'Enterprise' Rates Fourth In Overnights

See Also: 'Shockwave, Part II' Episode Guide

The launch of UPN's 'Out Of This World Wednesday' secured solid ratings for the network, with Enterprise's season premiere coming fourth in its timeslot.

'Shockwave, Part II' averaged a 4.9 overnight rating and an 8 share, according to Mediaweek. This means that approximately 4.9% of American households with television sets were tuned in Enterprise, while the season premiere was viewed by 8% of households watching television at the time. These ratings are identical to the overnight numbers scored by 'Shockwave', which went on to achieve a 3.3/6 final rating.

Enterprise beat a repeat of Ed (4.3/7) and the film 'Blue Streak' (3.3/5) to come fourth overall in the 8-9 p.m. timeslot. However, the show was no match for the season premieres of the The Bernie Mac Show (7.0/11) and Cedric The Entertainer Presents (7.1/11), followed by My Wife and Kids repeats and Big Brother 3, which both scored a 6.8/11.

Last year, Enterprise scored a 9.1/13 overnight for series premiere 'Broken Bow', which secured UPN its second most-watched night ever after 1995's Voyager debut. Not only do these ratings represent a 46% drop from the two-hour premiere, but they are also 18% less than the 6.0/9 overnight scored by Voyager's season seven opener, 'Unimatrix Zero, Part II.'

Although Enterprise often figured among media analyst Marc Berman's list of "winners" for the night last season, he said the viewership for the premiere was "disappointing." Berman wrote that "while it's fair to point out a reasonably healthy fourth-place finish for the second season opener of UPN's Enterprise at 8 p.m. (4.9/8), it's also important to note that the series kicked off with a 9.1/13 on Sept, 26, 2001. For those of you who think it's unfair to compare Enterprise to its inflated two-hour series launch, note that episodes two through four averaged a still considerably higher 6.9/10 last season."

The series premiere of The Twilight Zone took advantage of Enterprise's lead-in, scoring a 4.6 overnight rating and a 7 share. This represents only a 6% drop-off from Enterprise's viewership, although the strong premiere could be due to UPN debuting the new 'Star Trek Nemesis' trailer during the anthology series. Nevertheless, these ratings represent an 18% increase on the numbers scored by the previous occupant of the 9-10 p.m. timeslot, Special Unit 2, which only managed a 3.9/5 for its season premiere last year. Berman made special note of the "audience erosion" during the The Twilight Zone - while the first half-hour scored a 4.9/8, the second half dropped to a 4.4/7.

Overall UPN scored a 4.8/7 with their Enterprise/Twilight Zone line-up, ahead of big sister CBS (4.6/7) and principal competitor the WB, which came last with a 3.3/5. NBC won the night with a 7.6/12, followed by Fox (7.0/11) and ABC (6.9/11).

Please note that these ratings are garnered only from the top 53 overnight markets, with full national ratings expected to be available within a week. As Star Trek has traditionally performed better in the larger urban markets, there is usually a drop between the overnights and the final ratings.

The original article can be found here at Mediaweek, with more information available at The Futon Critic.

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