ABC’s ‘Splash’ gets off to strong start in ratings, but can’t stop ‘NCIS’

ABC’s Splash premiered last night, giving viewers a chance to see some celebrities take a dive. The show got off to a surprisingly strong start, but it wasn’t enough to stop CBS’ NCIS from leading the network to another Tuesday win.

CBS averaged 14.98 million viewers and a 2.6 18-49 rating on the night, notes HitFix. NCIS had just over 19 million viewers and a 3.1 18-49 rating, making it the most-watched and highest-rated show of the night. The first part of NCIS: LA’s spin-off pilot garnered 16.59 million viewers and a 2.8 18-49 rating. The new show Golden Boy, which will now air on Tuesdays for the rest of the season, was up to 9.26 million viewers and a 1.7 18-49 rating.

ABC came in second with 8.88 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating. Splash started off with 8.8 million viewers and a 2.6 18-49 rating. While that wasn’t Dancing with the Stars-style numbers, it was still the highest-rated unscripted premiere since The X-Factor in 2011, reports EW. The DWTS results show had 9.58 million viewers and a 2.1 18-49 rating, while Body of Proof jumped to 8.25 million viewers and a 1.5 18-49 rating.

Fox had 4.27 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating. Hell’s Kitchen kicked off with 4.8 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating, while New Girl followed with 4.2 million and a 2.2 rating. The Mindy Project had 3.16 million viewers and a 1.7 18-49 rating.

NBC had to endure one final Tuesday without The Voice and it wasn’t pretty. The network averaged just under 3 million viewers and a 0.9 18-49 rating. Betty White’s Off Their Rockers had 3.71 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 rating and it was all downhill from there. Go On had 2.86 million and a 1.0 key demo rating, while The New Normal had just over 2 million and a 0.7, both series lows. Smash, which will be moving to Saturdays soon, had 2.6 million viewers and a 0.8 18-49 rating.

The CW’s new show was a Justin Timberlake special that had just over 1 million viewers and a 0.4 18-49 rating.

image: ABC