"V" Premiere Lands Big Ratings

ABC's "V" premiere was Tuesday's highest-rated program in the adult demo, cracking usual leader CBS' drama-series choke-hold on the evening. "V" was seen by 14.3 million viewers and had a 5.2 rating among adults 18-49.

That's the biggest scripted series premiere rating for a freshman show this fall. And particularly impressive for a show that's self-starting ABC's lineup (it's the highest-rated 8 p.m. drama series debut since ... ABC's "Lost," actually). Compared to the "Shark Tank" average in the time period, "V" was up a rather dizzying 213%.

"V" bested tough competition from "NCIS" (20.2 million, 4.3), which nonetheless ranked as the evening's most-watched show. The alien invasion drama gained 6% from its first half hour to its second.

Since a dissatisfied ABC changed showrunners on the series after seeing the first four episodes, it should be interesting to see if "V" is able to maintain its ratings strength over the coming weeks. If it does, ABC will bring back the show starting with Episode 5 in March. ABC's other new sci-fi drama, "FlashForward," also launched strong in an 8 p.m. slot, but has since softened in the ratings amid some viewer frustration and a showrunner shakeup.

Source: thehollywoodreporter