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While all of your nerdy and obsessive TV friends were arguing whether Game of Thrones or Twin Peaks won Sunday night’s TV war, there was a far more decisive battle raging between the networks. Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly premiered its fifth episode, and the series’ ratings were again beaten by both 60 Minutes and America’s Funniest Home Videos. What a time to be alive.
Whereas Sunday Night saw about 3.1 million viewers, 60 Minutes won the 7 p.m. slot with 5.9 million viewers. America’s Funniest Home Videos came in at a close second with 4.25 million viewers. Both series also beat Sunday Night in the 18-49 ratings share with 0.6 and 0.7 respectively against Sunday Night‘s 0.4. Really, the only major series Sunday Night beat was Bob’s Burgers, which has always coasted on low ratings and its rabid fan base.
Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly premiered to much hype on NBC at the beginning of June, but as the show continues, it’s becoming more and more evident that this wasn’t a great bet. Kelly’s newest show had a strong launch which included a coveted interview with Vladimir Putin. That first episode saw 6.14 million viewers, but the show has been slipping ever since that first interview. The show’s decline has been so pronounced that this first episode was the only time Sunday Night was able to get higher ratings than a never-ending documentary show. Even Kelly’s much-discussed interview with Alex Jones — which seemed like a outrage-fueled ratings grab — only pulled in 3.53 million viewers. This past Sunday’s ratings marked a new low for the series.
There are a lot of lessons we can learn from the steady decline into certain failure that is Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly. However, I think the best thing we can take away from this ordeal is to never lead with Putin. Expectations that get set too high too soon always end in disappointment.
