TV ratings: ‘Empire’ continues viewership growth, dips in key demo

Fox’s freshman hit “Empire” dominated Wednesday night TV ratings again, climbing in viewers for its ninth consecutive week.

The series, which premiered on Jan. 7, was No. 1 with 14.7-million viewers and a rating of 5.6 in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen ratings. However, the show dipped slightly in the key desired demo, down 2% from last week.

Wednesday’s episode also averaged 750,258 tweets during the live broadcast, according to Nielsen Social Guide and Twitter. The tweet volume is a record high for the show, helping it surpass other popular, tweeted about shows “The Walking Dead” and “Scandal.”

Created by Academy Award nominee Lee Daniels and Emmy Award-winner Danny Strong, the show follows music tycoon Luscious Lyon (Terrence Howard). After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Luscious has to decide how to divvy up his business among his three sons: Jamal (Jussie Smollett), Andre (Trai Byers) and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray).

The show has surged 47% in the key demo since its premiere, more than any new broadcast drama since “House” in 2004. Fox will air the show’s two-hour season finale next week.

The network’s singing competition “American Idol” also saw a boost in ratings. The episode was second to “Empire” in the key demo and up 10% from last week with a rating of 2.3. It averaged 9.3-million viewers.

Meanwhile, CBS’ “Survivor” edged slightly behind in third in the key demo with a rating of 2.2. It racked up 9.4-million viewers.

“Criminal Minds,” was up 11% from last week with a rating of 2.1 in the key demo.

Also on the network, “CSI: Cyber,” which premiered last week, stayed steady with 9.7-million viewers and a rating of 1.8 in the key demo.

Both NBC and The CW aired repeats of their Wednesday night shows. ABC, which also aired mostly reruns, also featured a “Black-ish: Bloopers” special, which tied with “Modern Family” rerun with a rating of 1.5 in the key demo.

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