Primetime Ratings: Fox Wins With ‘Empire’ Opener
By Michael Malone published

Fox took the Wednesday ratings crown as Empire kicked off its season. Empire opened to a 2.4, same as its May finale, as Fox drew a 2.1 prime rating in viewers 18-49, and an 8 share. That beat ABC and CBS, both at 1.5/6.
The premiere of Star on Fox did a 1.8, up 39% from its spring finale.
ABC premiered a gaggle of comedies, including The Goldbergs, which went up 29% over its season finale at 1.8, Speechless up 17% to 1.4, Modern Family up 24% at 2.1 and American Housewife up 33% over its finale for a 1.6. Drama Designated Survivor then did a 1.1 in its season premiere, flat with its season one finale.
On CBS, Survivor debuted to a 1.7, down 11% from its finale last spring, while the premieres of Seal Team did a 1.5 and Criminal Minds fell 13% from its finale to a 1.3.
NBC did a 1.3/5, as the premiere of The Blacklist grew 22% over its season finale, to 1.1. Law & Order: SVU went up 8% over its closer for a 1.4. The premiere of Chicago P.D. scored a 1.3, flat with last season’s finale.
Telemundo did a 0.7.3, with Sin Senos Si Hay Paraiso and El Senor de los Cielos both at 0.8, and Univision a 0.4/2.
The CW rated a 0.3/1 with repeats of Arrow and Supernatural.
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.
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