Primetime Ratings: Fox Wins With ‘Empire’ Opener

Fox took the Wednesday ratings crown as Empire kicked off its season. Empire opened to a 2.4, same as its May finale, as Fox drew a 2.1 prime rating in viewers 18-49, and an 8 share. That beat ABC and CBS, both at 1.5/6.

The premiere of Star on Fox did a 1.8, up 39% from its spring finale.

ABC premiered a gaggle of comedies, including The Goldbergs, which went up 29% over its season finale at 1.8, Speechless up 17% to 1.4, Modern Family up 24% at 2.1 and American Housewife up 33% over its finale for a 1.6. Drama Designated Survivor then did a 1.1 in its season premiere, flat with its season one finale.

On CBS, Survivor debuted to a 1.7, down 11% from its finale last spring, while the premieres of Seal Team did a 1.5 and Criminal Minds fell 13% from its finale to a 1.3.

NBC did a 1.3/5, as the premiere of The Blacklist grew 22% over its season finale, to 1.1. Law & Order: SVU went up 8% over its closer for a 1.4. The premiere of Chicago P.D. scored a 1.3, flat with last season’s finale.

Telemundo did a 0.7.3, with Sin Senos Si Hay Paraiso and El Senor de los Cielos both at 0.8, and Univision a 0.4/2.

The CW rated a 0.3/1 with repeats of Arrow and Supernatural.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.