Fast National ratings for Thursday, February 24, 2011.
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Although neither hour of FOX’s “American Idol” reached the ratings for the previous Thursday’s one-hour telecast, the singing talent show still drew a big audience as the Top 12 Men and Top 12 Women were announced.
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In addition to boosting FOX to nightly wins, “Idol” played no small part in impressively low ratings for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI.”
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For the night, FOX averaged a 7.2 rating among adults 18-49, easily tops in the key demographic. CBS Was a distant second with a 3.0 rating, followed closely by a 2.6 rating for ABC and NBC’s 2.1 rating. The CW’s 1.0 rating was fifth.
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Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 21.58 million viewers and an 11.9 rating/19 share for the night. CBS was second with a 7.8/13 and 12.74 million viewers. Third place ABC was pretty far back with a 4.8/8 and 7.63 million viewers, easily topping the 2.5/4 and 4.27 million for NBC. The CW was down from last week with a 1.4/2 and 2.465 million viewers.
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8 p.m. – “American Idol” started primetime in first with 21.34 million viewers and a 7.0 rating among adults 18-49 for FOX. CBS was second with “The Big Bang Theory” (12.51 million and a 3.8 demo) and the time period premiere of “Rules of Engagement” (9.63 million and a 2.8 demo), which was in line with recent performances from “$#*! My Dad Says.” ABC’s “Wipeout” averaged 7.09 million viewers and a 2.2 demo rating for third. NBC was fourth with “Community” (3.91 million and a 1.8 demo) and “Perfect Couples” (2.96 million and a 1.4 demo). The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” was fifth with 2.94 million viewers and a 1.3 demo rating.
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9 p.m. – The second hour of “American Idol” improved to 21.82 million viewers and a 7.3 demo rating for FOX. CBS was second overall, but fourth in the demo with the 12.48 million viewers and 2.7 demo rating for “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” had a low week with 9.095 million viewers and only a 3.3 rating in the key demo. NBC’s “The Office” (6.02 million and a 3.3 demo) and “Parks and Recreation” (4.65 million and a 2.4 demo rating) combined for third in the demo and fourth overall. The CW was fifth with the 1.99 million viewers and 0.8 demo rating for “Nikita.”
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10 p.m. – “The Mentalist” moved into first for CBS in the 10 p.m. hour with 14.67 million viewers and a 2.8 demo rating. ABC was second with the 6.7 million viewers and 2.4 demo rating for “Private Practice.” NBC trailed with “30 Rock” (4.51 million viewers and a 2.3 demo) and “Outsourced” (3.395 million and a 1.5 demo).
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All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.