USA Network’s heavily hyped new drama “Mr. Robot” got off to a modest start Wednesday.
The 70-minute premiere episode posted a 0.46 adults 18-49 rating with 1.752 million viewers. Neither number befits USA Network’s aggressive promotion.
Or the network’s enthusiasm, for that matter. In a sign of its confidence, USA ordered a second season of “Mr.Robot” hours before Wednesday’s episode aired.
Of potential consequence to this week’s performance was the fact that the pilot had already been available for streaming across a myriad of digital channels. In a press release Wednesday, USA said that the pilot episode had been viewed more than 2.7 million times prior to the official television debut.
— USA led into “Mr. Robot” with the season premiere of “Suits.” Airing from 9-10:01PM, the episode drew a 0.61 adults 18-49 rating with 2.129 million viewers.
The viewership number trails that of last summer’s season premiere (2.499 million) but bests that of the January midseason premiere (1.870 million).