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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Feb. 27-March 1) -- Last Man on Earth first with 18-to-49-year-olds amid three big broadcast net premieres

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Last Man On Earth put a skip in Fox’s step Sunday night by emerging as the top draw among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds on a crowded night of Big Four broadcast network premieres and returnees.

Last Man, with a double-episode launch from 8 to 9 p.m. drew 100,922 D-FW viewers in this key demographic, doubling the lead-in audience for Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

ABC’s two-hour unveiling of Secrets and Lies ranked a distant second among the night’s three newcomers with 37,846 viewers in the 18-to-49 realm. CBS’ 9 p.m. premiere of Battle Creek had 34,692 viewers but doubled the crowd for its network’s preceding return of The Good Wife.

None of the three broadcast net freshmen came close to matching the 18-to-49 haul of AMC’s The Walking Dead, which had a phenomenal 217,612 viewers from 8 to 9 p.m. PBS’ Season 5 finale of Downton Abbey had 47,307 viewers in the 18-to-49 age range, good enough to outdraw both Secrets and Lies and Battle Creek.

Walking Dead drew 306,856 total viewers, falling short only of CBS’ 60 Minutes (348,700) among Sunday’s prime-time attractions.

The three new broadcast net series were paced by Battle Creek with 188,298 total viewers, followed closely by Last Man On Earth (167,376) while Secrets and Lies lagged behind with 139,480. Downton Abbey had 160,401 total viewers.

CBS’ return of Madam Secretary won from 7 to 8 p.m. in total viewers with 237,116. But it ran fourth overall in that time slot with 18-to-49-year-olds.

On Friday night, another round of miserable winter weather helped to put Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast atop all prime-time programming with 237,116 total viewers and 100,922 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Fox4 also preempted its 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. double dose of Judge Judy to make it a local news foursome in that hour. NBC5 comfortably won in both total viewers (223,168) and 25-to-54-year-olds (97,792), the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Fox4 respectively ran fourth and second in those two ratings measurements.

Here are Friday’s other four-way local news derby results.

Gannett8 dominated at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4, NBC5 and Gannett8 tied for first at 6 a.m. in total viewers but Fox4 had the gold to itself among 25-to-54-year-olds.

NBC5 rung up twins wins at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Despite the weather-inflated Friday newscast ratings, CBS11’s 6:30 p.m. syndicated edition of Wheel of Fortune ranked as the day’s overall top draw with 369,622 total viewers. It also spanked the three competing rag mags -- Access Hollywood, Extra and Entertainment Tonight -- among 18-to-49-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net