ABC’s ‘The River’ disappoints, while 200th ‘NCIS’ episode dominates

On Tuesday, ABC premiered its new horror series, The River, which is co-executive produced by director Steven Spielberg. The show’s premiere was overshadowed in the media by the other new show that started this week, NBC’s Smash. The River opened to disappointing numbers, with the audience leaving in droves during the second half. Meanwhile, CBS aired the 200th episode of NCIS, which was easily the most watched show of the night.

After CBS lost Monday to NBC, the network returned to the top with a bang. The network led the night with an average of 16.21 million viewers and a 3.1 18-49 rating. NCIS started the night with a whopping 20.82 million viewers and a 4.1 18-49 rating, which might force CBS to hope that the series can go another 200 episodes. NCIS: LA drew 16.12 million viewers and a 3.1 18-49 rating, while Unforgettable ended the night with 11.7 million and a 2.2. CBS led the night from start to finish.

ABC had less than half as many viewers as CBS with just 7.6 million viewers and a 2.4 18-49 rating. Two episodes of Last Man Standing averaged 7.9 million viewers and a 2.4 18-49 rating. The River’s two-hour premiere averaged 7.5 million viewers and a 2.4 18-49 rating, reports Entertainment Weekly. The glaring problem with the show is that it steadily lost viewers as the night wore on. In fact, in its last half hour, the show only had 6.45 million viewers still watching, compared to the 8.2 million who tuned in during its first hour, noted Hit Fix. TV Line notes that it was ABC’s fifth-best premiere this season, even falling behind the ill-fated Charlie’s Angels remake.

Zap2It reports that Fox came in third with 6.75 million viewers, but did better than ABC with a 3.0 18-49 rating. Glee slid significantly from last week’s Michael Jackson episode, dropping 14 percent to 7.7 million viewers and a 3.2 18-49 rating. New Girl stayed steady with 6.9 million viewers and a 3.5 18-49 rating, while Raising Hope rose a bit to 4.7 million and a 2.2.

NBC fell back to its usual spot with 5.78 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating. Biggest Loser averaged 6.4 million viewers and a 2.2 18-49 rating, while Parenthood returned with 4.6 million and a 1.6. That was a new series low, noted EW.

The CW aired new episodes of 90210, which had 1.4 million viewers and a 0.7 18-49 rating, and Ringer, which had 1.1 million and a 0.5 key demographic rating.