Fast National ratings for Thursday, July 12, 2012.
The premiere of the 14th season of “Big Brother” was down a hair from last season’s premiere, but still controlled its hour and helped carry CBS to easy Thursday wins in all key measures.
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.1 rating for the night, easily beating ABC’s 1.3 rating and the 1.2 rating for FOX in the key demographic. NBC averaged a 0.8 key demo rating for Thursday primetime, while The CW posted a 0.3 key demo rating.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 7.07 million viewers and a 4.5 rating/8 share for the night. ABC was a distant second with 5.045 million viewers and a 3.2/6, far ahead of the 2.4/4 and 3.43 million viewers for NBC. FOX was fourth with a 1.8/3 and 3 million viewers. The CW averaged a 0.5/1 and 788,000 viewers.
8 p.m. – CBS got off to a strong start with nearly 8.5 million viewers and a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49 for two repeats of “The Big Bang Theory.” ABC’s “Duets” was a distant second overall with 4.75 million viewers and third with a 1.0 key demo rating. FOX’s “Take Me Out” averaged nearly 3 million viewers in third and finished second with a 1.2 key demo rating. NBC’s repeats of “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” averaged only 1.88 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, beating the 857,000 viewers and 0.4 key demo rating for The CW’s “Vampire Diaries” repeat.
9 p.m. – The season premiere of “Big Brother” averaged 7.09 million viewers and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 to rule the 9 p.m. hour. [Last year’s premiere, with a much weaker lead-in, averaged 7.7 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo in Fast Nationals.] ABC’s “Wipeout” was second with 5.6 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating. On NBC, “Saving Hope” averaged 3.18 million viewers to beat the 3.01 million viewers for FOX’s “The Choice,” but in the key demo, “The Choice” averaged a 1.2 rating, while “Saving Hope” did a dismal 0.5 rating. The CW’s “Vampire Diaries” repeat averaged 720,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – A repeat of “Person of Interest” averaged 5.62 million viewers to win the 10 p.m. hour overall for CBS and tied for second with a 1.2 key demo rating. NBC’s “Rock Center” had a strong [relatively] night with 5.24 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, actually winning the hour in its second half-hour. ABC’s “Rookie Blue” averaged 4.78 million viewers and a 1.3 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.