TV Ratings: ‘Big Bang Theory’ leads CBS Thursday, while ‘Hannibal’ premiere struggles

Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 4, 2013.

“American Idol” had its first positive week-to-week news in a while, but still got crushed by CBS’ “The Big Theory,” which was also up from its last airing and let the network to Thursday wins in all measures.

In a competitive 10 p.m. hour, NBC’s “Hannibal” came in 20 percent below last spring’s launch for “Awake,” though it had tough competition from “Scandal” and “Elementary.” “Awake,” in contrast, premiered against repeats and with a better lead-in than last night’s dismal Thursday premiere for “Go In.” Oh and “Hannibal” did far better than “Do No Harm.” So there’s that.

And for the second consecutive week — “Raising Hope” last week and “New Girl” this week — a FOX had a lesser performance among young viewers with “American Idol” as its lead-in than it had in its prior regularly scheduled Tuesday performance.

For the night, CBS averaged a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49, tops in the key demographic. FOX averaged a 2.3 rating for second, holding off ABC’s 2.2 key demo rating. NBC’s 1.4 key demo rating and the 0.3 key demo rating for The CW followed.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 13.29 million viewers and an 8.3 rating/13 share, easily topping FOX’s 4.8/8 and 7.73 million viewers. ABC’s 4.7/8 and 6.87 million viewers finished third, doubling the 2.1/3 and 3.3 million viewers for NBC. The CW averaged a 0.6/1 and 955,000 viewers for a night of repeats.

8 p.m. – “The Big Bang Theory” (16.785 million and a 4.9 key demo) and “Two and a Half Men” (13.58 million and a 3.8 key demo) had no trouble winning their slots and giving the 8 p.m. hour to CBS. “American Idol” averaged 11.275 million viewers and a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49, which is low by “Idol” standards, but still up from last week. ABC’s “Wife Swap” averaged 4.1 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating. NBC’s “Community” averaged 2.41 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating for a series low and lead into 2.92 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating for “Parks and Recreation.” The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” repeat averaged 1.16 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – “Person of Interest” was down from its last airing, but still won the 9 p.m. hour for CBS with 14.34 million viewers and tied for first with a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” also did a 2.7 key demo rating and averaged 8.39 million viewers in second. FOX was third with “New Girl” (4.87 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo) and “The Mindy Project” (3.52 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo), which beat NBC’s “The Office” (3.42 million and a 1.7 key demo) and “Go On” (2.43 million and a 1.1 key demo). The CW’s repeat of “Beauty and the Beast” averaged 751,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo.

10 p.m. – “Elementary” finished CBS’ overall sweep with 10.36 million viewers, but finished second with a 2.1 key demo rating, both numbers down from its last airing. ABC’s “Scandal” was second with 8.11 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “Hannibal” averaged 4.31 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating.