CBS’ heavily-hyped drama launch “Vegas” premiered to decent viewership Tuesday, but its rating in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic was contextually underwhelming.
According to fast national data from Nielsen, the show opened to a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating with 14.7 million viewers, making for one of the oldest skews on television.
While the viewership tally is formidable on paper, it is worth noting that the “Vegas” premiere performed worse in the adults 18-49 demographic than last year’s launch “Unforgettable,” which was not considered a surefire winner. That series opened to a 2.9 with 14.0 million.
On the positive side, “Vegas” did definitively top timeslot competitors “Private Practice” and “Parenthood” in both the demo and total viewers.
Earlier in the night, mainstay “NCIS” scored 20.2 million viewers and a 4.1 rating, while “NCIS: LA” was solid at a 3.4 and 16.7 million. Both were down slightly in the demo from last year–0.1 for “NCIS” and 0.2 for “LA”–and either on par or slightly higher in total viewers.
