Local & National Audiences Tune Into FOX for Joe Millionaire Finale

FOX50 brought in big numbers with the finale to the hit reality show Joe Millionaire on Monday, February 17, 2003. The Triangle station garnered an 18.7 rating and 23 share with the one-hour special to rank as the #1 program in the market for the night.

The lead-in Joe Millionaire Special ran at 8pm with a 13.3 rating and a 17 share. The finale itself ran at 9pm. The next highest rated program in the 8-10pm time period was Everybody Loves Raymond on FOX50’s sister-station WRAL-TV, a CBS affiliate. Raymond brought in a 12.2 share and 15 rating.

Joe Millionaire ends the FOX50 February Sweeps period with a 13.2 rating, up +159% over the same time period last year.

“Fox’s ratings across the board Monday looked more like the numbers that NBC or CBS post on Thursday nights, only bigger,” raved Broadcasting & Cable reporter Steve McClellan.

Joe Millionaire followed Evan Marriott, a construction worker with an annual income of $19K, as he chose from among 20 women who believed he had inherited a $50 million fortune. In the final show he chose between the two finalists and broke the news he was, well, broke. As a “consolation prize” both Joe and his lucky pick, Zora, jointly received a $1 million check to share, or split.

Nationally, FOX won Monday night’s ratings with the finale, drawing 40 million viewers and scoring a 20.4 rating and 40 share among adult 18-49, a mere 10 rating points behind ABC’s average in the age group on Super Bowl Sunday.