The first night of the official network television season turned the competition almost on its head as NBC dominated in the advertiser-preferred ratings, ABC dominated with older viewers, CBS saw its Monday lineup take a dive and Fox took a general battering.
The biggest headlines: “The Voice†continues to be a force for NBC, and a new 10 p.m. drama “Revolution†remained a winner, though viewer falloff at its half-hour point may signal some weakening appeal.
The former foundation stone of ABC's schedule, “Dancing with the Stars,†opened with its worst rating ever for a premiere in the 18-49-year-old audience that ABC sells to advertisers.
CBS expected to be down from a huge premiere Monday last year (fueled by the funeral for Charlie Sheen's character on “Two and Half Menâ€), and it was, maybe more than expected. Its new comedy entry at 8:30 “Partners†stunted the comedy block, and the 10 p.m. dr ama “Hawaii Five-0†had a disastrous premiere, its lowest rating for any episode ever.
Fox got a respectable performance â€" considering the competition-from “Bones†at 8, but its new drama, “The Mob Doctor,†cemented its status (and its shoes probably) as the likely first cancellation this season.
On NBC, “The Voice†was the night's biggest show in the 18-49 category, averaging a 4.3 and seeing growth every half hour. It had about 12 million total viewers. “Revolution†dominated the 10 p.m. hour with a 3.5 rating, but it fell from a 3.8 in first half hour to a 3.2 in the second. It had 9.2 million viewers.
CBS could never match last season's opening Monday, especially because it rebuilt the night and moved “Two and a Half Men†to Thursday. So the 3.4 rating for “How I Met Your Mother†at 8 p.m. ( 8.6 million viewers) was fine. But the 2.4 (with 6.5 million) at 8:30 for the new comedy “Partners†knocked CBS's night backwards. It recovered at 9 with a 3.7 and 10 million viewers for “Two Broke Girls†and evened out with a 3.0 and 9.3 million for “Mike and Molly.†But “Hawaii Five-0 collapsed at 10 with just a 1.9 rating and 7.9 million viewers.
ABC may have reason for most concern because it put so much into promoting an “all-star†edition of “Dancing.†The results pointed even more to a shift in that show's appeal to a heavy portion of older women. “Dancing†attracted the biggest overall audience of the night, 14.5 million, but its 18-49 rating was its worst ever for a premiere, a 2.7. The 10 p.m. drama “Castle†at least grabbed second place in the hour over “Five-0†averaging a 2.4 rating and 11.4 million viewers.
“Bones†on Fox hung in with a 2.3 rating and 7.3 million viewers, but “The Mob Doctor†went south for a second week, with a 1.3 rating and just 3.9 million viewers.
Bill Carter writes about the television ind ustry. Follow @wjcarter on Twitter.
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