Decent premiere for CBS’s ‘Golden Boy’

The new CBS drama “Golden Boy” won its admittedly very weak timeslot in its debut last night, posting an okay rating.

“Boy” averaged a 1.8 in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen, improving a solid 20 percent on former timeslot occupant “Vegas’” 1.5 last week.

“Boy” doubled the rating for NBC’s competing “Smash” and finished 50 percent ahead of ABC’s “Body of Proof” in the 10 p.m. timeslot.

Still, it wasn’t a remarkable rating even considering the late hour. “Boy” dropped 38 percent of its strong lead-in, “NCIS: Los Angeles,” which averaged a 2.6.

Elsewhere last night, the return of ABC’s “Celebrity Wife Swap” posted a series-high 2.3 at 8 p.m., finishing second in the hour against CBS’s “NCIS.”

In fact, “Swap” had ABC’s best number in the hour in more than a year, since Feb. 7, 2012, up 14 percent over last year’s bow. Last night’s episode featured Kate Gosselin and Kendra Wilkinson.

CBS was first for the night among 18-49s with a 2.7 average overnight rating and an 8 share. ABC and Fox tied for second at 1.7/5, Univision was fourth at 1.5/4, NBC fifth at 1.1/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.6/2 and CW seventh at 0.5/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-seven percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 3.4 for “NCIS,” followed by ABC with a 2.4 for “Swap.” Univision was third with a 1.8 for “Por Ella Soy Eva,” Fox fourth with a 1.5 for “Raising Hope,” NBC fifth with a 1.3 for “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers,” CW sixth with a 0.6 for “Hart of Dixie” and Telemundo seventh with a 0.5 for “Pasion Prohibida.”

CBS was first again at 9 p.m. with a 2.9 for “NCIS: Los Angeles,” while Fox moved to second with a 1.9 for “New Girl” (2.3) and “The Mindy Project” (1.6). Univision was third with a 1.5 for “Amores Verdaderos,” ABC fourth with a 1.4 for “The Taste,” NBC fifth with a 1.1 for “Go On” (1.1) and “The New Normal” (1.0), Telemundo sixth with a 0.9 for “La Patrona” and CW seventh with a 0.3 for “Cult.”

At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 1.8 for “Boy,” with ABC and Univision tied for second at 1.2, ABC for “Body of Proof” and Univision for “Amor Bravio.” NBC was fourth with a 0.9 for “Smash” and Telemundo fifth with a 0.5 for “El Rostro de la Venganza.”

CBS also finished first for the night among households with a 10.1 average overnight rating and a 16 share. ABC was second at 3.8/6, NBC third at 2.3/4, Fox fourth at 2.3/3, Univision fifth at 2.0/3 and CW and Telemundo tied for sixth at 0.8/1.

Tags: abc, cbs, cw, dvr, golden boy, midseason premieres, midseason shows, nbc, ncis, overnight ratings, overnights, series high, timeslot, tuesday overnights, univision