TV Ratings: Miss America Drops 16%, NBC Wins Quiet Thursday

By Will Thorne

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – After the madness of a Wednesday night crammed with finales and an impeachment vote, the Thursday night were pretty tame in comparison.

This year’s “Miss America” contest tied for first on the night with a 0.6 rating among adults 18-49 and 3.6 million total viewers. That represents at 16% viewership drop-off from last year’s contest which scored a 0.7 rating and 4.3 million viewers, as well as an all-time low. This was the first year the pageant returned to its former Peacock home after a nine-year broadcast stint on ABC. “A Gwen Stefani Christmas” rerun followed it up with a 0.5 and 2.8 million viewers, meaning that NBC won the quiet night overall.

ABC came second on the night, with its back-to-back “Prep and Landing” episodes both coming in at a 0.6 rating and an average of around 2.8 million viewers. “The Great American Baking Show” came out of the oven with a 0.5 rating and 2.7 million viewers.

CBS and Fox tied for third place, as both networks aired only reruns.

On the Eye, “Young Sheldon” led the way with a 0.5 rating, followed by a trio of shows at a 0.4, namely “The Unicorn,” “Mom” and “Carol’s Second Act.” An “Evil” replay closed out the night with a 0.2.

Back-to-back “Last Man Standing” replays both scored a 0.5 for Fox, followed by a “Prodigal Son” episode which posted a 0.3.

Finally on the CW, the “iHeart Jingle Ball Tour,” which featured performances from Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, the Jonas Brothers, and Billie Eilish, scored a 0.3 rating and just under 1 million pairs of eyeballs. A “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” replay scored a 0.2