Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 5, 2012.
All of your favorite shows were down on Thursday night. You name it, it dropped, either in overall viewership or young viewership on a sluggish evening that was won by CBS overall and FOX in the key demographic.
In addition to falls for shows like “American Idol,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Community” and “Touch,” ABC only got a so-so premiere from the new drama “Scandal,” which retained decently from “Grey’s Anatomy,” but won’t instantly make the network forget “Private Practice.”
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 3.0 rating for Thursday night, edging out CBS’ 2.9 rating in the key demographic, though of course CBS won the 8-10 p.m. portion of primetime actually shared by both networks. ABC was third with a 2.1 rating, followed by NBC’s 1.1 rating and the 0.4 rating for The CW.
Overall, though, CBS won the night easily with 12.28 million viewers and a 7.5 rating/13 share. FOX was second with a 6.5/11 and 10.62 million viewers, far ahead of ABC’s 5.1/9 and 7.56 million. NBC averaged a dismal 2.69 million viewers and a 1.8/3 for Thursday primetime, at least beating The CW’s 964,000 and 0.6/1 for repeats.
[Univision averaged 3.57 million viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 for Thursday night.]
8 p.m. – “American Idol” won the 8 p.m. hour for FOX with 13.785 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second with “The Big Bang Theory” (13.05 million viewers and a 4.2 key demo rating, beating “Idol”) and “Rules of Engagement” (8.79 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating). ABC’s “Missing” averaged 7.16 million viewers, down from last week, and a steady 1.4 key demo rating. NBC was far back in fourth with “Community” (3.1 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo) and “30 Rock” (2.82 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating). The CW’s repeat of “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 1.105 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “Person of Interest” was down from recent airings, but still won the 9 p.m. hour for CBS with 13.465 million viewers and a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second with 8.075 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating for a low-rated episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” FOX’s “Touch” took a big drop to 7.45 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating in third. NBC lagged along in fourth with a “The Office” repeat (2.55 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo) and a new “Up All Night” (2.62 million and a 1.1 key demo). The CW’s repeat of “The Secret Circle” averaged 823,000 viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “The Mentalist” closed primetime in first for CBS with 12.48 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Scandal” averaged 7.45 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating for its premiere, a slightly larger audience than the last new “Private Practice,” but slightly lower in the key demo, albeit with that weaker-than-average “Anatomy” lead-in. NBC’s “Awake” took another big fall overall, averaging 2.54 million viewers, and sliding slightly to 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.