Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 20, 2014.
Midseason finales for “Scandal” and “How To Get Away With Murder” helped ABC win Thursday night both overall and among young viewers, as a low “Big Bang Theory” and increasingly weak “McCarthys” and “Elementary” numbers pushed CBS into second.
Note that ratings for Thursday are a bit catawampus due to scattered 8 p.m. hour preemptions for President Obama's immigration address.
In addition, CBS had the NFL preemption in the Bay Area, while NBC had the NFL preemption in Kansas City. That would probably explain why NBC's numbers appear to be skewed high.
On to Thursday's numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 2.9 rating for Thursday night, comfortably beating the 2.1 rating for CBS in the key demographic. NBC was second with a 1.3 key demo rating, followed by FOX's 1.0 key demo rating. The CW averaged a 0.6 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 9.37 million viewers and a 6.3 rating/10 share for Thursday primetime, pushing ahead of the 8.9 million viewers and 5.5/9 for CBS. NBC was third for the night with 4.425 million viewers and a 2.8/5, edging out FOX's 2.7/4 and 4.225 million viewers. The CW averaged a 1.0/2 and 1.41 million viewers for the night.
8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first with “The Big Bang Theory” (14.65 million and a 4.0 key demo) and “Mom” (10.64 million and a 2.7 key demo). ABC was second for the 8 p.m. hour with 8.28 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 for “Grey's Anatomy.” FOX's “Bones” averaged 5.24 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, just in front of the 5.13 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating for NBC's “The Biggest Loser.” On The CW, “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 1.67 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “Scandal” moved ABC into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 10.02 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second with “Two and a Half Men” (8.97 million and a 2.3 key demo) and “The McCarthys” (6.35 million and a 1.4 key demo). NBC took third with “Bad Judge” (4.09 million and a 1.2 key demo) and “A to Z” (3.05 million and a 0.9 key demo). On FOX, “Gracepoint” did its usual 3.205 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating. The CW's “Reign” averaged 1.15 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “How To Get Away With Murder” closed primetime with 9.805 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC. CBS' “Elementary” averaged only 6.405 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating, compared to the 4.58 million viewers and 1.5 key demo rating for NBC's “Parenthood.”
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.