Broadcast primetime live + same-day ratings for Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016
Note: Live coverage of the vice presidential debate on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC will result in greater adjustments than usual for all four networks.
The numbers for Tuesday:
| Time | Show | Adults 18-49 Rating/Share | Viewers (millions) |
| 8 p.m. | The Voice (NBC) – clip show | 2.0/8 | 7.81 |
| NCIS (CBS) | 1.8/7 | 13.90 | |
| Dancing WIth the Stars (ABC) | 1.4/5 | 8.84 | |
| The Flash (The CW) – P | 1.2/5 | 3.13 | |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) | 1.0/4 | 2.46 | |
| 8:30 p.m. | New Girl (FOX) | 1.0/4 | 2.15 |
| 9 p.m. | Vice Presidential Debate (NBC) (9-10:30 p.m.) | 1.9/6 | 6.69 |
| Vice Presidential Debate (ABC) (9-10:30 p.m.) | 1.2/4 | 5.99 | |
| Vice Presidential Debate (CBS) (9-10:30 p.m.) | 1.1/4 | 6.49 | |
| Vice Presidential Debate (FOX) (9-10:30 p.m.) | 0.7/3 | 2.20 | |
| No Tomorrow (The CW) – P | 0.5/2 | 1.59 | |
| 10:30 p.m. | Debate Analysis (NBC) | 1.4/6 | 5.25 |
| Debate Analysis (ABC) | 0.9/4 | 4.63 | |
| Debate Analysis (CBS) | 0.8/3 | 5.09 |
The vice-presidential debate between Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine ruled Tuesday’s ratings, though not to near the extent the first presidential debate did last week. Preliminary figures have the combined audience on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC at 21.37 million viewers, not quite half of the preliminary figure for the record-setting presidential debate (45.31 million).
The CW kicked off its season with somewhat lower numbers than last season. “The Flash” scored a 1.2 rating in adults 18-49, down from a 1.4 for last fall’s premiere. It was, however, even with the 2015 premiere in adults 18-34 (1.1) “No Tomorrow” debuted to a 0.5, off 0.2 from “iZombie” in the same spot a year ago.
A “Voice” clip show scored the night’s best 18-49 rating with a 2.0. “NCIS” slipped to a series-low 1.8, down three tenths of a point from last week. “Dancing With the Stars” (1.4) ticked up a tenth of a point for ABC, while FOX’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (1.0) and “New Girl” (1.0) were even with last week.
Network averages:
| NBC | CBS | ABC | CW | FOX | |
| Adults 18-49 rating/share | 1.8/6 | 1.3/5 | 1.2/4 | 0.9/3 | 0.8/3 |
| Total Viewers (millions) | 6.82 | 8.73 | 6.71 | 2.36 | 2.24 |
Late-night metered market ratings (adults 18-49, households):
11:35 p.m.
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”: 0.9/5, 2.5/7
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”: 0.6/3, 1.9/5
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”: 0.5/3, 2.2/6
12:35 a.m.
“Late Night with Seth Meyers”: 0.4/3, 1.3/5
“The Late Late Show with James Corden”: 0.3/2, 1.1/4
“Nightline”: 0.3/2, 1.2/4
Definitions:
Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent.
Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings are available at approximately 11 a.m. ET the day after telecast. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns.
Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time.
Time Shifted Viewing: Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live +Same-Day and Live +7 Day. Time-shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+SD includes viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3 a.m. local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live +7 ratings include viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.
Source: The Nielsen Company.
