Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 10, 2011.
CBS was confident enough about its Thursday position to air two hours of repeats during the key November sweeps period and still win the night overall, thanks to “The Big Bang Theory,” which continued to hold its place the evening’s most watched show in most key measures, rising week to week. Perhaps the big “Bang” partially explains a big drop for the the season’s second Thursday “X Factor” results episode, though FOX still capitalized on the CBS repeats to top the night among young viewers.
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 3.0 rating, holding off CBS’ 2.8 rating and the 2.7 rating for ABC in the key demographic. NBC was fourth with a 1.8 rating, followed by The CW’s 1.1 rating.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 10.94 million viewers in primetime along with a 6.8 rating/11 share. FOX was second with 9.51 million viewers and a 5.7/9, easily topping ABC’s 5.4/8 and 7.99 million viewers. There was the usual big drop to NBC’s 2.9/5 and 4.48 million viewers and then to The CW’s 1.7/3 and 2.74 million.
8 p.m. – CBS led the 8 p.m. hour in all measures thanks to “The Big Bang Theory” (15.69 million viewers and a 5.2 key demo rating) and “Rules of Engagement” (11.775 million viewers and a 3.6 key demo). FOX’s “The X Factor” was second with just under 10.2 million viewers and a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s deceased “Charlie’s Angels” was third with 5.13 million viewers and fifth with a 1.1 key demo rating. NBC was fourth with drops for “Community” (3.465 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo) and “Parks and Recreation” (3.59 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo). The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 3.33 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating for its fall finale.
9 p.m. – ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” took advantage of CBS’ repeat in the hour to average 11.17 million viewers and a 4.0 rating among adults 18-49, posting big week-to-week gains. CBS’ repeat of “Person of Interest” still took second overall with 9.1 million viewers and fourth with a 2.0 key demo rating. FOX’s “Bones” slipped from last week’s premiere to 8.83 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating. NBC was fourth overall and third in the key demo with “The Office” (5.88 million and a 3.0 key demo) and “Whitney” (4.3 million and a 2.1 key demo). The CW’s “The Secret Circle” averaged 2.16 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating).
10 p.m. – A repeat of “The Mentalist” won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 10.01 million viewers, but finished second with a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. “Private Practice” was up to 7.67 million viewers and a 2.9 key demo rating without “Mentalist” competition. Even NBC’s “Prime Suspect” went up slightly to 4.81 million viewers, though its 1.2 key demo rating was flat.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.