RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Rudolph’ Tops ‘The Voice’ & ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’, ‘Dancing’ Finale Down

RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Rudolph’ Tops ‘The Voice’ & ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’, ‘Dancing’ Finale Down

A 49-year-old cartoon went against some of the most expensive shows on television last night and won. CBS’ rebroadcast of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (3.0, up 3% from last year) was the highest rated program last night in adults 18-49, the demo category it itself is leaving th is year, topping NBC’s The Voice and ABC’s Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Rudolph drew 11.4 million viewers, up 13% and the second largest audience last night behind ABC’s Dancing With The Stars finale (14.6 million, 2.4 in 18-49), helping CBS win Tuesday in 18-49 and total viewers.  The Dancing closer was down 20%  from last fall’s All-Star edition and 11% from the most recent spring cycle to rank as the aging franchise’s lowest rated fall finale ever.

While it got trounced by Rudolph in head-to-head competition at 8 PM, S.H.I.E.L.D. (2.5, 9.3 million) still ticked up a tenth in the demo not facing CBS’ juggernaut NCIS in the hour and logged its second largest audience of the season.  It was a seesaw night on NBC, with The Biggest Loser (2.0) up 5%, The Voice (2.9) down 9% to tie its lowest Tuesday rating ever and Chicago Fire (2.1) up 11% from last week’s season low.

Elsewhere last night, CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles (2.4) dipped a tenth, while Person of Interest (2.1) ticked up a tenth. Fox’s Dads (1.2) was down a tenth to a series low. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1.5) was steady, New Girl (1.9) was up 12%, and The Mindy Project (1.4) rebounded from last week’s series low, up 17%. The CW’s The Originals (1.1) was steady at a series high, and Supernatural (1.0) was down a tenth while drawing its second biggest audience of the season.

Deadline.com