Preliminary Ratings: Wednesday 08/31/2016

August closed with another NBC victory and the season finale of the summer drama, THE NIGHT SHIFT. The third year series pulled in 5.8 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in Adults 18-49, on par with the season two finale, which aired on May 18, 2015. Earlier on NBC, AMERICA'S GOT TALENT dominated with 10.8 million viewers and a robust 2.9 rating in Adults 25-54. That is mostly flat to last Wednesday's episode.

Back-to-back original episodes of MASTERCHEF pushed FOX into second place on the night. The Gordon Ramsey series averaged 4.2 million viewers and over a 1.3 rating in Adults 18-49. It was #2 at both 8 PM and 9 PM.

CBS topped ABC, thanks to the solid outing by BIG BROTHER. Without that summer CBS staple, ABC would have beaten CBS on the night.

Preliminary L+SD Network Averages:

	Total viewers	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
ABC	2.80 million	0.4	0.8	1.1
CBS	4.00 million	0.7	1.0	1.3
CW	1.60 million	0.4	0.5	0.6
FOX	4.20 million	0.9	1.4	1.7
NBC	7.90 million	0.9	1.5	2.1

Time	Net	Program	P2*	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
8:00	ABC	The Goldbergs [R]	3.50	0.4	0.8	1.2
8:30	ABC	The Goldbergs [R]	3.10	0.4	0.9	1.2
9:00	ABC	Modern Family [R]	3.10	0.5	0.9	1.2
9:30	ABC	Black-ish [R]	2.50	0.4	0.8	1.0
10:00	ABC	Modern Family [R]	2.50	0.5	0.8	1.0
10:30	ABC	The Middle [R]	2.30	0.4	0.7	0.8
8:00	CBS	Big Brother	6.20	1.2	1.8	2.2
9:00	CBS	Criminal Minds [R]	3.20	0.5	0.7	0.9
10:00	CBS	American Gothic	2.60	0.3	0.5	0.8
8:00	CW	Penn & Teller: Fool Us	1.80	0.4	0.5	0.6
9:00	CW	Whose Line is it Anyway?	1.40	0.4	0.4	0.5
9:30	CW	Whose Line [R]	1.40	0.4	0.4	0.5
8:00	FOX	Masterchef	4.20	0.8	1.3	1.6
9:00	FOX	Masterchef	4.20	1.0	1.4	1.7
8:00	NBC	America's Got Talent (recap)	7.00	0.8	1.3	1.8
9:00	NBC	America's Got Talent	10.80	1.3	2.1	2.9
10:00	NBC	The Night Shift (SF)	5.80	0.7	1.2	1.5

* - viewers in millions