After another long (4 week) break Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finally returned to ABC last night, unfortunately it seems that the long break hasn’t done S.H.I.E.L.D. any favors when it comes to the overnight ratings and after a steady run of 7 or so episodes the numbers dropped last night to just 1.7 in the 18-49 age demographic.
Before you start to panic, take note of the fact that powerhouse NCIS was also significantly down this week reaching just 2.4 in the 18-49 demographic, well under their previous season low of 2.7.
The return of The Voice didn’t do S.H.I.E.L.D. any favors either winning the hour with a dominant 4.0 in the 18-49 demographic. Glee also returned last night during the 8pm hour but was no match for S.H.I.E.L.D.
| Time | Net | Show | 18-49 Rating/Sh | Viewers (Millions) |
| 8:00 | NBC | The Voice | 4.0/12 | 14.38 |
| CBS | NCIS | 2.4/7 | 17.68 | |
| ABC | Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 1.7/5 | 5.11 | |
| FOX | Glee | 1.0/3 | 2.6 | |
| CW | The Originals | 0.8/2 | 1.85 | |
| 9:00 | NBC | About A Boy | 2.6/7 | 8.71 |
| CBS | NCIS: Los Angeles | 2.1/6 | 14.29 | |
| ABC | The Goldbergs | 1.6/4 | 4.16 | |
| FOX | New Girl | 1.5/4 | 2.93 | |
| CW | Supernatural | 0.9/3 | 2.04 | |
| 9:30 | NBC | Growing Up Fisher | 2.0/5 | 7.06 |
| FOX | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | 1.3/3 | 2.61 | |
| ABC | Trophy Wife | 0.8/2 | 2.64 |
The good news is, this is not likely to affect ABC’s decision to renew the show with too many other factors working in its favor, S.H.I.E.L.D. is just one part of the bigger picture when it comes to Marvel’s long term small screen plans. The numbers will likely pick up in DVR due to the large amount of positive buzz resulting from last night’s episode.
S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to make significant gains in the +7 DVR numbers in both demographic and total viewers and is still performing exceptionally well amongst the highly desired young male demographics.
Here are the numbers for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the season including the +7 DVR figures where available (note, these numbers do not include repeat airings or online viewing.)
Note: if you are using the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. app to view this article, open the page in a browser to see the table below.
| Overnight | Live + 7 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HH Share | 18-49 Share | Total Viewers (mil) | Rank | 18-49 | up by | mil | ||||
| Date | Episode Title | Initial | Final | Initial | Final | 18-49 | ||||
| Sep 24 | Pilot | 7.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 11.90 | 12.12 | 7.0 | 49% | 17.01 | |
| Oct 1 | 0-8-4 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 8.4 | 8.66 | 14 | 5.4 | 64% | 13.17 |
| Oct 8 | The Asset | 5.1 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 7.87 | 12 | 4.8 | 68% | 12.01 |
| Oct 15 | Eye-Spy | 5.1 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 7.7 | 7.85 | 15 | 4.5 | 61% | 11.60 |
| Oct 22 | The Girl in the Flower Dress | 5.1 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 7.13 | 7.39 | 19 | 4.4 | 63% | 11.16 |
| Nov 4 | F.Z.Z.T. | 4.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 7.03 | 7.15 | 19 | 4.2 | 68% | 10.93 |
| Nov 11 | The Hub | 4.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 6.63 | 6.67 | 23 | 3.8 | 73% | 10.13 |
| Nov 19 | The Well | 4.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 6.85 | 6.89 | 21 | 4.0 | 67% | 10.31 |
| Nov 27 | Repairs | 5.9 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 9.30 | 9.69 | 12 | 3.9 | 50% | 12.75 |
| Dec 10 | The Bridge | 4.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 5.93 | 6.11 | 24 | 3.4 | 62% | 9.2 |
| Jan 7 | The Magical Place | 4.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 6.48 | 6.63 | 16 | 3.6 | 64% | 9.75 |
| Jan 14 | Seeds | 3.9 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 6.25 | 6.37 | 18 | 3.7 | 68% | 9.60 |
| Feb 4 | T.R.A.C.K.S. | 4.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 6.54 | 6.62 | 20 | 3.6 | 64% | 9.77 |
| Mar 4 | TAHITI | 3.5 | 1.7 | 5.10 |
The following comparisons with other 8pm shows are based on initial numbers, not finals (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. often ticks up in the finals.)
| Total Viewers | Sep 24 | Oct 1 | Oct 8 | Oct 15 | Oct 22 | Nov 4 | Nov 11 | Nov 19 | Nov 27 | Dec 10 | Jan 7 | Jan 14 | Feb 4 | Mar 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 11.9 | 8.4 | 7.79 | 7.68 | 7.13 | 7.03 | 6.63 | 6.85 | 9.3 | 5.93 | 6.48 | 6.25 | 6.54 | 5.10 |
| The Voice / Biggest Loser | 14.14 | 14.2 | 10.03 | 7.00 | 6.64 | 6.62 | 6.30 | 6.49 | 6.56 | 6.22 | 5.38 | 5.51 | 5.27* | 13.98 |
| NCIS | 19.47 | 19.33 | 17.87 | 18.43 | 18.58 | 18.98 | 19.91 | 19.66 | 11.39* | 18.84 | 20.66 | 19.45 | 19.32 | 17.69 |
| 18-49 Demographic | Sep 24 | Oct 1 | Oct 8 | Oct 15 | Oct 22 | Nov 4 | Nov 11 | Nov 19 | Nov 27 | Dec 10 | Jan 7 | Jan 14 | Feb 4 | Mar 4 |
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 4.6 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| The Voice / Biggest Loser | 4.6 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 4.0 |
| NCIS | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.0* | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
Note: NCIS replaced with Christmas Special “Rudolph” Nov 27. NBC aired an Olympics special Feb 4
