TV Ratings: CBS’ ‘NCIS’ dominance continues on Tuesday as everybody droops

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, October 2, 2012.

The networks are going to have to look hard to find reasons for optimism after a Tuesday night that saw across-the-board drops for basically everything.

With “The Voice” airing a clip show, CBS was able to sweep primetime with “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “Las Vegas,” though all three dramas fell from their premieres.

Meanwhile, NBC can’t be pleased with steep drops for “Go On” and “The New Normal,” which were both picked up for full seasons just hours before faltering with a weaker-than-normal “Voice” lead-in. FOX, similarly, can’t be pleased with miniscule overall audiences and tepid demos for its non-“New Girl” comedies. 

And “Hart of Dixie” returned to The CW with a “Hart of Dixie”-esque audience.

On to the numbers…

For the night, CBS averaged a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49, easily tops in the key demographic. NBC averaged a 2.2 rating, followed by FOX’s 2.0 key demo rating. ABC was fourth with a 1.7 key demo rating, while The CW averaged a 0.5 key demo rating.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 15.145 million viewers and a 9.4 rating/15 share for Tuesday primetime. ABC was a distant second with a 6.0/9 and 8.71 million viewers, comfortably topping NBC’s 6 million viewers and 3.9/6. FOX averaged 3.99 million viewers and a 2.4/4 for the night, while The CW averaged 1.095 million viewers and a 0.7/1.

8 p.m. – “NCIS” averaged 18.5 million viewers to win the 8 p.m. hour for CBS and with reduced competition, its 3.6 rating among adults 18-49 also won the hour. NBC’s “The Voice” clip show averaged 8.22 million viewers and a 2.9 key demo rating. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” clip show averaged 8.21 million viewers, but a dismal 1.3 key demo rating. FOX was fourth overall and third in the key demo with the premiere of “Raising Hope” (3.89 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo) and the second episode of “Ben and Kate” (3.255 million and a 1.6 key demo rating). The CW’s “Hart of Dixie” averaged 1.535 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, basically exactly what you would have expected it to do.

9 p.m. – CBS stayed in first for the 9 p.m. hour with 14.87 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49 for “NCIS: Los Angeles.” ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” was second overall with 11.8 million viewers and was third with a 2.1 key demo rating. NBC’s “Go On” (5.99 million and a 2.2 key demo) and “The New Normal” (4.61 million and a 1.7 key demo) were both way down from last week. FOX’s “New Girl” (5.07 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo) was steady from last week, but “The Mindy Project” (3.75 million and a 1.9 key demo) fell hard. The CW averaged 655,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating for “The Next.”

10 p.m. – “Vegas” averaged 12.065 million viewers and a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. [And yes, both numbers are below Week 2 for “Unforgettable” last fall.] ABC’s “Private Practice” averaged 6.12 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, compared to the 4.48 million viewers and 1.7 key demo rating for NBC’s “Parenthood.”