Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 29, 2012.
Led by yet another huge night for “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS led Thursday in all key measures, though the network may have minor concerns that after an 8 p.m. peak, its ratings dipped every half-hour leading to “Elementary” actually tying with ABC’s “Scandal” among young viewers.
Nah. Given the network’s wide margins of Thursday victory, CBS probably isn’t that concerned at all.
For the night, CBS averaged a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49, far ahead of the 2.5 rating for FOX in the key demographic. ABC was third with a 2.1 key demo rating. NBC’s 1.2 key demo rating narrowly held off the 1.1 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, CBS’ margin of victory was far wider as the network averaged 13.39 million viewers and an 8.3 rating/13 share, topping the 4.3/7 and 7.02 million viewers for FOX. ABC was a close third with a 4.6/7 and 6.86 million viewers, with NBC lagging in fourth with a 2.3/4 and 3.4 million viewers. The CW averaged a 1.7/3 and 2.68 million viewers for Thursday primetime.
[Note that The CW’s regular programming was preempted by NFL football in Atlanta and high school football in Baltimore.]
8 p.m. – “The Big Bang Theory” (17.15 million viewers and a 5.4 key demo) and “Two and a Half Men” (13.81 million viewers and a 4.1 key demo) dominated the 8 p.m. hour for CBS. [Thankfully, “Two and a Half Men” was completely flat from its last airing, saving pundits from having to do Angus T. Jones-based analysis.] FOX’s “The X Factor” was a distant second with 8.23 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating. ABC’s “Last Resort” averaged 5.2 million viewers for third and a 1.0 key demo rating for fifth in its first episode since being cancelled. NBC was fourth overall and in the demo with “30 Rock” (3.61 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating) and “Up All Night” (2.97 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating). [Hopefully we won’t bend over backwards to pretend “30 Rock” got any sort of bump from Liz Lemon’s nuptials.] The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” is probably a little inflated by preemptions, but still finished third with a 1.5 key demo rating and a close fifth with 3.2 million viewers.
9 p.m. – “Person of Interest” kept CBS in first overall with 14.33 million viewers, but dropped to second with a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was tops in the key demo with a 3.0 rating for “Grey’s Anatomy,” which came in second with 8.71 million viewers. FOX’s “Glee” averaged 5.8 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating in third. NBC was fourth with “The Office” (3.89 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo) and “Parks and Recreation” (3.04 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo). The CW’s “Beauty and the Beast” averaged 2.15 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Elementary” finished CBS’ overall sweep with 10.36 million viewers, but tied for the lead among adults 18-49 with a 2.2 rating. ABC’s “Scandal” averaged 6.67 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating for second overall and a first place tie in the demo. NBC’s “Rock Center” averaged only 3.44 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.