“Thursday Night Football” finally returned to Fox last night, and a good game couldn’t have come at a better time. Five new entertainment shows debuted across NBC and CBS, though none of them inspired much night-of viewing.
Due to the nature of live sports, the below fast-national Nielsen numbers for Fox should be considered subject to significant adjustment.
Fox was first in ratings with a 3.9 rating/18 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 12.7 million, according to preliminary numbers. Those are the averages of Fox’s NFL pregame show and the game itself.
ABC was second in ratings with a 1.0/5 and third in viewers with 4.7 million. The “Grey’s Anatomy” return at 8 landed a 1.5/7 and 6.5 million viewers. The new season premiere of “A Million Little Things” at 9 had a 1.1/5 and 5 million viewers. At 10, the kickoff to the final season of “How to Get Away With Murder” got a 0.6/3 and 2.5 million viewers.
CBS was third in ratings with a 0.8/4 and second in viewers with 5.9 million. “Young Sheldon” premiered its first season without “The Big Bang Theory” at 8, getting a 1.0/5 and 8.1 million viewers. At 8:30, “The Unicorn” debuted with a 0.8/4 and 6 million viewers. “Mom” at 9 premiered its new season to a 0.8/4 and 6.2 million viewers. The series premiere of “Carol’s Second Act” at 9:30 received a 0.7/3 and 6 million viewers. At 10, the debut of new drama “Evil” had a 0.7/3 and 4.6 million viewers.
NBC was fourth in ratings with a 0.6/3 and in viewers with 2.9 million. The “Superstore” Season 5 start at 8 had a 0.8/4 and 2.9 million viewers. “Perfect Harmony” debuted at 8:30 with a 0.5/2 and 2.6 million viewers. At 9, “The Good Place” premiered its final season to a 0.7/3 and 2.4 million viewers. The “Sunnyside” debut at 9:30 settled for a 0.4/2 and 1.8 million viewers. At 10, “Law & Order: SVU” finished primetime off with a 0.7/4 and 3.7 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.5/2 and in viewers with 1.3 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 0.1/1 and in viewers with 578,000. “The Outpost” at 8 had a 0.1/1 and 651,000 viewers. At 9, the same show’s season finale got a 0.1/1 and 506,000 viewers.