Fast National ratings for Thursday, December 19, 2013.
The third season finale of “The X Factor” led FOX to a rare Thursday night lead among young viewers, even topping “The Sing-Off” this time around. Meanwhile, though, CBS’ repeat of “The Big Bang Theory” was Thursday’s most watched show and carried that network to an overall win.
While “X Factor” certainly got a finale bump, it was down 45 percent from last year’s finale in the key demo and by 36 percent in total viewers. FOX would prefer to point out that it was up by 42 percent over last Thursday in the key demo and delivered the best Thursday ratings since the start of October.
There were few other notables on Thursday, though holiday season encore airings of NBC’s “SNL Christmas” and ABC’s “Charlie Brown Christmas” both drew solid audiences.
Lets go straight to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 1.7 rating for Thursday night, tops in the key demographic. ABC, CBS and NBC all averaged a 1.5 key demo rating, while The CW averaged a 0.3 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, though, CBS scored a slim win with 6.88 million viewers and a 5.5 rating/7 share for Thursday night, topping the 6.2 million viewers and 3.8/6 for FOX. ABC was a close third with a 3.8/6 and 5.94 million viewers, followed by NBC’s 4.36 million viewers and a 2.7/4. The CW averaged 861,000 viewers and a 0.6/1.
8 p.m. – CBS led the 8 p.m. hour with repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” (11.13 million and a 2.8 key demo) and “The Millers” (7.57 million and a 1.7 key demo rating). ABC’s “Charlie Brown Christmas” broadcast was second with 6.5 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. FOX’s finale for “The X Factor” averaged 5.79 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating in third, ahead of the season low 4.44 million viewers and 1.2 key demo rating for NBC’s “The Sing-Off.” The CW’s repeat of “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 804,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – FOX’s “X Factor” finale won the 9 p.m. hour with 6.62 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “20/20” special celebrating 2013 was second with 5.67 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating, followed very closely by the 5.65 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating averaged by CBS’ “Crazy Ones” and “Two and a Half Men” repeat. NBC’s “SNL Christmas” averaged 4.53 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. On The CW, a repeat of “Reign” improved on its lead-in with 918,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – ABC’s “20/20” special won the 10 p.m. hour with 5.66 million viewers and finished second with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “Elementary” repeat was third with 5.63 million viewers and fourth with a 0.9 key demo rating. NBC’s “SNL Christmas” won the 10 p.m. hour with a 1.7 key demo rating and finished third with 4.11 million viewers.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.