Cyrus Langhorne
Fox’s “Empire” producers can breathe a sigh of relief. The show avoided a third straight week of lower viewership during last night’s broadcast.
According to reports, the popular series brought in just under 6 million viewers.
On Fox, “Empire” (1.9, 5.9 million) and “Star” (1.5, 4.6 million) were both even with last week. On ABC, “The Goldbergs” (1.4, 5.6 million) was down slightly in the demo, as was “Speechless” (1.1, 4.3 million). “Modern Family” (1.8, 6.2 million), “American Housewife” (1.4, 5 million), and “Designated Survivor” (0.9, 4.6 million) were all even. (Variety)
Last week, the Taraji P. Henson-starring series managed to beat its competition despite low numbers.
A week ago, the collective 18-49 rating for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC on Wednesday was down about 30 percent from premiere week in 2016. This week, every show on the Big 4 fell from its premiere rating. “Empire” and “Modern Family” tied for the lead in the demographic with 1.9 ratings, down 0.5 and 0.2 from their respective debuts last week. “Empire” tied its series low, and “Modern Family,” which tied “Empire” for the first time, also matched its third-lowest mark ever. (Zap 2 It)
The “Empire” premiere brought in just under seven million viewers.
Airing at 8 p.m., “Empire’s” Season 4 premiere averaged a 2.4 rating in adults 18-49 and 6.9 million total viewers. That is down by close to 40 percent in both measures compared to the Season 3 premiere (4.2, 10.9 million), but approximately even with the Season 3 finale (2.5, 6.9 million). (Variety)
Despite the slippage, “Empire” managed to help provide a boost to fellow Fox series “Star” most likely courtesy of an in-episode storyline.
It also provided a nice boost to sophomore Star (1.8), which had its best rating since its series premiere last season, which also followed Empire, outperforming its Season 1 average. Star likely also was helped by a crossover with Empire, so next week will give us a better indication whether Empire fans who sampled it will stick around. (Deadline)
