Preliminary Analysis: Self-proclaimed "ratings machine" President Donald Trump sat down with ABC's George Stephanopoulos for a special 90-minute town hall and delivered a pretty respectable 0.6 A18-49 rating. Trump stuck to his word regarding his ability to conjure up Nielsens by doubling the 'Modern Family' repeat (0.3) that came before it. After the Trump town hall came a 10:30pm repeat of 'The Conners' (0.3) that shed half its lead-in. Considering the president's rosy history with Roseanne Barr, it probably wasn't the best scheduling move to have the Barr-less spinoff lead out of a program featuring the Donald.
While Trump pulled solid numbers, it was 'Big Brother' (1.0) that once more took the top spot of the night. The CBS program shed a tenth from its last episode but continues to be of the few shows to consistently pull ratings in this vicinity. 'Love Island' (0.5) gained a precious tenth at 9pm but a 10pm repeat of 'FBI: Most Wanted' (0.2) fell dramatically from there.
NBC received a welcome surprise as new drama 'Transplant' (0.5) actually gained a tenth in its third week. It managed to do so even as its 'America's Got Talent' lead-in (0.7) lost a tenth. This definitely puts 'Transplant' in a far better position than it was two weeks ago. Fox remained in repeat-mode with 'Hell's Kitchen' (0.3) and 'Prodigal Son' (0.2). The CW had steady editions of 'Dead Pixels' (0.1) and 'Tell Me a Story' (0.1).
