Thursday TV Ratings 4/30/20: Parks & Rec Special Strong, Council of Dads Premiere Embarrassing, Moving Millionaire and Young Sheldon Finale Rise (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: In a stunning turn of events, NBC's 'Parks & Recreation' reunion special (1.4) demolished the competition and was the top program of the night. This number would have been a high-end result for its 6th OR 7th season, with the 6th averaging a 1.16 A18-49 rating & the 7th a 1.33. It also tied the second-half of its series finale all the way back in 2015. The broadcast led out of a Paley Salute of itself (1.0), the latter was still strong enough to beat out all NBC comedy ratings from the 2019-20 television season. Unfortunately, that lead-in juice was wasted on a 'Council of Dads' repeat (0.4) at 9 and an original 'Council' (0.3) at 10. The drama fell four-tenths from an already feeble opener. 

The added comedy competition didn't seem to phase the season three finale of 'Young Sheldon' (1.1). The CBS sitcom ticked up from its last episode but still trailed its year-ago closer (2.1). The 'Big Bang' spinoff led into a full hour of 'Man with a Plan' (0.7/0.7) & steady showings of 'Broke' (0.6) and 'Tommy' (0.5). ABC rescued 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' by taking it out of the dreadful 10pm slot and placing it on Thursdays at 8. Their efforts paid off as the 0.8 rating it posted was three-tenths above its last episode and above all its showings aside from the 'Modern Family'-boosted debut (1.1). It led into 'Station 19' (0.9) which shed three-tenths and tied its season low. The alphabet network capped off the night with an even 'How To Get Away with Murder' (0.6). 'Last Man Standing' (0.7) quietly closed out its eighth season on Fox. While steady on a week-to-week basis, it was two-tenths below its season seven finale (0.9). The CW had stable 'Katy Keene' (0.1) and 'In the Dark' (0.1).

Finals Update: All shows held their preliminary ratings.

Time	Show	18-49 Rating/Share	Viewers (mil)	Channel
8 PM	Young Sheldon (F)	1.1/7	10.14	CBS
	Paley Center Salutes Parks and Recreation	1.0/6	3.25	NBC
	Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?	0.8/5	6.21	ABC
	Last Man Standing (F)	0.7/4	4.25	Fox
	Katy Keene	0.1/1	0.40	The CW
8:30 PM	Parks and Recreation	1.4/8	3.64	NBC
	Man With a Plan	0.7/4	6.59	CBS
	Last Man Standing (R)	0.5/3	2.74	Fox
9 PM	Station 19	0.9/5	5.58	ABC
	Man With a Plan	0.7/4	6.07	CBS
	Council of Dads (R) Mental Samurai (R)	0.4/2 0.3/2	1.76 1.53	NBC Fox
	In the Dark	0.1/0	0.39	The CW
9:30 PM	Broke	0.6/3	5.07	CBS
10 PM	How To Get Away With Murder	0.6/4	2.77	ABC
	Tommy	0.5/3	5.10	CBS
	Council of Dads	0.3/2	2.01	NBC

Key:
(R) = repeat

(F) = finale

Schedule Theory #1: Air Niche Comedies on Friday

Remember my theory: With stability and compatibility come reliability. However, I do indeed have some more specific ideas when it comes to scheduling, all of which are very much developing. The first one: to air niche comedies on Friday.

To clarify, I will define a niche comedy as a comedy which appeals to a very small but loyal fanbase, and is designed to be that way. For example, shows such as 30 Rock and Park & Recreation seemingly had the purpose of appealing to a very specific audience, whereas a show like Modern Family has an easier time at reaching a broader population.

Now this in particular is kind of bold, as in recent years, there really haven't been too many niche comedies air on Fridays. However, I still believe that it is idea worth exploring. Advertisers obviously want to receive full benefits for the amount of money they invest to place a 30-second ad during a show, and while some advertisements may be geared more specifically toward that niche comedy audience, I'm very willing to bet that they would want a broader show to air on a Sunday-Thursday night rather than on the lower-viewed Friday.

Let's make an example. You, the reader, also happen to be an executive at Ford, and want to advertise the newest Fusion car via a 30-second ad. Since you work for one of the biggest car companies in the country, you have plenty of money to invest in an ad. Since a Ford car is more likely to reach a broad audience, and broader shows have a higher chance of receiving higher ratings.

So, back to your ad: you place it during a broad new show that has potential to reach a large audience--except for the fact that it airs on Friday and is consistently fractional. Meanwhile, you have a niche comedy airing on a Sunday-Thursday night, which is disappointing in the ratings for those days, but has a larger chance of maintaining its loyal audience on a move to Friday. Moreover, that broad show could easily grow its ratings if time slots were swapped. It's a win-win situation for both the network and the advertiser.

Now I'm not trying to suggest that all of a sudden we move Bob's Burgers, The Last Man on Earth, and New Girl (when it premieres, at least) to Fridays--that would go against the Rule of Stability.

What I am trying to suggest is that networks may want to try to premiere newer shows on the night, or perhaps move an existing, but relatively new, show that is underperforming on a weeknight in the educated hopes that it will keep more of its audience percentage-wise than many other shows on a Friday move. That latter example at its best would be a prime example of the Rule of Reliability. Now we just need to find a show that's compatible with it and we're all set!

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The first test to my hypothesis? Undateable Live!