Demographic data will tell the full story, but the one thing that can be declared with certainty is that NBC’s “Deception” did not premiere to the same enthusiasm as “Revolution.”
Update: “Deception” averaged a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating and 5.63 million viewers for its premiere telecast. It lost 0.2 in the demo and 690,000 viewers for its second half-hour.
It did not have the same advantages. Rather than receiving support from flagship “The Voice,” its lead-in is the considerably lower-rated “Biggest Loser.” It was also forced to tangle with the big BCS National Championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame, which despite being a blowout, undoubtedly attracted a larger audience than any Monday Night Football game this season.
The Meagan Good-led suspense series delivered a 4.3 overnight metered market rating, which was significantly lower than the 7.9 attained by “Revolution” in its first outing this fall. The skew within the 18-49 will impact the overall assessment, but with such low total reach, there is little chance “Deception” performed better than modestly in that segment.
Because all shows skew differently, there is no surefire way to predict the adults 18-49 number from the overnight metered market number, which approximates total household audience. But for comparison’s sake, “The Playboy Club” opened to a 3.9 metered market number and a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating in its first airing last fall.
“The Biggest Loser,” which led into “Deception,” delivered a 4.3 for its two-hour premiere.