Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 27, 2014.
Expect to see a second “Cause For Paws: An All-Star Dog Spectacular” next year, because the FOX special drew solid Thanksgiving ratings, but it still couldn't compete with NBC's telecast of the NFL game between the Seahawks and 49ers.
Airing on Thanksgiving didn't hurt CBS' “Elementary,” which was up from last week in the key demographic, but it did now favors for new episodes of “Mom,” Two and a Half Men” and “The McCarthys,” which falters without “Big Bang Theory” to lead the night.
The “Cause for Paws” numbers are presumably NFL-inflated, while CBS' NFL numbers are inaccurate as per usual.
[Pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday Notes: Due to power outages in New Hampshire, I didn't get to Wednesday's ratings. CBS led both overall and among adults 18-49 thanks to new episodes of “Survivor” (8.93 million and a 2.1 key demo), “Criminal Minds” (10.85 million and a 2.2 key demo) and “Stalker” (8.15 million and a 1.6 key demo). NBC's “Making of Peter Pan Live” drew a weak 3.02 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating. And FOX's new “Hell's Kitchen” (3.47 million and a 1.1 key demo) and “Red Band Society” (2.49 million and a 0.7 key demo) weren't especially impressive.]
On to Thursday's ratings…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 5.6 rating for Thursday night, easily topping primetime in the key demographic. FOX took second with a 1.6 key demo rating, followed by CBS' 1.4 key demo rating. ABC averaged a 0.6 key demo rating to double the 0.3 key demo rating for The CW's Thursday.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 17.28 million viewers and an 8.9 rating/18 share for Thursday. CBS was a distant second with 6.54 million viewers and a 4.0/8, topping FOX's 5.33 million viewers and 2.8/6. There was a drop to ABC's 2.82 million viewers and 1.8/4 and to The CW's 1.01 million viewers and 0.5/1.
8 p.m. – “Football Night in America” and the start of the Seahawks and 49ers averaged 16.85 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC in the 8 p.m. hour. CBS was second overall and third in the key demographic with a “Big Bang Theory” repeat (8 million and a 1.7 key demo) and a new “Mom” (6.89 million and a 1.6 key demo). FOX's “Cause For Paws: An All-Star Dog Spectacular” averaged 6.73 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating, but unless audiences turned on the pops and changed the channel dramatically at 8:30, those numbers are inflated. ABC's “Thank You, America! With Robin Roberts” averaged 3.57 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating, compared to the 925,000 viewers and 0.3 key demo rating for The CW's two “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” repeats.
9 p.m. – NBC's football coverage rose to 19.01 million viewers and a 6.0 rating among adults 18-49 for the 9 p.m. hour. CBS was second with “Two and a Half Men” (6.89 million and a 1.5 key demo) and “The McCarthys” (5.28 million and a 1.1 key demo). FOX's doggie special averaged 3.92 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, topping the 2.32 million viewers and 0.5 key demo rating for ABC's “How To Get Away With Murder” repeat. The CW's two “Whose Line” repeats averaged 1.09 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – Football closed primetime in first with 15.98 million viewers and a 5.5 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC in the 10 p.m. hour. CBS' “Elementary” averaged 5.96 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating. ABC's “How To Get Away With Murder” lagged with 2.58 million viewers and a 0.6 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, particularly in the case of live events.