TV Ratings Report: Duets Hits Series Low

The ratings are in from TVByTheNumbers, and the latest Thursday night broadcast numbers show notable shifts across network programming. Most prominently, ABC’s Duets dropped to a new series low with a 1.0 rating, down from the 1.2 posted for the Wednesday, June 21 episode (which ran 90 minutes). This report breaks down the prime-time performance by time slot and highlights what the figures suggest about audience preferences and competitive pressures.

The decline for Duets follows a pattern of diminishing returns for the series in the increasingly crowded reality and music-competition landscape. Wednesday’s longer episode appeared to deliver a slightly stronger number, but the latest data indicates the show is struggling to hold a stable audience against both live events and established series on other networks.

8:00 PM – Early Prime

At 8:00 PM, CBS led the hour with a repeat of The Big Bang Theory posting a 2.0/7 rating/share accompanied by an audience figure of 7.66 (as reported). NBC aired live coverage of the U.S. Olympic Trials, producing a 1.7/6 and an audience figure of 6.16. ABC’s Duets drew a 1.0/3 and the reported audience number of 4.23, marking the program’s series-low performance. FOX’s Take Me Out matched ABC’s 1.0/3 but with a lower reported audience of 2.32, while CW’s Breaking Pointe remained modest at 0.3/1 and 0.87 for the audience figure.

8:30 PM – Half-Hour Update

CBS continued to benefit from its established sitcom pipeline with a repeat of 2 Broke Girls at 8:30 posting a 1.6/5 and a reported audience figure of 6.10. The half-hour performance helped CBS maintain solid early prime numbers despite competition from live sports and reality offerings on other channels.

9:00 PM – Mid-Prime Competition

The 9:00 PM hour showed a mixed landscape. ABC’s Wipeout led the hour for the network with a 1.9/6 and a reported audience figure of 5.89, demonstrating continued interest in physical-competition reality programming. FOX aired The Choice, which delivered a 1.2/4 and a reported audience of 2.90. CBS ran a repeat of Person Of Interest, registering a 1.1/3 and a reported audience of 6.53. NBC’s Saving Hope struggled with a 0.7/2 and 3.29 for the reported audience figure, while CW’s The Vampire Diaries repeat dipped to 0.2/1 and 0.65.

10:00 PM – Late Prime Results

In the 10:00 PM slot, CBS’s repeat of The Mentalist recorded a 1.1/3 and a reported audience of 6.20. ABC’s Rookie Blue performed respectably for the hour with a 1.1/3 and a reported audience of 4.85, holding steady compared to some of the other hour’s programming. NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams finished the night with a 0.8/2 and a reported audience of 3.52, a modest result for a newsmagazine format competing against scripted and reality fare.

Context and Takeaways

Several broader points emerge from these numbers. First, live sports coverage such as the U.S. Olympic Trials continues to be a significant ratings draw, often siphoning viewers from other network offerings during prime time. Second, repeats of established shows on CBS still attract substantial audiences, underscoring the value of proven titles and their syndication/encore potential, especially when competing networks present new or lower-performing originals.

For ABC, the headline is the steep decline for Duets. A 1.0 series-low indicates the program is losing traction, and networks typically react to sustained declines by reworking promotion strategies, adjusting scheduling, or reconsidering format changes to stop audience erosion. FOX’s Take Me Out matching Duets in rating/share but falling notably behind in the reported audience suggests FOX may need to recalibrate how it markets the show to pull viewers away from competing options.

Finally, the data reinforces the challenge for smaller networks and serialized dramas to move the needle in the face of live events, established sitcom brands, and reality competition programming. For viewers and industry watchers, these numbers offer a snapshot of current preferences and the competitive dynamics shaping network decisions as the season progresses.

All figures above reflect the ratings, share, and reported audience numbers as published for the referenced broadcast night.