Fast National ratings for Thursday, February 13, 2014.
A smattering over coverage from the men’s figure skating short program helped NBC’s Thursday Sochi Winter Olympics coverage rise slightly from Wednesday’s block. The Sochi numbers were still well below what NBC was drawing earlier in the week, but still easily dominated Thursday primetime.
The night’s only other original programming came on FOX, where “American Idol” dipped below 10 million viewers and also dipped below a 3.0 in the key demo. While “Idol” edged out CBS’ “Big Bang Theory” repeat among young viewers, the “Big Bang” repeat dominated overall. It’s the tiniest of silver linings for FOX, but “Rake” didn’t slip any further in its latest airing.
Oh. Wait. ABC’s “The Taste” is also original programming. It drew “Oops, we left the TV on to ABC” numbers on par with Tuesday’s “Killer Women.”
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 5.9 rating for Thursday night, ruling the key demographic. FOX was a distant second with a 2.0 key demo rating, followed by CBS’ 1.6 key demo rating. ABC averaged a 0.8 key demo rating for fourth, beating the 0.3 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 22.87 million viewers and a 13.4 rating/21 share for Thursday primetime. CBS was far back in second with 7.02 million viewers and a 4.3/7, edging out the 6.96 million viewers and 4.2/6 for FOX for the night. ABC’s 2.78 million and 1.8/3 topped the 1.055 million viewers and 0.7/1 for The CW.
8 p.m. – The first primetime hour of NBC’s Olympics coverage averaged 20.67 million viewers and a 5.0 rating among adults 18-49 to lead the 8 p.m. frame. FOX’s “American Idol” was second with 9.875 million viewers and a 2.9 key demo rating. CBS was third with repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” (11.77 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating) and “The Millers” (7.53 million and a 1.8 key demo). ABC’s “The Taste” was fourth with 3.02 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, ahead of the 1.06 million viewers for a repeat of “The Originals” on The CW.
9 p.m. – The second hour over Sochi action rose to 25.08 million viewers and a 6.6 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC. CBS was second with repeats of “The Crazy Ones” and “Two and a Half Men” averaging 5.28 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, topping the 4.04 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for FOX’s “Rake.” ABC’s “The Taste” averaged 3.06 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating in its second hour, again at least beating the 1.05 million viewers and 0.3 key demo rating for The CW’s “Arrow” repeat.
10 p.m. – NBC completed its sweep with 22.92 million viewers and a 6.2 rating among adults 18-49 for 10 p.m. Olympics coverage. CBS’ repeat of “Elementary” averaged 6.14 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, well in front of the 2.26 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for ABC’s “Scandal” repeat.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.