Fast National ratings for Thursday, February 12, 2015.
With “The Big Bang Theory” in repeats, ABC swept Thursday's primetime hours among young viewers (tying with “Idol” at 8 p.m.), but even a “Big Bang” repeat still led CBS to a narrow overall win for the night.
Thursday's other big story was NBC's across-the-board struggles. “The Slap” got off to a weak start in the 8 p.m. hour, “The Blacklist” took a big drop at 9 p.m. and “Allegiance” is a dead-show-walking at 10 p.m.
The decline for “Blacklist” no doubt benefitted FOX's “Backstrom,” which got a big bump from last week's series lows to numbers that are low, but not instantly dire.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 2.7 rating for Thursday night, easily winning the key demographic. CBS and FOX both averaged a 1.8 rating for second place in the key demo. NBC's 1.2 key demo rating was fourth, followed by the 0.5 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 8.92 million viewers and a 5.6 rating/9 share, compared to the 8.47 million viewers and 5.8/10 for ABC for Thursday night. FOX was third with 6.97 million viewers and a 4.2/7, topping the 3.6/6 and 5.56 million viewers for NBC. The CW averaged a 0.8/1 and 1.28 million viewers for the night.
8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first overall and third in the key demo with a repeat of “The Big Bang Theory” (11.21 million and a 2.1 key demo) and a new “Mom” (10.125 million and a 2.1 key demo). FOX's “American Idol” averaged 9.51 million viewers in second and tied for first with a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” also did a 2.3 key demo rating, but only 7.72 million viewers in third. NBC's “The Slap” premiere averaged a not-awful 5.08 million viewers and not-good 1.1 key demo rating in fourth. The CW's “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 1.51 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “Scandal” moved ABC into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 9.27 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49. CBS followed with a new “Two and a Half Men” (9.21 million and a 2.1 key demo) and another “Big Bang Theory” repeat (7.67 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo). NBC's “The Blacklist” dropped to 7.98 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating in third, allowing FOX's “Backstrom” to rise to 4.43 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating. The CW's “Reign” averaged 1.05 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “How To Get Away With Murder” led the 10 p.m. hour with 8.42 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' “Elementary” was a close-ish second overall with 7.67 million viewers and a distant second with a 1.4 key demo rating. In its second airing, “Allegiance” plummeted to 3.61 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating for NBC.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.