Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 25, 2013.
The first night of the May Sweeps period delivered ample competition, but also featured cable coverage of the NFL draft, as both played a role in sending many Thursday offerings to season lows. That includes “The Big Bang Theory,” which still led CBS to wins in most measures.
Among the shows either setting or tying series lows on Thursday were “American Idol,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Person of Interest,” “Elementary,” “Community” “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Hannibal.”
You know what didn’t go down? “Scandal.”
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.6 rating for Thursday primetime, tops in the key demographic. FOX and ABC were neck-and-neck for second with a 2.2 key demo rating, followed far back by NBC’s 1.1 rating and the 0.7 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 11.88 million viewers and a 7.5 rating/12 share for Thursday night, well ahead of FOX’s 5.0/8 and 8.17 million viewers. ABC’s 4.4/7 and 6.43 million viewers finished third, with FOX’s 1.7/3 and 2.45 million viewers good for fourth. The CW averaged a 1.2/2 and 1.72 million viewers for the night.
[Univision averaged 3.25 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 for Thursday night.]
8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first with “The Big Bang Theory” (14.38 million viewers and a 4.2 key demo) and “Two and a Half Men” (11.03 million and a 2.8 key demo). FOX’s “American Idol” was second with 11.1 million viewers and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Wife Swap” averaged 3.42 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating in third. The CW’s nested pilot for a “Vampire Diaries” spinoff averaged 2.15 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating, compared with NBC’s “Community” (2.4 million and a 1.0 key demo) and an “Office” repeat (1.84 million and a 0.9 key demo).
9 p.m. – “Person of Interest” led the 9 p.m. hour with 12.99 million viewers and finished second with a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” won the hour with a 2.7 key demo rating and finished second with 8.12 million viewers. FOX’s “Glee” averaged 5.24 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating in third. NBC finished fourth with “The Office” (3.13 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo) and “Parks and Recreation” (2.54 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo). The CW’s “Beauty and the Beast” also stumbled with 1.29 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Elementary” won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 9.935 million viewers and finished second with a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Scandal” won the hour with a 2.8 key demo rating and finished second with 7.76 million viewers. And the numbers were not encouraging for NBC’s “Hannibal,” which drooped to 2.4 million viewers and a 1.0 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.