RATINGS RECAP: 3/1/15

ABC
7:00 Once Upon a Time: Secrets of Storybrooke
Viewers: 4.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3
8:00 Once Upon a Time
Viewers: 6.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2
9:00 Secrets and Lies
Viewers: 6.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5

CBS
7:00 60 Minutes
Viewers: 13.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6
8:00 Madam Secretary
Viewers: 11.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3
9:00 The Good Wife
Viewers: 9.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1
10:00 Battle Creek
Viewers: 7.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0

NBC
7:00 The Voice (Repeat)
Viewers: 5.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2
9:00 Dateline NBC: Escape
Viewers: 3,9 million, 18-49 demo: 0.9

FOX
7:00 The Simpsons (Repeat)
Viewers: 2.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0
7:30 Bob's Burgers
Viewers: 3.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4
8:00 The Simpsons
Viewers: 3.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
8:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Viewers: 3.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
9:00 The Last Man on Earth
Viewers: 5.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4

Sunday night had three series premieres and the best/most surprising result came from FOX's The Last Man on Earth. It capped a very nice night for FOX after a couple disastrous Sunday showings. Bob's Burgers moved back to 7:30pm and was up a million viewers and half a demo point from its last airing, which was at 9:30pm. At 8pm, The Simpsons was up a big 1.2 million viewers and seven tenths in the demo while Brooklyn Nine-Nine was up an even better 1.5 million viewers and nine tenths in the demo. These shows bombed against major events but they held their own when the playing field was leveled. That's got to be a huge relief for FOX because they won't be slogging through a disastrous spring on this night. The Last Man on Earth delivered one of the most surprising results of the season with a strong 2.4 demo. I didn't see it coming ANYWHERE close to this. I must have underestimated the promotion and interest in the concept. It really pulled in its own audience that stayed throughout the hour.

Over on ABC, Once Upon a Time came back to pretty good numbers. It was above recent fall airings though well below what it was getting in the fall. It was close to the numbers from last spring's premiere. The "Frozen" storyline in the fall inflated this show's performance but if it can stay around these numbers for the spring, that would be a win for ABC. At 9pm, the two hour premiere of Secrets and Lies was extremely disappointing. At a 1.5 demo, it was 2.3 demo points lower than last spring's ABC post-Oscars Sunday premiere, Resurrection. It was unrealistic to expect anything close to that, but this was extremely disappointing. I don't see this show going anywhere beyond this spring with these numbers alongside pretty bad reviews.

The worst news came on CBS with a DOA premiere. First up, 60 Minutes started things off with a strong total viewer count considering there was no football lead-in. At 8pm, Madam Secretary returned after nearly two months off. It was down half a million viewers and four tenths in the demo. The demo was a series low but I don't think this was a bad performance all things considered. It definitely has a built in audience that came back to see it. At 9pm, The Good Wife was down 1.3 million viewers and two tenths in the demo to tie a series low set last May. This isn't as encouraging as Madam Secretary. But the news was worse at 10pm where the series premiere of Battle Creek was an instant bomb with a 1.0 demo. Secrets and Lies may have a very weak chance for survival, but Battle Creek has no chance at all.

WINNER OF THE NIGHT: The Last Man on Earth (FOX)
LOSER OF THE NIGHT: Battle Creek (CBS)