Update: Despite receiving lead-in support from “The Voice,” the second season premiere of NBC’s “The Night Shift” performed poorly.
Monday’s episode drew a soft 1.5 adults 18-49 rating with 5.52 million viewers. The performance, which ranked third among the three 10PM network offerings, trails that commanded by the May 2014 series premiere.
That episode, which aired against lighter competition but did not receive lead-in support of the same significance (although at a 3.0 with 12.00 million viewers, its “America’s Got Talent” lead-in was not insignificant), drew a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating with 7.67 million viewers.
That “The Voice” represented a great lead-in does not, however, mean it excelled Monday. The season eight opener drew a 4.1 adults 18-49 rating with 13.97 million viewers.
While that performance narrowly bests that of the fall 2014 season 7 premiere (which scored the same 4.1 adults 18-49 rating but drew 13.2 million viewers against a competitive slate that included “The Big Bang Theory”), it considerably falls short of that delivered by last spring’s opener. The season six premiere drew a 4.7 rating with 15.86 million viewers.
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It might have been a reliable performer over the summer, but NBC’s “The Night Shift” is evidently not ready for in-season primetime.
Monday’s season premiere commanded a disappointing 3.4 overnight household rating. That trails last summer’s series premiere by a whopping 29%.
Disappointing in any circumstance, even given the rise in competition, the decline is made worse by the fact that Monday’s “The Night Shift” aired out of the season eight “The Voice” premiere. That broadcast provided a mammoth lead-in in the form of an 8.7 overnight household rating.
Further illustration of the disappointment comes from how last night’s “The Night Shift” rating compares to that drawn by other recent Monday at 10PM premieres.
Leading out of a “The Voice” that drew the same 8.7 rating, last spring’s “Believe” premiere managed a 6.8 overnight household rating. This fall’s “State of Affairs,” meanwhile, opened with a 6.0 out of an episode of “The Voice” that drew a 74.
While the adults 18-49 and total viewership numbers (due to be released by 11:15AM ET) might tell a slightly more favorable story, it is already clear that the season premiere of “The Night Shift” was not a ratings success.
— As for “The Voice,” its 8.7 season premiere rating trails the 9.2 drawn by last spring’s season six opener but narrowly bests the 8.5 scored by this fall’s season seven launch.
Worth noting, however, is the fact that the fall episode opened against a CBS lineup that included juggernaut “The Big Bang Theory.”
The season five premiere, which represented coach Christina Aguilera’s last season prior to this spring’s edition, scored a 9.2 for its opener.