Fast National ratings for Monday, September 26, 2011.
The second week of the Ashton Kutcher Era on “Two and a Half Men” took an expected dip, but the comedy still remained Monday night’s top show in most measures. Meanwhile, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” delivered another steady (but down from last year) night, carrying the network to a Monday split.
In other ratings news, FOX got less-than-astounding numbers for the two-hour premiere of “Terra Nova,” which certainly didn’t tank, but also didn’t rise to a level commensurate with the months of hype and promotion. Things were also less-than-rosy at NBC, where “Playboy Club” would seem to be hovering on the brink of cancellation.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 4.6 rating for the night, easily beating ABC’s 3.1 rating in the key demographic. FOX was a close third with a 3.0 rating, with a big drop to NBC’s 1.7 rating and the 0.8 rating for The CW.
Overall, though, ABC averaged an estimated 14.65 million viewers and a 9.7 rating/14 share, beating CBS’ 8.0 rating/12 share and an estimated 13.045 million viewers for the night. FOX was third with a 5.4/8 and just under 9 million viewers. Again, there was a large drop to NBC’s 2.7/4 and 4.23 million viewers and The CW’s 1.2/2 and 1.59 million viewers.
[For the night, Univision averaged 3.97 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, which would have ranked ahead of NBC for fourth on the night.]
8 p.m. – ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” shed a couple million viewers from last week’s premiere, but still averaged 15.73 million viewers to win the 8 p.m. hour, coming in second with a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second with another strong “How I Met Your Mother” (10.56 million viewers and a 4.4 key demo rating) and a good time period premiere for “2 Broke Girls” (11.58 million viewers and a 4.5 key demo rating). The first hour of FOX’s “Terra Nova” premiere averaged 9.025 million viewers and a 3.0 key demo rating. NBC’s “The Sing Off” averaged 4.835 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating, slipping from last week. On The CW, “Gossip Girl” averaged a low 1.41 million viewers for its season premiere, though the drama’s 0.8 key demo rating doesn’t look so bad by netlet standards.
9 p.m. – CBS moved into first for the 9 p.m. hour with “Two and a Half Men” (20.03 million viewers and a 7.2 key demo rating) and the season premiere of “Mike & Molly” (13.98 million and a 4.9 key demo rating). [And yes, those “Men” numbers were off by 7 million-ish viewers and a full 3 demo ratings points from last week’s premiere, but CBS still would have been overjoyed by this week’s numbers last week, so nobody’s even slightly worried.] ABC was second with 16.31 million viewers and a 3.4 key demo rating for “Dancing with the Stars.” FOX’s “Terra Nova” averaged 8.97 million viewers and a 3.1 key demo rating in its second hour, avoiding any meaningful drop, which will be viewed as a positive from the network. NBC can’t find the same positives, as “The Sing Off” dwindled to 3.94 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating in its second hour. On The CW, “Hart of Dixie” improved on its lead-in with 1.78 million viewers and averaged a 0.8 rating in the key demo.
10 p.m. – While “Castle” experienced some post-premiere let-down, it still won the 10 p.m. hour overall for ABC, averaging 11.9 million viewers, coming in second with a 2.9 key demo rating. CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” averaged 11.06 million viewers in second overall and a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49 to win the hour. NBC’s “The Playboy Club” was third with 3.91 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating, both numbers down from last week’s already poor premiere.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.