TV Ratings: ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 4 Premieres to Series Low Numbers, Still Tops Wednesday

Will Thorne
·2 min read

“The Masked Singer” kicked off its fourth season last night with the Dragon being the first contestant eliminated, as the show itself didn’t quite breathe the ratings fire it has done in the past.

Last night’s premiere scored a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 and drew 5.4 million total viewers. While that was enough to win the night ratings-wise, it also represents a series low for “The Masked Singer” in both metrics. The previous low was a 1.6, while last season closed off with a 2.3, for comparison. Right afterwards, fellow Ken Jeong show “I Can See Your Voice” debuted to a 1.1 rating and 4.5 million total viewers, a solid retention rate from its lead-in.

There are plenty of possible explanation for these low numbers, including a general decline in linear TV viewership, and the COVID-19 crisis coinciding with a decreased in PUT levels.

“America’s Got Talent” doubtless also felt those effects on Wednesday night, as the show’s season finale only managed a 0.8 rating and 6.3 million total viewers. That’s roughly even with Tuesday’s episode, but does compare unfavorably with last season’s finale, which came in at a 1.4. The loss of judge Simon Cowell to injury likely also played a part.

Over on CBS, “Big Brother” ticked up slightly to a 1.1 rating and just over 4 million total viewers, followed by “Love Island,” which also gained a fraction from last episode, coming in with a 0.6 and 1.9 million viewers. In the 10 p.m. time slot, the limited run series “48 Hours: Suspicions” delivered a 0.4 rating and just under 2 million pairs of eyeballs.

ABC aired “Guardians of the Galaxy” to a 0.4 rating and 2 million viewers, followed by a “Goldbergs” replay, which scored a 0.2 and just under 1 million.

The finale of “Coroner” found a small heartbeat for the CW, coming in with a 0.1 rating and 707,000 viewers. “The 100” preceded it with the same rating and 569,000 viewers.

More from Variety

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.