TV Ratings: ABC’s ‘Work It’ works somewhat, but ‘NCIS’ leads CBS Tuesday win

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

After a couple weeks of repeats, CBS’ powerhouse Tuesday procedurals returned with big numbers for “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “Unforgettable.” CBS swept the night, leaving the other networks to pick up the scraps, which included a wait-and-see respectable premiere for ABC’s critically derided “Work It.”

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 3.4 rating for the night, far ahead of NBC’s 2.1 rating and the 2.0 rating for ABC in the key demographic. FOX averaged a 1.0 rating for the night, with The CW trailing with a 0.3 rating.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 16.24 million viewers and a 10.0 rating/15 share for Tuesday primetime. ABC was a distant second with a 4.3/7 and 6.66 million viewers, just in front of the 3.7/6 and 5.96 million viewers for NBC. FOX’s 2.58 million and 1.7/3 and The CW’s 0.6/1 and 857,000 viewers trailed.

[Univision averaged 3.43 million viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49, good for fourth for Tuesday night.]

8 p.m. – “NCIS” kicked off Tuesday primetime with 20.015 million viewers and a 4.2 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC was second with “Last Man Standing” (7.87 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating) and the series premiere of “Work It” (6.14 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo), which retained a good deal more of its lead-in than recent episodes of the axed “Man Up,” though obviously it remains to be seen how much of the premiere audience was rubbernecking. NBC’s premiere of “The Biggest Loser” averaged 6.33 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating, losing to “Last Man Standing” in both measures and beating “Work It” in both. FOX was fourth with 2.49 million viewers for a “Glee” repeat, bettering the 998,000 viewers for The CW’s latest repeat of “The Secret Circle.”

9 p.m. – “NCIS: Los Angeles” kept CBS in first for the 9 p.m. hour with 17.07 million viewers and a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “Biggest Loser” moved up to second with 6.59 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating, topping the 6 million viewers and 2.2 key demo for ABC’s “Celebrity Wife Swap.” FOX was fourth with 2.66 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo for repeats of “New Girl” and “Raising Hope,” while The CW’s “Secret Circle” repeat averaged 715,000 viewers.

10 p.m. – CBS closed primetime in first with the 11.62 million viewers and 2.5 rating among adults 18-49 for “Unforgettable.” ABC’s “Body of Proof” drew a low 6.97 million viewers for second and a lower 1.5 key demo rating for third. NBC’s “Parenthood” was also on the low side with 4.95 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating.