TV Ratings: 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' rises, David Blaine works ABC magic and 'NCIS' leads ... - HitFix

David Blaine impresses the stars of "Breaking Bad"

Credit: ABC

While the tiny "Thor"-inspired bump for "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." probably wasn't even ABC's biggest news of the night -- relatively solid numbers for "David Blaine: Real or Magic" will probably lead to more primetime prestidigitation -- it's still a [possibly temporary] stop to negative trending that dated back to the week after the pilot.

Of course, ABC still couldn't come close to winning Tuesday night.

With its "NCIS^[1] " double-bill and "Person of Interest^[2] ," which moved ahead of "Chicago Fire^[3] " for the first time this season among young viewers, CBS easily won Tuesday overall and also scored a slim key demo prize.

Meanwhile, it was low-business-as-usual for CBS' comedies, yet another uninspired performance for a CW IHeart Radio special and a small corresponding drop for "Supernatural^[4] ." And at some point, NBC will have to figure out a format for "The Voice^[5] " that doesn't inevitable swoon at midseason, as the reality hit took yet another dip.

On to the numbers...

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.5 rating for Tuesday night, edging out ABC and NBC's 2.3 rating in the key demographic. FOX was far back with a 1.4 key demo rating, while The CW did a 0.6 key demo rating.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 15.45 million viewers and a 9.7 rating/15 share for Tuesday primetime, far ahead of the 8.33 million viewers and 5.3/8 for NBC. ABC averaged an estimated 6.94 million viewers and a 4.3/7, followed by FOX's 3.06 million viewers and a 2.0/3. The CW averaged a 0.9/1 and 1.43 million viewers.

8 p.m. - "NCIS" dominated the 8 p.m. hour in all measures for CBS, averaging an estimated 19.39 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." averaged 6.85 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating, a small bump, but a bump nonetheless. NBC was third with 6.33 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating for "The Biggest Loser^[6] , far ahead of FOX's "Dads^[7] " (3.2 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating) and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine^[8] " (3.355 million and a 1.5 key demo rating), both up a hair. The CW's Lady Gaga-fueled album release thingie averaged 889,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.

9 p.m. - "NCIS: Los Angeles^[9] " kept CBS in first overall for the 9 p.m. hour with 14.9 million viewers, while the network dropped to second a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's "The Voice" was second overall with 11.22 million viewers and won the hour with a 3.1 key demo rating. ABC was third with "The Goldbergs" (5.14 million and a 1.6 key demo) and "David Blaine: Real or Magic" (7.16 million and a 2.3 key demo rating). FOX was fourth with "New Girl^[10] " (3.275 million and a 1.7 key demo) and "The Mindy Project^[11] " (2.41 million and a 1.2 key demo). [Last time "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" beat "New Girl" over in Fast Nationals, "New Girl" moved back into the lead in Finals, so I'm making no proclamations.] The CW's "Supernatural" averaged 1.96 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating despite its weakened lead-in.

10 p.m. - "Person of Interest" won the 10 p.m. hour overall for CBS, averaging 12.065 million viewers and finished second with a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's "David Blaine: Real or Magic" rose to 7.83 million viewers and a 2.6 key demo rating. NBC's "Chicago Fire" averaged 7.44 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating in third.

UPDATE: The good news continued in Final Live+Same Day ratings for "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Tuesday's episode went up to a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.89 million viewers overall. Both "The Voice" and "Biggest Loser" rose 0.1 in the key demo in Finals. Both "NCIS" and "Supernatural" added a few viewers, but stayed flat in the key demo.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.

References

1. ^{^} NCIS (www.hitfix.com)


2. ^{^} Person of Interest (www.hitfix.com)


3. ^{^} Chicago Fire (www.hitfix.com)


4. ^{^} Supernatural (www.hitfix.com)


5. ^{^} The Voice (www.hitfix.com)


6. ^{^} The Biggest Loser (www.hitfix.com)


7. ^{^} Dads (www.hitfix.com)


8. ^{^} Brooklyn Nine-Nine (www.hitfix.com)


9. ^{^} NCIS: Los Angeles (www.hitfix.com)


10. ^{^} New Girl (www.hitfix.com)


11. ^{^} The Mindy Project (www.hitfix.com)


12. ^{^} SUBSCRIBE (www.hitfix.com)


13. ^{^} Close (www.hitfix.com)


14. ^{^} Sign up to receive alerts (www.hitfix.com)