How ‘The Flash’ Turned CW Into a Ratings Contender on Tuesdays

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https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/flash-tur...164407007.html

The CW outran Fox and ABC in the Nov. 10 ratings race, scoring a third-place finish among English-language broadcasters in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. For most of the other networks, that would mean room for improvement. For the CW, it represented a historic high. The network had not finished above fourth place on a night in which all the English-language broadcasters aired only original episodes since 2008.

Whether it can duplicate the feat Tuesday night will depend on whether its strongest show can maintain its momentum and how well its competitors can recover after stumbling in the first months of the season.

The CW’s isn’t built to challenge the Big Four on a nightly basis. Its primary focus for advertisers has been on the 18-34 demo; its business model is based largely on a lucrative licensing deal with Netflix. But it leaped to the middle of the pack for one night last week thanks to its hottest and most consistent performer: “The Flash.”

From the time it premiered in 2014, “The Flash” has been the highest rated show in the CW’s nine-year history. On Nov. 10, the DC superhero show drew a 1.5 live-plus-same day rating among viewers 18-49, good enough to finish third in the 8 p.m. time period behind NBC’s “The Voice” and CBS’ “NCIS.”

More importantly, it was the fifth highest rated show of the evening out of 14 broadcast episodes. No Fox or ABC show outperformed “The Flash.”