The adults 18-49 rating and total viewership number posted by Wednesday’s “Empire” were television’s best for the night.
They were, however, the lowest live+same-day numbers posted by a regular “Empire” broadcast.
According to fast national data from Showbuzz, Wednesday’s “Empire” posted a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating and 9.4 million total viewers. Down from the 3.8 rating and 10.1 million viewership mark drawn last week, they rank as regular episode lows.
Only the November 25, 2015 installment, which aired on Thanksgiving Eve and was coded as a “special,” has posted lower numbers. It drew a 3.2 and 9.2 million.
“Empire” often receives slight upward adjustments in the finals, but the adjustments may not remove the “series low” label from this week’s episode. The previous lows for a regular episode were drawn by the series premiere; a 3.8 in the demo and a total viewership figure of 9.9 million.
While the season two downturn confirms that “Empire” is not quite the phenomenon it was last spring, it does not change the fact that the series is a massive hit by any reasonable standard. From a live+same-day standpoint, it often ranks as the week’s #1 broadcast television series in the adults 18-49 demographic. It then receives a massive boost from DVR viewership.
Wednesday’s episode, despite the series low label, was the night’s top show in both adults 18-49 and viewers. The #2 broadcast show in both columns was “Survivor” (2.0, 9.2 million).
FOX led into “Empire” with “Rosewood” (1.2, 4.59 million).