The season finale of The Four hit a high note Thursday, turning in its best performance of the season despite greater competition than usual.
The Fox singing competition averaged a 1.0 rating for adults 18-49, up a tenth of a point from its previous season best. The finale helped the network tie for second place in the demo in primetime. The show’s 0.8 average for its summer run is off by a third from its inaugural cycle in January and February — which is to be expected given the lower overall TV viewership levels in summer.
NBC finished on top with coverage of the NFL’s opening preseason game. Pending updates, the Ravens-Bears contest delivered 6.5 million viewers and a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demo (vs. a preliminary 7.79 million and 2.3 for Cowboys-Cardinals last year).
Big Brother (1.4) and Match Game (0.5) each suffered small declines week to week. Match Game‘s ABC brethren The Gong Show (0.5) and Take Two (0.4) were even with their numbers from a week ago.
NBC’s 1.8 average in adults 18-49 for the evening easily led the network race (and will likely tick up a bit in the finals). CBS and Fox tied for second at 1.0. ABC came in at 0.5 and The CW at 0.1 with reruns of Supernatural and Black Lightning.
