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    Finale of “Empire” draws 17.6 million viewers

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments937 Views
    In this image released by Fox, Jussie Smollett, left, and Terrence Howard appear in a scene from the season one finale of "Empire." (AP Photo/FOX, Chuck Hodes)

    By David Bauder, Television Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    With a standard-setting finale to its first season reaching 17.6 million viewers, Fox's music business drama "Empire" has proven that it's still possible for broadcast television to create big hits.

    That's how many people watched the second of two one-hour episodes on Wednesday night. The first hour was seen by 15.8 million people, the Nielsen company said.

    When "Empire" debuted in January, its first-night audience was a healthy but not remarkable 9.9 million. It proceeded to gain viewers for every single succeeding episode through the 12th and final one Wednesday night, a feat Nielsen said is unmatched in two dozen years of estimating viewership through electronic people meters.

    On the final episode, music family patriarch Lucious Lyon, played by actor Terrence Howard, learns that he doesn't actually have ALS as he had thought. He also anoints middle son Jamal as the heir to the family business, angering his other sons Andre and Hakeem in the process.

    Not since "Grey's Anatomy" in 2005 has a television drama reached so many people for the last episode of its premiere season, Nielsen said.

    The viewership estimate doesn't take into account the number of people who will see the show via Internet streams, video on demand and on DVR in the coming days and weeks. Based on viewership gains seen by past "Empire" episodes, Fox estimates that in a month's time more than 27 million people will have watched Wednesday's last episode.

    Facebook said some 4.2 million people accounted for 15.8 million posts, shares and comments on the finale.

    The "Empire" success puts the rookie show among CBS' "NCIS" and AMC's "The Walking Dead" in drama popularity this season. It's a boon for Fox, which has seen former juggernaut "American Idol" continue to recede in popularity and few other shows connecting with viewers. It's heartening for television programmers in general to see a program become a hit at a time most new programs fail.

    "Empire" will be back for a second season, although Fox hasn't said whether it will be in the fall or winter.

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    Tags:EmpireNielsen



    Paramount says China’s Tencent withdrew from its Warner Bros bid to avert national security issues

    Thursday, December 11, 2025
    A man rides past the Tencent headquarters in Beijing, China on Aug. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

    Paramount Skydance says the Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings withdrew from its bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery to avert a possible national security review.

    Paramount's revised filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of its takeover bid said the Chinese company had dropped its $1 billion financing commitment out of concern, since it would be a "non-U.S. equity financing source," that its bid might be subject to a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS. That was even though approval by CFIUS or by the Federal Communications Commission was not a condition of the bid.

    The SEC filing, dated Monday, said that foreign sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, which are providing $24 billion for Paramount's bid, had agreed to give up a right to participate in Warner Bros' management to avoid the additional scrutiny.

    On Monday, Paramount launched a hostile $77.9 billion takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, competing with rival bidder Netflix to buy the company behind HBO, CNN and a famed movie studio.

    Big deals that involve foreign companies are sometimes subject to national security reviews by CFIUS, a U.S. government group chaired by the Treasury Secretary that studies mergers for national-security reasons. It has the power to force companies to change ownership structures or divest completely from the U.S.

    Under former President Joe Biden as well as President Donald Trump, the Treasury Department has sought to strengthen its powers as national security concerns related to foreign investment have increased.

    Tencent is among dozens of Chinese companies that the U.S. Defense Department has included in a list of companies it... Read More

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