It’s a battle of the TV franchises this fall, and fans’ television screens are packed with many shows that range from our classic old-timers such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Law and Order” which are still waxing strong more than a decade after their premieres to new hit shows.
There are also the shows that have expanded their franchise like “FBI: International” and the sitcoms that have brought back the shows that fans loved so much like “CSI: Vegas” from the CSI franchise.
All these shows and more are in a tight competition for the Primetime view spot on viewers’ TV, and it’s been a hot race these first weeks of fall.
So, let’s take a look at how these franchise showdowns went, the time slot battles, viewership numbers, and the ratings. And to kick it off, we’ll begin with the showdown between the revived and infamous “CSI: Vegas” and its biggest competition, “Chicago P.D.”
CSI: Vegas Vs. Chicago PD
The newly revived “CSI: Vegas” premiered on TV at 10 p.m. ET on October 6, 2021, with several of the original cast returning in the new season.
The new season had a pretty good start by itself but with the Primetime competitiveness of Wednesday nights, how well did it do compared to “Chicago P.D.” According to Variety, the new CSI season received a same-day live audience of 4.12 million viewers in the key demographic of 18-49.
It also had a rating score of 0.46, which may not be the best for such a grand return to TV but can be attributed to the showing of “Chicago P.D.” on NBC also at 10 p.m.
It has been a norm for “Chicago P.D.” to trump other 10 p.m showings on other broadcast networks, and unfortunately, the CSI revival was not spared. In comparing the live and same-day viewing numbers, Chicago won with viewing numbers of 5.75 million and a rating score of 0.75.
According to THR, The CSI show also failed to rank in the top 20 for the live and 3-day viewing numbers but Chicago hit more than 9 million viewers and had its rating increased to 1.27, which ranked them at number 6 for the most-watched scripted show.
Survivor Vs. The Masked Singer
“Survivor” made its return debut on CBS with its highly anticipated season 41 while “The Masked Singer” waxed on strong with its hit season and dramatic twists. Both shows aired new episodes on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, so which show came out on top?
According to the live and same-day numbers, “Survivor” won the tussle with a rating score of 0.94 and a viewing audience of 5.8 million, which ranked above “The Masked Singer” rating score of 0.9 and viewing audience of 4.35 million. Ouch.
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After a few days of delayed viewing, “Survivor” had an increase to 7.37 million viewers, which landed the show the number 18th spot in the top 20 of the week. However, “The Masked Singer” triumphed in delayed ratings and got a 37% boost to land at 1.38 while “Survivor” ended up with 1.28.
Grey’s Anatomy Vs. Law & Order: SVU
Early numbers for the ratings of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and NBC’s “Law and Order: SVU” showed that NBC beat the ABC series in a surprising twist, despite its lower viewership numbers.
However, they live and 3-day numbers had a different story to tell as it showed that Law and Order failed to make the top 20 list for total viewers while Grey’s ranked at number 20 on the list.
Grey’s also had a 48% boost to land over 7 million viewers and another 65% boost in its rankings to reach 1.26. However, Law and Order did get a 47% boost to raise its rankings to 1.07, which still fell below Grey’s.
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According to THR for the October 7 episode, Grey’s had a rating of 0.64 and an audience of 4.04 million while Law and Order dropped from its ranking of the previous week, to land at a ratings of 0.62 and 3.88 million viewers.
FBI Vs. Chicago Fire Vs. Law & Order: SVU
Although the shows of the Dick Wolf universe aren’t competing against each other, it’s interesting for fans to see how they compare and are ranked against one another.
There are currently eight shows in the Wolf universe with the FBI franchise showing on Tuesdays, the Chicago franchise on Wednesdays, and the Law and Orders on Thursdays on NBC.
To compare, here are the top-ranked and viewed shows from each franchise with their numbers.
“FBI” currently has 10 million viewers per episode, accounting for delayed viewers. “Chicago Fire” has an average of 11.7 million per episode with accounting for delayed and digital viewings, and “Law & Order” brought in a total viewership of 9.2 million with the majority of that number from the live broadcast and the rest from digital viewings.
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This shows that in terms of numbers and other variables, “Chicago Fire” is ranked first, then “FBI” with “Law & Order” coming closely behind. However, the Primetime viewing battle is only beginning and the fall TV season will definitely have more surprises in store for fans of these shows.
