Oprah Winfrey can add primetime to her list of successful media ventures. The queen of daytime TV’s new ABC series, “Oprah’s Big Give,” premiered to strong ratings last night, becoming one of the season’s top new series and pushing ABC to a tie for first on the night.
“Give” averaged a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, winning its 9 p.m. timeslot in the demo and finishing as the night’s top-rated program on any network. The show also drew 15.6 million total viewers, growing on both measures out of lead-in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
“Give” did fall off from its first to its second half hour, going from a 5.5 to a 5.1 at 9:30 p.m., and slipping from 16.3 million total viewers to 14.8 million.
But the reality show, in which Winfrey gave participants money to help others, will rank among the top five new series debuts this season in adults 18-49 and total viewers.
Fox and ABC tied for first for the night among viewers 18-49, each with a 4.3 average overnight rating and an 11 share. CBS was third at 2.1/5, NBC fourth at 2.0/5, Univision fifth at 1.1/3 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
At 7 p.m. Fox was first with a 4.5 for coverage of NASCAR racing, with ABC second with a 2.7 for “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” CBS was third with a 2.1 for “60 Minutes,” NBC fourth with a 1.6 for “Dateline,” Univision fifth with a 1.1 for an hour of “P. Luche” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
ABC took the lead at 8 p.m. with a 5.1 for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” while Fox slipped to second with a 4.5 for “The Simpsons” (5.2) and “King of the Hill” (3.8). CBS was third with a 2.3 for “Big Brother,” NBC fourth with a 2.2 for another hour of “Dateline,” Univision fifth with a 1.1 for its first of three hours of “5 Magnificos” and CW sixth with a 0.5 average for “Everybody Hates Chris” (0.5) and “Aliens in America” (0.4).
At 9 p.m. ABC led again with a 5.3 for “Oprah’s Big Give,” while Fox remained second with a 3.9 average for “Family Guy” (4.1) and the premiere of “Unhitched” (3.7). NBC was third with a 2.3 for “Deal or No Deal,” CBS fourth with a 1.9 for a repeat of “Cold Case,” Univision fifth with a 1.1 for its second hour of “Magnificos” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for repeats of “Girlfriends” and “The Game.”
ABC led again at 10 p.m. with a 4.1 for “Here Come the Newlyweds,” followed by NBC with a 2.1 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” CBS was third with a 2.0 for “Dexter” and Univision fourth with a 1.2 for its final hour of “Magnificos.”
Among households, ABC led the night with a 7.3 average overnight rating and a 12 share. Fox was second at 5.9/9, CBS third at 5.3/9, NBC fourth at 5.2/8, Univision fifth at 1.4/2 and CW sixth at 0.9/1.
