but Fox breathed a slight sigh of relief last night at 9 o’clock in the prime-time ratings race. The following hour, the series finale of ABC’s “Nashville” posted a double-digit hike from the prior week.
It wasn’t enough to overtake NBC across all of primetime, however, as “Law & Order: SVU” put up the best numbers of the night. Plus, the “Chicago PD” season finale didn’t hurt.
CBS and ABC tied as runners-up in the key 18-49 demographic, within one-tenth of a Nielsen ratings point of NBC.
NBC was first in ratings with a 1.2 rating/5 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 6.1 million, according to preliminary numbers. The final “Heartbeat” episode at 8 p.m. managed a 0.7/3 and 4.2 million viewers. At 9, “SVU” concluded its season to a 1.5/5 and 7.1 million viewers. “PD” at 10 had a 1.4/5 and 6.9 million viewers.
CBS and ABC tied for second in ratings, both with a 1.1/4. CBS was second in total viewers with 5.8 million, ABC was third with 4.2 million.
For CBS, “The Price Is Right” prime-time special at 8 got a 1.2/5 and 6.7 million viewers. “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” at 9 received a 1.0/4 and 5.6 million viewers. The show’s season finale at 10 posted a 1.0/4 and 5.2 million viewers.
For ABC, following a movie rerun, the series finale of “Nashville” rose 13 percent in ratings to a 0.9/3, and 14 percent in total viewers to 4.2 million.
Fox was fourth in ratings with a 0.9/3 and in viewers with 3.3 million. The “Rosewood” season finale at 8 had a 0.8/3 and 3.4 million viewers. At 9, “Wayward Pines” premiered its second season to a 0.9/3 and 3.1 million viewers.
The CW was fifth in ratings with a 0.8/3 and in viewers with 2 million. At 8, the “Arrow” season finale got a 0.8/3 and 2.2 million viewers. The “Supernatural” season finale at 9 received a 0.8/3 and 1.9 million viewers.
Univision and Telemundo tied for sixth in ratings, both with a 0.6/2. Univision was sixth in total viewers with 1.8 million viewers, Telemundo was seventh with 1.5 million viewers.