Fox scored a huge ratings win with the 'X-Files' revival
Even though the episode started later than expected after the NFC Championship game between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers, the series attracted 13.5 million viewers and a 5.1 rating in the advertiser-c0veted 18-to-49-year-old audience, according to Variety.
That's a pretty good live viewing number these days. For comparison, Fox's highest-rated series, "Empire," averages 12.3 million viewers and a 4.77 rating. And the show's final-season finale about 13 years ago was viewed by 13.3 million people.
Variety believes "The X-Files" could have gotten more viewers if the game had been a closer match and more dramatic. Instead, the Panthers beat the Cardinals 49 to 15.
Fox placed a lot of marketing dollars behind "The X-Files" revival. It began promoting the show 10 months ago, according to TheWrap, with early screenings, teasers, and trailers. On Friday, it actually "crashed" a UFO at popular L.A. shopping center the Grove.
On Monday, Fox will air the second episode of "The X-Files" revival at 8 p.m. with the hope that it will boost the 9 p.m. premiere of new series "Lucifer," which is based on the DC comic.