Update 2: Per the final broadcast ratings report, the series premiere of FOX’s “Gotham” delivered a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating with 8.21 million viewers.
“Sleepy Hollow,” which kicked off its second season in the 9PM hour, drew a 2.0 with 5.51 million.
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Update: The series premiere of FOX’s “Gotham” drew a solid 3.2 adults 18-49 rating with 7.99 million viewers.
While not the colossal performance one might have expected given the hype, it is very impressive given the intensity of its timeslot competition. CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” NBC’s “The Voice,” ESPN’s Monday Night Football and ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” all aired in that timeslot.
It also demonstrated welcome audience growth from start-to-finish. After posting a 3.1 with 7.77 million viewers in its first half hour, “Gotham” delivered a 3.2 with 8.21 million from 8:30-9PM.
“Sleepy Hollow,” which premiered to a 3.1 rating last September, slipped to a 2.0 with 5.5 million viewers for its sophomore year opener.
Unable to retain the entirety of its “Gotham” holdover, “Sleepy” fell from a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating with 6.03 million viewers in the 9-9:30PM section to a 1.8 with 5.06 million in its latter half.
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Positioned against Monday Night Football, the season premiere of “The Big Bang Theory,” the season premiere of “The Voice” and “Dancing with the Stars,” FOX’s new drama “Gotham” was not given a shortcut to a successful launch. It was asked to open in what will likely emerge as the most competitive timeslot on television.
Given that, the origins drama performed well.
Monday’s series premiere delivered a 5.7 overnight household rating. While that falls well below the marks posted by “Big Bang” (11.1), “The Voice” (8.5 for its two hour premiere; rating for the 8-9PM portion not yet available) and “Dancing with the Stars” (7.9 from 8-10PM), it represents a very respectable number for a FOX launch.
And insofar as the show is expected to skew in the direction of younger audiences, a solid adults 18-49 rating–and certainly one that beats that of “Dancing”–should emerge when the fast nationals come out later Tuesday morning.
FOX enjoyed less success in the 9PM hour. Its “Sleepy Hollow,” which returned for season two after a long hiatus, delivered a 3.8 overnight household rating. That represents a steep 33% decline from the 5.7 delivered by last fall’s series premiere.
The young-skewing show might still deliver a decent mark in the adults 18-49 column, but it clearly did not return as any sort of blockbuster.
Note: The ratings posted early Tuesday morning are household numbers derived from metered market data. A follow-up report containing Fast National data for the adults 18-49 demographic and total viewership will be issued by noon ET.