Primetime Ratings: NBC Wins Tight Night
By Michael Malone published

NBC took top broadcast honors Wednesday, on a night when the traditional Big Four networks all posted a 1.0 or greater. NBC stood at 1.2 in adults 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, with a 5 share. ABC and Fox both did a 1.1/4, while CBS was at 1.0/4. The CW scored a 0.4/2.
America’s Got Talent, fresh off the news of its judges returning next season, did a flat 1.7 from 8-9 p.m. on NBC, followed by a double run of TheNight Shift at 0.9 and 0.8. Night Shift scored a 1.1 the week before.
ABC had the CMA Music Festival across prime at 1.1, the country music wingding down 8% from last year (the 2015 show itself was down 37% year over year), while Fox aired two hours of MasterChef at 1.1, up 10%
CBS’ Big Brother climbed 13% to 1.8, before a repeat of Criminal Minds, while American Gothic fell 17% to 0.5.
On CW, Penn & Teller: Fool Us rated a flat 0.4. Whose Line Is It Anyway? was down a tenth of a point at 0.4.
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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