Final broadcast primetime live + same-day ratings for Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016
Wednesday’s biggest show grew a little bit from the early ratings to the finals, while a new series went the other direction.
The Season 3 premiere of “Empire” on FOX adjusted up a tenth of a point in adults 18-49 to a 4.2. ABC’s “Designated Survivor” (2.2) adjusted down by a tenth. The night’s other two series debuts, ABC’s “Speechless” (2.0) and FOX’s “Lethal Weapon” (2.2), held their early numbers, as did everything else.
Upward adjustments in adults 18-49 are in green; downward adjustments are in red.
| Time | Show | Adults 18-49 Rating/Share | Viewers (millions) |
| 8 p.m. | Survivor (CBS) (8-9:30 p.m.) – P | 2.3/8 | 9.46 |
| Lethal Weapon (FOX) – P | 2.2/8 | 7.93 | |
| The Goldbergs (ABC) – P | 2.0/8 | 6.90 | |
| Blindspot (NBC) | 1.3/5 | 6.08 | |
| Penn & Teller: Fool Us (The CW) – R | 0.3/1 | 1.18 | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Speechless (ABC) – P | 2.0/8 | 7.38 |
| 9 p.m. | Empire (FOX) – P | 4.2/13 | 10.87 |
| Modern Family (ABC) – P | 2.6/9 | 8.24 | |
| Law & Order: SVU (NBC) – P | 1.8/6 | 7.83 | |
| Whose Line Is It Anyway? (The CW) | 0.3/1 | 1.13 | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Big Brother (CBS) (9:30-11 p.m.) – F | 2.0/7 | 6.32 |
| Black-ish (ABC) – R | 2.0/7 | 6.39 | |
| Whose Line Is it Anyway? (The CW) – R | 0.4/1 | 1.20 | |
| 10 p.m. | Designated Survivor (ABC) – P | 2.2/8 | 10.04 |
| Chicago PD (NBC) – P | 1.6/5 | 6.87 |
Network averages:
| FOX | ABC | CBS | NBC | CW | |
| Adults 18-49 rating/share | 3.2/11 | 2.2/8 | 2.1/8 | 1.6/6 | 0.3/1 |
| Total Viewers (millions) | 9.40 | 8.16 | 7.89 | 6.93 | 1.17 |
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.
