NBC’s breakout freshman drama This Is Us has hit another ratings milestone. The series’ Feb. 7 telecast has ranked as that week’s #1 broadcast series in Live+7 adult 18-49 rating, marking the first time This Is Us has outrated the same week’s original of veteran CBS comedy series The Big Bang Theory in L+7.
The L7 victory comes after This Is Us edged The Big Bang Theory in Live+3 ratings the last two weeks. The Feb. 7 This Is Us logged a 4.52 in L+3 vs. a 4.47 for that week’s Big Bang; and the Feb. 14 This Is Us posted a 4.22 in L+3 vs 3.92 for Big Bang. It is safe to project that This Is Us will also top Big Bang in Live+7 for the week of Feb. 13.
The Feb. 7 telecast of This Is Us grew by +2.44 rating points, or +96%, from 2.55 18-49 rating in Live+same day to a 4.99 in L+7. That edged Big Bang‘s 4.83 L7 rating for the Feb. 9 episode, up from a 3.03 in L+SD. This Is Us‘ lift of +2.44 18-49 rating was the second biggest in all of TV that week, only a 0.03 behind the Feb. 12 midseason premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead (+2.47, from 5.73 to 8.20).
In total viewers, This Is Us generated the biggest L+7 lift on television for the week of Feb. 6-12, growing by 6.236 million viewers (from 9.565 million in L+SD to 15.801 million in L+7). The week’s #2 biggest lift was +5.100 million for Big Bang (14.147 million to 19.247 million).
Big Bang remains a force in live viewing, packing 14 million viewers who watch the show live, a rarity in a world of delayed and binge viewing.
