Fast National ratings for Tuesday, May 15, 2012.
NBC got another strong night of sweeps contributions from Howard Stern’s debut week on “America’s Got Talent,” but a strong “NCIS” and two hours of “NCIS: Los Angeles” helped CBS hold onto Tuesday wins among young viewers and overall.
Meanwhile, two hours of “Glee” didn’t get a Lindsay Lohan bump, while ABC’s departing “Cougar Town” and The CW’s struggling “The L.A. Complex” limped to new lows.
For the night, CBS averaged a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49, beating the 2.8 rating for NBC and FOX’s 2.5 rating in the key demographic. ABC averaged a 1.7 key demo rating, far ahead of the 0.4 rating for The CW.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 16.32 million viewers and a 10.3 rating/16 share for Tuesday primetime, far ahead of the 5.3/8 and 8.58 million viewers for NBC. ABC was third with a 5.3/8 and 7.775 million viewers, with FOX’s 6.03 million viewers and 3.6/6 good for fourth. The CW averaged 828,000 viewers and a 0.6/1 for the night.
[Univision averaged 4.06 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 for Tuesday night.]
8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first by a wide margin with 18.7 million viewers and a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49 for the “NCIS” finale. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” was a distant second overall with 10.36 million viewers and a close second with a 3.1 key demo rating. FOX’s “Glee” averaged 6.03 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating, still way ahead of the 3.33 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for two episodes of “Cougar Town” on ABC. The CW’s “90210” finale averaged 1.09 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating, down from last week.
9 p.m. – The first hour of CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles” finale won the 9 p.m. hour overall with 15.16 million viewers and finished second with a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” results slipped to 12.94 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating. “America’s Got Talent” was up to 10.46 million viewers and a 3.6 key demo rating in its second hour. FOX’s “Glee” averaged 6.03 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating for its second episode. On The CW, “The L.A. Complex” averaged only 565,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “NCIS: Los Angeles” closed its season with 15.09 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49, easily ruling the 10 p.m. hour. ABC’s “Private Practice” finale rose with 7.05 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating. NBC trailed with the 4.92 million viewers and 1.6 key demo rating for “Fashion Star.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.