Ratings: ‘Connecting…’ Enjoys Trump Town Hall Lead-in, and Then Falls Off a Cliff
NBC’s freshman comedy “Connecting…” got a ratings and audience boost Thursday thanks to its Donald Trump town hall lead-in, but that bump lasted for only one of the two back-to-back episodes that aired last night.
Immediately after POTUS’ hourlong Savannah Guthrie-moderated event, Episode 102 of the social-distancing sitcom at 9 p.m. averaged 0.5 rating in the key adults 18-49 demographic and 2.4 million viewers, up from last week’s series premiere, which had a 0.3 and 1.6 million viewers. But Episode 103 at 9:30 fell to a 0.2/1 and 1.2 million viewers.
Last night, NBC’s Trump town hall was trumped by ABC’s Joe Biden event in early ratings. You can read more about that here.
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On Wednesday, “Connecting…” star Shakina (pictured above) criticized NBC’s decision to host the Trump town hall — an event filling the time slot vacated by the second presidential debate after Trump withdrew over objections to the debate’s virtual format — which she said would promote “fear mongering, bigotry [and] disinformation.”
“Shame on @NBC. Y’all sign my checks as of late but I’m disgusted by my home network giving Trump a platform for fear mongering, bigotry & disinformation,” the actress said on Twitter. “Don’t praise yourselves for putting a trans woman on primetime then give a platform to someone who wants to abolish my rights.”
Some of Shakina’s co-stars also spoke out against the Trump event, as did series creator Martin Gero. Gero and actor Brendan Gall tweeted the same statement on Thursday, within hours of Shakina’s first tweet Wednesday.
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“I strenuously object to @NBC giving Trump a town hall directly opposite Biden’s on @ABC,” they wrote. “Trump pulled out of the debate to destabilize the election. I understand NBC is required to give him an hour of prime time but request that they reschedule it so that America can watch both.”
ABC was first in ratings Thursday with a 2.0 rating/12 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 9.2 million, according to preliminary Nielsen data. From 8-10, the Biden town hall earned a 2.6 rating/15 share and 12.2 million viewers. A repeat of “Emergency Call” Followed.
NBC was second in ratings with a 0.8/5 and in viewers with 4.9 million. From 8-9, Trump’s town hall put up a 1.7/10 and 10.4 million viewers. The 9 p.m. episode of “Connecting…” got the above-mentioned rating and total-viewer tally, plus a 3 share, and the 9:30 episode settled for its dropped-off numbers, plus a 1 share. At 10, “Dateline NBC” received a 0.4/2 and 2.5 million viewers.
Fox was third in ratings with a 0.7/4 and in viewers with 2.7 million. Fox aired the MLB playoffs game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves throughout primetime.
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CBS was fourth in ratings with a 0.5/3 and in viewers with 2.5 million. “Big Brother” at 8 posted a 0.9/5 and 3.9 million viewers. Following back-t0-back sitcom repeats, “Star Trek: Discovery” at 10 managed a 0.3/2 and 1.9 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.3/2 and in viewers with 1.1 million.
The CW and Telemundo tied for sixth in ratings, both with a 0.2/1. The CW was sixth in total viewers with 831,00 and Telemundo was seventh with 789,000.
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For The CW, “Supernatural” at 8 had a 0.3/2 and 1 million viewers. At 9, “The Outpost” got a 0.1/1 and 633,000 viewers.
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