Primetime Ratings: ABC Thursday Block Returns Down

ABC’s TGIT dramas returned soft, but still paced the Alphabet to a tie with Fox, both with 2.1 ratings in 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, and 7 shares. Grey’s Anatomy rated a 2.4 on ABC, off 4% from its fall finale. Scandal was off 13% to 2.1, and How to Get Away With Murder slipped 22% to 1.8.

On Fox, American Idol rated a 2.1 across two hours, down 5% from last week, with performances by past stars Caleb Johnson, Fantasia Barrino and Scotty McCreery, among others.

CBS averaged a 1.9/6, with The Big Bang Theory up a tenth at 3.8, then Life in Pieces down 9% at 2.1, Mom down 6% at 1.7, and Elementary level at 1.1.

NBC posted a 1.1/4, with You, Me & The Apocalypse at 0.8, down 11%, The Blacklist off 7% at 1.4, and Shades of Blue at a flat 1.1.

The CW, meanwhile, had DC’s Legends of Tomorrow at a flat 0.9 and The 100 off 17% at 0.5.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.