Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 13, 2014.
ABC scored a comfortable Thursday win among young viewers with “Scandal” and “How To Get Away With Murder” leading, while “The Big Bang Theory” helped CBS hold on for a narrow overall victory.
Note that CBS had NFL preemptions in both Buffalo and Miami, which may make CBS' overall victory even tighter.
Most of Thursday's numbers were straight-forward and within the normal range, with the biggest notable probably being the ugly 0.6 key demo rating posted by NBC's “A to Z.”
Oh and it turns out that advertising a special guest-starring appearance by Phil Simms was not, in fact, the secret recipe for turning around sagging “Elementary” ratings.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 2.8 rating for Thursday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 2.3 key demo rating. NBC and FOX were a distant third with a 1.0 key demo rating, followed by the 0.6 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 9.87 million viewers and a 6.0 rating/10 share for Thursday primetime, topping the 9.16 million viewers and 6.1/10 for ABC for the night. There was a big drop to FOX's 4.47 million viewers and 2.7/4 and to the 2.5/4 and 3.7 million viewers for NBC. The CW averaged 1.38 million viewers and a 1.0/2 for Thursday.
8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first with “The Big Bang Theory” (17.07 million viewers and a 4.5 key demo) and “Mom” (11.84 million and a 2.8 key demo). ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” was second with 8.29 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. FOX's “Bones” averaged 5.51 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, compared to the 4.45 million viewers and 1.2 key demo rating for NBC's “The Biggest Loser.” The CW's “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 1.56 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – ABC moved up to first for the 9 p.m. hour with 9.98 million viewers and a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49 for “Scandal.” CBS was second with “Two and a Half Men” (9.45 million and a 2.2 key demo) and “The McCarthys” (6.94 million and a 1.6 key demo). FOX's “Gracepoint” averaged 3.43 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, compared to NBC's “The Biggest Loser” (3.69 million and a 0.9 key demo) and “A to Z” (2.35 million and a 0.6 key demo rating). The CW's “Reign” averaged 1.21 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “How To Get Away With Murder” averaged 9.215 million viewers and a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49 to dominate the 10 p.m. hour for ABC. CBS' “Elementary” failed to get a bump from guest star Phil Simms and averaged only 6.95 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating. NBC's “Parenthood” averaged 3.64 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, particularly in the case of live events.