Update: While the first episode of “Backstrom” indeed outperformed last year’s “Rake” launch in terms of rating and retention rate, its performance looks less impressive in the finals.
A downward adjustment brings the premiere’s adults 18-49 rating to a 1.9. Viewership, however, holds at 7.98 million.
Lead-in “American Idol” drew a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating with 10.65 million viewers.
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It did not command nearly as much attention as fellow newcomer “Empire,” but FOX’s “Backstrom” attracted a respectable audience for its premiere.
Leading out of “American Idol” (2.7 adults 18-49 rating, 10.54 million viewers) the new FOX dramedy drew a 2.0 adults rating with 7.98 million viewers.
Both numbers best those drawn by last year’s “Rake” premiere, which scored a 1.7 and 6.95 million viewers on January 23, 2014. That episode also benefited from a considerably stronger “American Idol” lead-in; that night’s edition of the flagship FOX reality show scored a 3.4 with 12.39 million viewers.
Insofar as “Backstrom” will likely lose viewers in future weeks — especially as competition from ABC’s “Scandal” and NBC’s “The Blacklist” enters the fray — it is far too early to celebrate “Backstrom” as a winner.
One can, however, note that the series had a respectable first night.
