Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 7, 2013.
As usual, “The Big Bang Theory” was Thursday’s top show in all measures and, as usual, it lifted CBS to primetime wins in most measures, even though the network lost young viewers with each half-hour.
Thursday offered a slew of mixed results.
If you want positives, an out-of-schedule hour of “The Voice” did low ratings by the NBC hit’s standards, but it also gave a huge boost to “Sean Saves The World,” as well as a smaller boost to “The Michael J. Fox Show” and “Parenthood,” as NBC’s entire Thursday lineup made it over the four million viewer plateau. [NBC had the Thursday Night Football game in Washington, so there could be some slippage.]
“The Voice” also sent FOX’s frantic 13-performance “The X Factor” to series lows for a regular episode, as “Glee” was forced to improve upon its lead-in the 9 p.m. hour.
And as bad as that “Voice” number was, it still beat ABC’s “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,” which dipped below a 1.0 in the key demo and cost ABC the night among young viewers.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS won Thursday with a 2.5 rating, capturing the key demographic entirely on the strength of that “Big Bang Theory” performance. ABC was second with a 2.1 key demo rating, winning the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. hours. NBC was third with a 1.9 key demo rating, followed by FOX’s 1.4 key demo rating and the 0.9 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, CBS won easily with an estimated 10.17 million viewers and a 6.3 rating/10 share for Thursday night, far ahead of ABC’s 6.89 million viewers and 4.8/8. NBC was a close third with 6.56 million viewers and a 4.2/7, beating FOX’s 2.4/4 and 3.82 million viewers. The CW averaged a 1.4/2 and 2.13 million viewers.
8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first with “The Big Bang Theory” (16.59 million viewers and a 4.8 key demo rating) and “The Millers” (8.07 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo). NBC’s “The Voice” was second with 10.23 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. FOX’s “The X Factor” averaged a weak 3.64 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, which still beat the 3.54 million viewers and 0.9 key demo rating for “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.” The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 2.57 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating (a big bump if there weren’t NFL preemptions somewhere).
9 p.m. – CBS won the 9 p.m. hour overall and finished second among adults 18-49 with “The Crazy Ones” (8.07 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo) and “Two and a Half Men” (8.14 million and a 2.0 key demo). ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was second with 8.55 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.7 key demo rating. NBC was third with sure-to-dip-slightly numbers for “Sean Saves The World” (5.58 million and a 1.7 key demo) and “The Michael J. Fox Show” (4.24 million and a 1.3 key demo). FOX’s “Glee” averaged 4 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, down steeply (but not surprisingly) from the show’s Cory Monteith tribute episode, but also down a hair from the show’s last pre-“Quarterback” episode. The CW’s “Reign” averaged 1.7 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Elementary” won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 8.76 million viewers and finishes second with a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Scandal” was second with 8.59 million and won the hour with a 2.7 key demo rating. NBC’s “Parenthood” had an up week with 4.53 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating.
UPDATE: In Final Nationals, nearly everything on NBC took a big drop. “The Voice” went to a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49, “Sean Saves the World” to a 1.4 rating, “Michael J. Fox Show” to a 1.0 rating and “Parenthood” to a 1.3 rating. That’s the power of football. “Scandal” went up to a 2.8 rating in the key demo, moving ahead of “Grey’s Anatomy,” which was flat. “The Vampire Diaries” bumped up to a 1.3 key demo rating, “Elementary” rose to a 1.8 key demo rating and “The Big Bang Theory” ticked up to a 4.9 key demo rating.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.