In terms of overall viewers, the first international installment of the CBS franchise outperformed Fox’s Krapopolis and ABC’s The Golden Bachelor.
The most people watched the premiere of any broadcast show this fall, according to CBS’ “NCIS: Sydney.”
According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day viewing data, the Nov. 14 premiere of “NCIS,” which attracted 5.64 million viewers overall, achieved a 0.34 rating in the important broadcast demographic among adults 18–49 during its 8 p.m. airing. This was the first foreign installment of the series, which has garnered fan interest.
Total viewership for “NCIS: Sydney” exceeded the series premieres of ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor,” which courted 4.36 million viewers during its series premiere on Sept. 28, NBC’s “The Irrational,” which debuted to an audience of 3.81 million people on Sept. 25, and Fox’s “Krapopolis,” which scored 3.6 million total viewers as it premiered on Sept. 24.
The debut of “NCIS: Sydney” also drew in the highest viewership of the night among primetime broadcast programming, and was up 99% from last week’s Tuesday airing of “Big Brother” in the same timeslot, which drew in 2.83 million viewers.
Although “NCIS: Sydney” attracted a sizable audience that set it apart from other new series on major networks, its demo rating of 0.34 was almost twice as high as that of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” which aired from 8 to 10 p.m. and went on to earn the highest rating of the evening.
In contrast, both the series debut of “The Irrational” and “NCIS: Sydney” received ratings of 0.34, which put them in a tie with each other. Due in large part to its NFL doubleheader lead-in, “Krapopolis” garnered an astounding 1.2 demo rating on opening night, whereas “The Golden Bachelor” only managed a 0.62 rating.
Still, “NCIS: Sydney” secured CBS’ highest rating on Tuesday night, beating the 0.15 rating brought in by a CBS News special showcasing unseen parts of an interview between Gayle King and Jay-Z at 9 p.m., as well as the 0.12 rating landed by “FBI: True” at 10 p.m. In its 8 p.m. timeslot, ratings for “NCIS: Sydney” beat Fox’s “Name That Tune,” which scored a 0.24 rating, and the CW’s “Inside the NFL,” which brought in a 0.08 rating.
The Paramount+ spin-off “NCIS: Sydney” was originally scheduled to premiere only on Paramount+ and Network 10, however because of the long-term effects of the Hollywood double strike this summer, it was added to CBS’ fall roster.
Olivia Swann and Todd Lasance, who play NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey and her 2IC AFP counterpart, Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey, respectively, lead the cast of “NCIS: Sydney.” William McInnes, Mavournee Hazel, Sean Sagar, and Tuuli Narkle complete the ensemble.