TV Ratings: 'American Idol' has lowest rated premiere ever, 'Empire' wins Wednesday
American Idol had its worst rated premiere in 14 seasons on Wednesday night with a 3.1 adult 18-49 preliminary rating. This was down 34% from last year's 4.7 rated premiere.
It had 10.89 million viewers down from 15.19 million viewers from a comparable show last year on January 15, 2014. That's a loss of almost 5 million viewers in a year.
The new season, dubbed American Idol XIV, featured auditions from Nashville on Wednesday with the same panel of judges as last year: Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. Ryan Seacrest remained as host for 14 years running and sometime during the season, we will be introduced to Scott Borchetta, the new in-house mentor, replacing Randy Jackson who quit the show last summer.
The premiere continues with a two-hour show tonight from Nashville and the audition buses.
Meanwhile, it was a solid premiere for the show that debuted after Idol: Empire. The hip hip Glee-like drama (which some fans are calling Hustle and Flow 2) had a 3.7 rating and 9.8 million viewers. These are great numbers for a new show. I'm personally looking forward to what happens next week!
UPDATE: Empire up to 3.8 in final rating. Woohoo!
American Idol up to 3.2, down only 32% from last year.
https://twitter.com/GaudeP/status/553246670691913728
Empire was the #1 rated show of the night and boosting FOX to #1 overall for Wednesday.
Modern Family had a 3.2 adult 18-49 rating, the #2 show of the night.
Via TVbytheNumbers:
| Time | Net | Show | 18-49 Rating/Share | Total Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | FOX | American Idol (Season Premiere) | 3.1/9 | 10.89 |
| ABC | The Middle | 2.3/7 | 8.49 | |
| CBS | The Mentalist | 1.3/4 | 8.99 | |
| NBC | The Mysteries of Laura | 1.3/4 | 6.77 | |
| CW | Arrow - R | 0.2/1 | 0.98 | |
| 8:30 | ABC | The Goldbergs | 2.5/7 | 7.79 |
| 9:00 | FOX | Empire (Series Premiere) | 3.7/10 | 9.83 |
| ABC | Modern Family | 3.2/9 | 9.23 | |
| CBS | People's Choice Awards (9-11PM) | 1.8/5 | 8.57 | |
| NBC | Law & Order: SVU | 1.7/5 | 7.78 | |
| CW | Penn & Teller: Fool Us - R | 0.4/1 | 1.09 | |
| 9:30 | ABC | black-ish | 2.1/6 | 6.31 |
| 10:00 | NBC | Chicago P.D. | 1.6/5 | 7.43 |
| ABC | Galavant - R | 1.0/3 | 3.38 | |
| 10:30 | ABC | Galavant - R | 0.7/2 | 2.53 |
Via TV Media Insights:
8:00 p.m.
ABC – The Middle Viewers: 8.49 million (#3), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#2)
CBS – The Mentalist Viewers: 9.00 million (#2), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3)
NBC – The Mysteries of Laura Viewers: 6.74 million (#4), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#4)
Fox – American Idol (season premiere) Viewers: 10.31 million (#1), A18-49: 2.8/ 9 (#1)
CW – Arrow (R) Viewers: 1.06 million (#5), A18-49: 0.2/ 1 (#5)
———-
8:30 p.m.
ABC – The Goldbergs Viewers: 7.79 million (#3), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#2)
CBS – The Mentalist Viewers: 8.99 million (#2), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#4)
NBC – The Mysteries of Laura Viewers: 6.79 million (#4), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3)
Fox – American Idol (season premiere) Viewers: 11.47 million (#1), A18-49: 3.3/10 (#1)
CW – Arrow (R) Viewers: 888,000 (#5), A18-49: 0.2/ 1 (#5)
———-
9:00 p.m.
ABC – Modern Family Viewers: 9.29 million (#2), A18-49: 3.2/ 9 (#2)
CBS – People’s Choice Awards Viewers: 8.99 million (#3), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#3)
NBC – Law & Order: SVU Viewers: 7.47 million (#4), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#4)
Fox – Empire (series premiere) Viewers: 10.00 million (#1), A18-49: 3.7/10 (#1)
CW – Penn & Teller’s Fool Us (R) Viewers: 1.04 million (#5), A18-49: 0.3/ 1 (#5)
———-
9:30 p.m.
ABC – Black-ish (R) Viewers: 6.31 million (#4), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#2)
CBS – People’s Choice Awards Viewers: 8.53 million (#2), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#3t)
NBC – Law & Order: SVU Viewers: 8.08 million (#3), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#3t)
Fox – Empire (series premiere) Viewers: 9.66 million (#1), A18-49: 3.7/10 (#1)
CW – Penn & Teller’s Fool Us (R) Viewers: 1.13 million (#5), A18-49: 0.4/ 1 (#5)
———-
10:00 p.m.
ABC – Galivant (R) Viewers: 3.38 million (#3), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#3)
CBS – The People’s Choice Awards Viewers: 8.58 million (#1), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#1)
NBC – Chicago PD Viewers: 7.54 million (#2), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#2)
———
10:30 p.m.
ABC – Galivant (R) Viewers: 2.53 million (#3), A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (#3)
CBS – The People’s Choice Awards Viewers: 8.20 million (#1), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#1)
NBC – Chicago PD Viewers: 7.32 million (#2), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#2)
Source: Nielsen Media Research
