Having not yet faced an original episode of intimidating timeslot competitor “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Glee”‘s ability to succeed on Thursdays remains uncertain.
But based on the overnight metered market numbers, “Glee” can at least say it performed decently in its season four premiere Thursday.
“Glee” opened to a solid 3.3=1 adults 18-49 rating with a viewership average of 7.4 million. Though Thursady’s demo rating is down from last season’s premiere, it matched the 3.1 delivered by the season three finale, which had the benefit of a strong “American Idol” lead-in.
How “Glee” will fare in the coming weeks remains to be seen. But for FOX’s sake, its ability to combat shows like “Grey’s” is hopefully not too reliant upon lead-in support from “The X Factor,” which is already underperforming in its second season.
After getting off to a very disappointing start given the introduction of Britney Spears as a judge on Wednesday, “Factor” was again down year-over-year on Thursday, delivering just a 3.1 rating and 8.3 million viewers.
Once CBS’ comedy behemoths “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men” return for originals, things will get even more difficult for FOX’s reality series.
