As FOX’s flagship Tuesday comedy, “New Girl” has a built-in young adult audience that will show up at 9PM regardless of what aired in the preceding timeslot.
But that does not mean the 8:30PM broadcast will have no impact on the show’s viewership. Take CBS’ Monday comedies “How I Met Your Mother” and “2 Broke Girls.” Both series are hits that have proven themselves as self-starters, but they still see fluctuations in their ratings based on what airs in between.
Despite critical praise, the recently-cancelled “Ben & Kate” was a ratings nightmare for FOX. Last week’s episode turned away 30% of its “Raising Hope” lead-in and undoubtedly impacted audience momentum for the 9PM “New Girl” episode.
With “Ben & Kate” out of the lineup, FOX’s comedy block maintained more momentum this week. The 8PM “Raising Hope” performed on par with last week’s offering (a 1.7 A18-49 rating with 3.85 million viewers this week), but a second episode at 8:30PM delivered a 1.5 and 3.38 million, compared to a 1.2 and 2.64 million for last week’s “Ben & Kate.”
That increased momentum, coupled with anticipation for the Nick-Jess kiss in the episode, fueled “New Girl” to a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating and 4.66 million viewers. Though not on par with its early season one numbers, that demo number is the best in weeks for “New Girl.”
The stronger “New Girl” number carried through to “The Mindy Project,” which drew a 1.7 and 3.11 million viewers.
