Fox’s “Empire” keeps rising.
After a stellar season two debut on Wednesday, the Fox hip-hop hit saw a huge boost in its audience when accounting for viewers who watched in the days following.
The season two premiere of “Empire” went from 16.2 million viewers who watched live to 22.5 million viewers who watched within three days of the debut. That includes those watching on TV and via streaming, according to Fox.
That’s a jump of nearly 40% for the addicting drama starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson.
Of the 22.5 million that tuned in within three days, almost 3 million watched via video-on-demand and online streaming on “Fox NOW” and Hulu.
“Empire” also saw a big growth in the prized advertising demographic of those aged 18 to 49 years going from a rating of 6.7 to 8.7.
Delayed viewing has become the new norm for many in the TV industry as more and more viewers watch their favorite programs days after it premieres.
“Empire” isn’t the only Fox show to see a huge boost in the viewership follow its scheduled broadcast.
“Scream Queens,” the network’s new horror comedy that debuted last Tuesday, saw its 4 million audience go up 59% when accounting for viewers who watched on TV within the next three days, Fox said. If you roll in streaming, its audience went up 80% to 7.3 million.
“‘Scream Queens’ is a model for contemporary viewership,” Dana Walden and Gary Newman, chairmen and CEOs of Fox Television Group said in a statement on Sunday. “Not only is the show being watched heavily across multiple platforms, but those viewers watch it with urgency and want to be part of the global conversation before the next episode airs.”
