The debut of Megyn Kelly‘s Fox special, Megyn Kelly Presents, faced huge competition but drew a respectable 4.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen preliminary ratings data out Wednesday. Viewership will grow when other Nielsen metrics are factored in for delayed viewing.
The 8 p.m. hour was dominated, however, by the season finale of NCIS on CBS, featuring the departure of actor Michael Weatherly. NCIS was first overall with 17.6 million total viewers–more than triple the ratings for Kelly’s special. NBC’s The Voice was second with 8.9 million viewers overall, while ABC fell to fourth with Fresh Off the Boat (4.2 million total viewers) and The Real O’Neals (3.3 million total viewers). The NBA playoffs also brought TV competition.
The special–featuring Kelly’s much-discussed interview with Donald Trump–helped grow the Fox 8 p.m. timeslot 140 percent in viewers from the previous week. The numbers were also double what Kelly gets on an average night of The Kelly File on Fox News Channel. The special also outdrew Fox News at 8pm, which last night was primary night coverage anchored by Bret Baier. The 8pm hour on FNC averaged 2.47 million viewers.