There were some big premieres on the broadcast networks on Sunday night, and for the most part, they pulled in disappointing results.
The highly-anticipated Magnum P.I. Season 5 premiere on NBC pulled in lower-than-expected ratings.
Magnum P.I. Season 5 Episode 1 managed 3.8 million viewers and a 0.3 rating in the demo.
Magnum P.I. Season 5 Episode 2 followed with 3.2 million viewers and a 0.3 rating.
The positive news? That second episode won the 10 p.m. hour.
The series dropped considerably vs. its prior averages on CBS — Magnum P.I. Season 4 averaged 5.2 million viewers and a 0.4 rating.
Hopefully, the show can at least stabilize here or rise in the coming weeks.
It’s possible that people tuned into CBS looking for the new season last night.
The delayed ratings will be interesting!
Next week, Magnum P.I. will lead into the final season of The Blacklist.
Over on ABC, American Idol returned 5.1 million viewers and a 0.6 rating — down over 30% in the demo year-to-year.
It was still enough to lead the night comfortably, so ABC will be happy with the results.
On a sad note, Milo Ventimiglia’s post-This Is Us drama series was dead on arrival.
The Company You Keep secured just 2.3 million viewers and a 0.2 rating in the demo, losing two-thirds of its lead-in in the demo.
In a word? Whoa.
The bad news didn’t stop there: CBS’ line-up pretty much collapsed with the increased competition.
Their numbers are scrambled and subject to change, so take these numbers with a pinch of salt:
– The Equalizer – 5.7 million/0.3 rating
– East New York – 4.1 million/0.2 rating
– NCIS: Los Angeles – 3.3 million/0.2 rating
On FOX, The Simpsons (1.3 million/0.3 rating). The Great North (0.9 million/0.2 rating), Family Guy (1 million/0.3 rating), and Bob’s Burgers (1 million/0.3 rating) were on par with recent results.
What did you watch on the night, TV Fanatics?
Are you surprised at the low numbers?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.