TV ratings: CBS wins Tuesday with drama finales; ‘Riot’ opens weakly

A trio of season finales lifted CBS to a Tuesday ratings victory, while the premiere of Fox’s “Riot” failed to cause one.

The Season 11 finale of CBS’ “NCIS” was, unsurprisingly, the night’s most-watched show, delivering 16.8 million viewers, according to early numbers from Nielsen. Among 18- to 49-year-olds, the age group most desired by advertisers, the drama scored a rating of 2.6, slightly better than NBC’s “The Voice.”

If ratings hold, that will mark the first time “NCIS” has beaten the popular singing contest in 18-49 in direct competition.

However, this “NCIS” season closer was down 24% from last year’s finale.

At a 2.5 in 18-49, “NCIS: Los Angeles” was roughly flat with its year-ago finale, while “Person of Interest,” at a 1.9, was down 21% from last year, though both were up double-digit percentages from last week.

CBS beat its broadcast rivals by averaging 14.1 million viewers in prime time and a 2.3 in 18-49, in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million people. Second-place NBC, powered by “The Voice,” “About a Boy” and “Chicago Fire,” averaged 8.1 million overall and a 2.0 in the demo.

On Fox, the new improv comedy show “Riot” bombed in its debut, pulling in just 1.3 million viewers in total and a 0.5 in 18-49. In the key age group, that’s the network’s lowest-rated premiere ever. It didn’t help that “Riot” premiered behind the series finale of “Glee” which had a 0.6 in 18-49, down 25% from last week.

NBC’s “Voice” held steady with last week at a 2.5 as the three finalists were named, followed by a double dose of “About a Boy,” which ended its season with a 1.7 at 9 p.m. and a 1.5 at 9:30 p.m. “Chicago Fire’s” finale improved 12% from last year to a 1.7.

ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” finished its Season 1 flat with last week at a 1.9 in 18-49, while “The Goldbergs” was up a bit to a 1.4 to end its freshman year and the canceled “Trophy Wife” signed off with a 0.9, up 29% week-to-week. The low-rated “Celebrity Wife Swap” was even at a 0.9.