Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 19, 2012.
“American Idol” and “Touch” were both down on Thursday night, but FOX still easily controlled primetime both overall and in the key demographic. Of course, it helped that nearly everything was down, including “Community,” “Missing,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Secret Circle” and “Awake.”
It wasn’t all bad news on Thursday, though, as “30 Rock” and “Grey’s Anatomy” were up, while “Parks and Recreation” improved on recent time period performances for NBC. Another week of steady ratings, albeit not up despite its rising lead-in, also seems like a boon for ABC’s “Scandal.”
For the night, FOX averaged a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49, tops in the key demographic. ABC was second with a 2.2 rating, followed by CBS’ 1.8 rating and the 1.4 rating for NBC. The CW averaged a 0.7 key demo rating for Thursday.
Overall, FOX averaged 10.97 million viewers to go with a 6.8 rating/11 share to win Thursday primetime. CBS averaged 8.44 million viewers and a 5.3/9, compared the ABC’s 8.03 million viewers and a 5.4/9. There was a huge drop then to NBC’s 2.1/3 and 3.23 million viewers and then to The CW’s 1.2/2 and 1.65 million.
8 p.m. – “American Idol” started primetime in first for FOX with 14.59 million viewers and a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49. A repeat of “The Big Bang Theory” (9.25 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating) and a new “Rules of Engagement” (7.73 million and a 2.2 key demo) finished second for CBS. ABC’s “Missing” averaged 7.08 million viewers for third and a 1.3 key demo rating for fourth. NBC was third in the key demo and a distant fourth overall with “Community” (2.91 million and a 1.3 key demo) and “30 Rock” (3.155 million and a 1.5 key demo). The CW’s “Vampire Diaries” averaged 2.18 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – ABC grabbed first place for the 9 p.m. hour with 9.65 million viewers and a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49 for “Grey’s Anatomy.” CBS’ repeat of “Person of Interest” was second overall with 8.66 million viewers and fourth with a 1.5 key demo rating. FOX’s “Touch” averaged 7.345 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating. NBC followed with “The Office” (4.31 million and a 2.2 key demo) and “Parks and Recreation” (3.53 million and a 1.8 key demo). The CW’s “The Secret Circle” lost half of its lead-in with 1.11 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – A repeat of “The Mentalist” won the 10 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 8.18 million viewers and finished second with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Scandal” averaged 7.35 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.1 key demo rating. NBC’s “Awake” averaged 2.74 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating in third.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.