Update: As suggested by the overnights, “The Blacklist” stayed within the general ballpark of its premiere performance. Episode two posted a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating with 12.1 million viewers.
The one black mark on an otherwise-stellar performance is the loss of viewers at the midway point; the show fell from a 3.8 with 12.9 million viewers to a 3.3 with 11.3 million for its second half hour. Some of that, however, can be chalked up to the monstrous “The Voice” lead-in: the audience that sticks around for the first few minutes artificially inflates the first half hour’s rating.
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Inflated by the presence of curious viewers uncommitted to watching the show regularly, series premieres often deliver ratings that cannot be sustained over the long-term. No matter how exciting the episode, it will always face immense difficulty in luring every viewer back for future installments.
Fueled not only by curiosity but by its monster “The Voice” lead-in, NBC’s “The Blacklist” absolutely received a boost from the uncommitted last week and thus absolutely seemed endanger of a sizable ratings drop this week.
This afternoon’s adults 18-49 data likely will reveal a drop, but if the overnight ratings indicate anything, they suggest it will not be a significant one. TVMediaInsights reports that Monday’s edition “The Blacklist,” the show’s second episode, declined only 4% to score a 7.7 overnight metered market number.
Last week’s 8.0 overnight rating translated to a solid 3.8 adults 18-49 rating with 12.6 million viewers, so this week’s comparable overnight suggests another demo mark in the 3s and thus another timeslot victory.
“The Voice,” which aired from 8-10PM and will surely rank as the night’s top 18-49 telecast, kicked the night off with an 8.9 metered market number.