TV ratings: ‘Big Brother,’ ‘Rising Star’ down; ‘Reckless’ opens low

Sunday’s premiere of CBS’ “Big Brother� and the second week of ABC’s “Rising Star� both delivered diminished ratings, according to early numbers from Nielsen. Meanwhile, CBS’ new legal drama, “Reckless,� premiered to little effect.

The early rankings don’t include cable, where the BET Awards are expected to prove a big draw. That was certainly the case last year, when the telecast boasted 7.6 million viewers.

But on the four major broadcast networks, “Big Brother� was the top show among young-adult viewers. It earned a rating of 1.8 among the key demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds while averaging 5.76 million viewers overall. That’s down from the 2.3 rating it notched on Thursday (In 18-49, a ratings point equates to about 1.3 million viewers.)

“Rising Star,� ABC’s new twist on the singing contest format, nabbed a 1.2 in 18-49, down about 20% from its premiere last week. Still, the two-hour, Josh Groban-hosted sing-off beat its original time period competition on NBC and CBS in the key demographic, while its total viewership came in at 4.7 million people.

After “Big Brother,� the Southern drama “Reckless� premiered with 4.1 million viewers and a paltry 0.7 rating in 18-49, followed by a steady launch for “Unforgettable’s� Season 2 that brought in 6.15 million people watching. Its 0.9 rating was in line with an original episode that aired in April — not a great number, but an improvement on its lead-in.

NBC put up a special episode of “Last Comic Standing� that was just a tenth of a point behind “Rising Star� among viewers ages 18 to 49.

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder