TV ratings: Without NFL lead-in, ‘Almost Human’ slips in second night

Ratings for Fox’s new sci-fi show “Almost Human” took a hit in its second night on Monday -- no surprise, because Sunday night’s series debut benefited from a big NFL game lead-in.

Monday’s telecast drew 6.8 million viewers and a rating of 2.3 in the key 18-49 age demographic, according to early numbers from Nielsen. In the advertiser-coveted demo, that’s down 26% from Sunday night’s airing. However, the rating was up 10% from Fox’s prior average in the 8 p.m. time slot, earned with “Bones.”

At 9 p.m., the freshman series “Sleepy Hollow” brought in more than 7 million viewers and fell slightly in the 18-49 demo, to a 2.5. The Washington Irving-inspired drama has been getting a significant lift from the people catching up through DVRs and video-on-demand, and the network expects a similarly strong pickup for “Almost Human,” which Fox is projecting will increase its rating by between 45% and 50% over the next three days.

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

The fact that “Almost Human” stayed steady from half-hour to half-hour is also a positive sign.

NBC won the night in the 18-49 demo with “The Voice,” even though the demo rating for the popular singing contest fell 11% to a 3.4. NBC also had a “Voice” recap at 8 p.m., and the network drew a 3.0 for the night.

ABC won in total viewership for the third week in a row, drawing an average of 13.7 million viewers. Leading off was the most-watched program of the night, “Dancing With the Stars,” which brought in 14.5 million viewers, followed by “Castle,” with 12 million. Both programs saw big jumps in the 18-49 demo in early numbers, but the figures are less reliable than usual, because ABC aired NFL coverage in Boston and Charlotte, N.C.

On CBS, with the exception of Jerry Bruckheimer’s “Hostages,” every program was flat compared with last week in the key demo. “Hostages,” meanwhile, fell 9% to a 1.0, its series low.

[UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect time-zone adjusted numbers for Nielsen specially ordered by Fox for “Almost Human” that the network released after initial publication. Early numbers from Nielsen put total viewership at 6.6 million, with a ratings of 2.2 in 18-49.]

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Twitter: @rfaughnder

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com