Though there have been more general talent-based reality shows on TV in recent years, Fox's The Masked Singer proved that singing competitions are still more than capable of bringing in mass audiences. One has to wonder if everyone at the network truly expected just how massive the audiences could get. In the case of the two-hour Season 1 finale, for instance, The Masked Singer not only hit its own monster season highs, but it completely crushed the rest of the competition.
Viewership Totals
When it comes to all-around audience numbers, The Masked Singer managed to climb up and beat out all of its Wednesday night competition. That includes NBC's winning trifecta of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., as well as CBS' Survivor and ABC's official premiere for Whiskey Cavalier, which technically debuted with a late-night post-Oscars sneak preview.
When it comes to the official numbers, The Masked Singer's two-part finale was watched by over 11.44 million people, which is definitely the biggest single-night audience of the mystery-driven series' season. Previously, the most-watched episode was The Masked Singer's premiere back in January. It was watched by around 9.36 million viewers. The finale's viewer total was 37% higher than the previous week's, as well.
Expect those final numbers to be quite a bit larger by next week, however. The Masked Singer has been very dependable when it comes to delayed viewing. Nearly every episode measured for Live+7 stats had viewership totals boosted by at least another three million viewers. Maybe people were rewatching with friends to go over all the different clues together.
The Demo Rating
High viewerships will always look great to network execs, but the real power is embedded within the key demographic ratings for viewers aged 18-49. The Masked Singer maintained highly impressive ratings from week to week, handily knocking out the competition in each of its previous eight weeks. That didn't change for the finale, either.
In fact, The Masked Singer once again toppled its own previous season highs. According to Deadline, the finale earned an enviable 3.6 demo rating, which was a 33% increase over the previous week's stat. Eliminating two contestants before crowning a grand champion is definitely a good way to bring in a crowd, even when two of those contestants are older than the demographic's brackets.
Similar to the jump in viewership numbers that comes with delayed viewing, The Masked Singer's demo rating also enjoys such benefits. Since the premiere, each episode has earned at least a 1.2-point jump in the ratings thanks to Live+7 adjustments.
Fox's Season-High Numbers
The Masked Singer's two-hour finale was not only a huge win for that show's producers but for all of Fox's TV execs. As it was stated, the reality show took the top spot with total viewership and the 18-49 demo ratings, and it was also the highest rated show of the night in terms of adults 18-34 and teen viewers.
What's more, it's reported that Fox actually posted the highest-rated night of the season among any network, at least whenever nights with sports and awards shows are excluded from the measurements. That 3.6 rating could be harder than expected for any other shows to top on broadcast networks, where viewers skew older.
If these numbers are anything to go by, Fox might attempt to extend the fun with The Masked Singer Season 2 by adding more contestants and episodes to the fun. Or, if the producers decide to keep the set-up the same, Fox may want to get two seasons a years out of the immaculately costumed guessing game.
For now, The Masked Singer has wrapped up its first season, and we'll probably be waiting a short while to hear about any Season 2 details. And even then, how many details is anyone really going to find out? Stay tuned for more, and let us know in the comments how well you guys did at guessing the first season's celebs.
