Updated: Supported by a weakened “NCIS” premiere, “NCIS: New Orleans” did not debut as well in the adults 18-49 rating as many anticipated.
It did, however, retain an admirable portion of its lead-in.
Airing in the 9PM hour, “New Orleans” drew a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating with 17.22 million viewers. Lead-in “NCIS” drew a slightly stronger 2.9 rating with 18.23 million viewers in the 8PM hour.
CBS then closed its evening with “Person of Interest” (1.7, 10.58 million) at 10PM.
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Call it risk aversion. Call it being wise. But whatever you call it, it is hard to argue with CBS’ decision to position “NCIS: New Orleans” after the “NCIS” mothership.
Based on ratings data from Tuesday, that argument will now be nearly impossible to render.
Airing in the 9PM hour Tuesday, the series premiere of “NCIS: New Orleans” drew a healthy 10.5 overnight household rating.
Even though its “NCIS” lead-in suffered a year-over-year decline (down from a 12.5 for last year’s opener to an 11.0 for this year’s premiere), the “New Orleans” number topped the 9.8 drawn by “NCIS: Los Angeles” in the slot last season.
How “NCIS: New Orleans” precisely fared in the adults 18-49 demographic is not yet clear, but it surely appears that the new spin-off found a meaningfully large audience.
“Person of Interest,” which aired out of “New Orleans,” drew a 6.6 in the 10PM hour.