FX’s ‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’ Premiere Delivers 8.3 Million Viewers

FX’s American Horror Story: Roanoke scared up more than 8 million viewers in its Sept. 14 premiere.

The sixth season of the American Horror Story franchise drew 8.3 million total viewers and 5.6 million adult 18-49 watchers in Nielsen Live +3 ratings, the third most watched telecast in franchise history, according to network officials.

In Nielsen Live+same day ratings, the show averaged 5.1 million viewers, making it the most watched entertainment show for the week of Sept. 12 to Sept. 18. The series debut also helped FX finish third among all cable networks in primetime among adults 18-49 for the week with 621,000 viewers, topped only by TBS and weekly leader ESPN.

The sports network was also the most watched network among total viewers for the week, averaging 3.3 million viewers and besting Fox News’ 2.4 million viewers. HGTV was third with 1.5 million viewers, followed by TBS with 1.4 million watchers.

USA Network was fifth with 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC, History and Investigation Discovery (all tied with 1.1 million viewers), and TNT and FX (tied with 1 million viewers.)

Fox News was the most watched network on a 24-hour basis for the fifth consecutive week, besting ESPN, Nickelodeon, Adult Swim and HGTV.

Most Watched Shows For The Week of Sept. 12 to Sept. 18

Date Show                                                 Network                  Total viewers

9/12   NFL Football—Pitt/Wash                 ESPN                         12.9 million

9/12   NFL Football –LA/SF                      ESPN                         10.2 million  

9/14   American Horror Story                    FX                               5.1 million

913     The O’Reilly Factor                       Fox News                    3.6 million

9/18   Fear The Walking Dead                 AMC                            3.6 million

9/15   NFL Football – NYJ/Buff                NFL Network               3.3 million

9/14   The O’Reilly Factor                        Fox News                    3.3 million  

9/12   Major Crimes                                 TNT                             3.2 million

9/12   The O’Reilly Factor                        Fox News                   3.2 million

9/13   The Kelly File                                 Fox News                  3.2 million

Source: Nielsen