TV ratings: ‘NCIS: New Orleans’ opens big; ‘The Voice’ wins key demo

The third iteration of the “NCIS” franchise helped make CBS the most-watched network Tuesday night.

According to Nielsen ratings, the premiere of “NCIS: New Orleans” earned a rating of 2.5 in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

The original “NCIS,” which aired from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., was the most-watched program Tuesday night with 17.9 million viewers. That lead-in helped the New Orleans series come in second with 17 million viewers.

Also on CBS, the season premiere of “Person of Interest” earned a rating of 1.8 in the key demo, down 22% from last season’s premiere, which got a 2.3. The premiere averaged 10.7 million viewers.

Overall, the network averaged about 15.2 million viewers.

But with help from “The Voice,” NBC won over the key demo with a rating of 3.6. The network averaged 11.8 million viewers.

The singing competition nabbed the No. 1 spot in the key demo with a rating of 4.0. It averaged 13 million viewers on the second night of its seventh season’s blind auditions.

“Chicago Fire” also elevated the network in the under-50 category. With a rating of 2.7 in the key demo, it was the third-most-watched program of the night in that desired demo. It averaged 9.4 million viewers.

On ABC, “Dancing with the Stars” rounded out the top five most-watched programs of the night with 9.6 million viewers. The show earned a rating of 1.6 in the key demo, down 27% from last week.

The network’s premiere of “Forever” had a solid debut with a rating of 1.7 in the key demo and 6.4 million viewers.

The return of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” didn’t fare as well. Though it earned a rating of 1.9 in the key demo, it was down 60% from last season’s debut.

However, the show’s return was its most-watched telecast since April, with 5.5 million viewers tuning in.

Meanwhile, on Fox, “Utopia,” (with a rating of 0.8 in the key demo) “New Girl” (a rating of 1.3 in the key demo) and “The Mindy Project” (with a rating of 1.0 in the key demo) all saw slight declines from last week.

Fox projects that once delayed viewing is factored in, ratings will lift. The network was No. 5 most-watched in the key demo and overall with a rating of 1.0 and about 2 million viewers.

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