TV Ratings: FOX’s Britney Spears Thursday crushes NBC’s comedy premieres

Fast National ratings for Thursday, September 20, 2012.
A second straight night of rising ratings for “The X Factor,” plus a Britney Spears-themed episode of “Glee” helped FOX roll to easy ratings wins on Thursday night, topping unimpressive premieres for NBC’s comedy lineup, including “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.”
Note that the “Britney 2.0” episode of “Glee” didn’t come close to matching the ratings for the first Spears-inspired episode and that while “X Factor” was up from last week, “Glee” was down.
For the night, FOX averaged a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49, easily tops in the key demographic. Repeat-driven CBS averaged a 1.8 rating in the key demo, beating the 1.5 key demo rating for NBC’s new Thursday. ABC averaged a 1.2 key demo rating and The CW did a sports-inflated 0.5 key demo rating.
Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 8.63 million viewers and a 5.2 rating/8 share for Thursday night, beating the 4.9/8 and 7.39 million viewers for CBS. NBC took third with a 2.7/4 and 4.04 million viewers, nipping ABC’s 2.6/4 and 3.98 million viewers. The CW averaged an unreliable 0.9/1 and 1.33 million viewers.
8 p.m. – “The X Factor” started primetime in first for FOX with 9.85 million viewers and a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” were second with 8.5 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating. ABC’s “Wipeout” was third overall with 4.35 million viewers and tied for third with a 1.4 key demo rating. NBC got OK numbers for a “Saturday Night Live” special (5.16 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo) and less impressive numbers for the return of “Up All Night” (3.14 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo), which will both be hard-pressed to hold even that high next week with CBS’ comedies premiering. A repeat of “The Vampire Diaries” averaged an inflated 1.19 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “Glee” won the 9 p.m. hour for FOX with 7.42 million viewers and a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ repeats of “Two and a Half Men” finished second overall with 7.08 million viewers and third with a 1.8 key demo rating. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” repeat was third overall with 4.18 million viewers and fourth with a 1.3 key demo rating. NBC was fourth overall with the premiere of the final season of “The Office” (4.32 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating) and the return of “Parks and Recreation” (3.52 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating). [You don’t need advanced numbers to tell you those ratings aren’t good and could drop next week against ABC and CBS’ premieres.] The CW’s “The Next” averaged 1.47 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating with a little outside help.
10 p.m. – CBS moved into first for the 10 p.m. hour with 6.585 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 for a repeat of “Person of Interest.” NBC’s new “Rock Center” was second with 4.05 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, edging out the 3.415 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for ABC’s repeat of “Scandal.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.
×