Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 8, 2012.
“The Big Bang Theory” approached series highs in viewers on Thursday night and combined with a strong “Two and a Half Men” and season highs for “Person of Interest” to help CBS score commanding primetime wins in most key measures.
Meanwhile, it was a strong night for The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries,” which nearly topped ABC’s “Last Resort” among young viewers (obviously a less-than-ideal sign for the ABC drama) and another lackluster evening for FOX’s “The X Factor” and the return of “Glee.”
Among adults 18-49, CBS won Thursday night with a 3.2 rating, topping FOX’s 2.4 rating in the key demographic. ABC’s 2.2 key demo rating and the 2.1 key demo rating for NBC followed closely. The CW averaged a 1.1 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 13.59 million viewers and an 8.6 rating/14 share, far ahead of the 7.09 million viewers and 4.6/7 for ABC. NBC averaged a 3.8/6 and just over 6.01 million viewers, compared to the 3.6/5 and just under 6.01 million viewers for FOX. The CW averaged 2.415 million viewers and a 1.5/2 for Thursday night.
[Note that NBC’s Indianapolis affiliate aired Thursday Night Football.]
8 p.m. – “The Big Bang Theory” (16.54 million viewers and a 5.0 key demo) and a Miley Cyrus-boosted “Two and a Half Men” (14.09 million viewers and a 4.0 key demo) let CBS dominate the 8 p.m. hour in all measures. NBC’s fifth hour of “The Voice” for the week averaged 9.09 million viewers and a 3.0 key demo rating, easily the week’s lowest rated average. That was still far ahead of the 6.28 million viewers and 2.3 key demo rating for FOX’s “The X Factor,” which was actually up from the comparable hour last week. ABC’s “Last Resort” averaged 5.96 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating, down in viewers, but up a whopping 0.1 in the key demo from its last original airing two weeks ago. The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” was down a hair from last week with 2.98 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating, though that’s technically closer to a 1.45 key demo rating, which would edge out ABC, if you care about such things.
9 p.m. – “Person of Interest” averaged 14.73 million viewers, way up from last week, but actually slipped a tiny bit to a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49 in second. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” won the hour in the key demo with a 3.2 rating and finished second overall with 9.2 million viewers. FOX’s “Glee” was a distant third with 5.73 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating. NBC was fourth with “The Office” (5.31 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo) and “Parks and Recreation” (3.84 million and a 1.8 key demo). The CW’s “Beauty and the Beast” was up week-to-week with 1.85 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Elementary” closed primetime in first for CBS with 10.73 million viewers and a 2.2 rating among adults 18-49, up from last week in viewers, but down in the demo. ABC’s “Scandal” averaged 6.12 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating in second. NBC’s “Rock Center” was third with 4.37 million viewers and a 1.1 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.