February 08, 2016 11:06am PT by Michael O'Connell
Courtesy of Ray Mickshaw/FXThe original telecast nabs 8.3 million viewers with initial time-shifting — and 12 million with the addition of two encores.
Promising live tune-in panned out for FX's The People v. O.J. Simpson. The miniseries' premiere, the first in a string of planned American Crime Story anthologies, has climbed to an all-time high for the network.
The first run premiere jumped to 8.3 million viewers and 4.2 million adults 18-49 in live-plus-three day ratings. That out-delivers previous series premiere highs set among total viewers (The Shield and Justified) and the key demo (The Shield and American Horror Story: Murder House).
What it does not outpace is the kick-off of the recent two cycles of American Horror Story. Freak Show (2014) and Hotel (2015) averaged a respective 10 and 9.1 million viewers in live-plus-three day ratings.
FX is casting a wider net in its reporting of the O.J. ratings. A Monday release from the network also lumped two encores into the premiere episode haul-to-date, which brings the audience to a total 12 million viewers and 6.1 million adults 18-49.
The People v. O.J. Simpson continues its ten-week run on Tuesdays.
TV Ratings