Fast National ratings for Thursday, September 29, 2011.
FOX continued to see consistent numbers in the second week of “The X Factor,” as the singing competition helped the network secure its second consecutive Thursday win among young viewers. Meanwhile, it was “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Mentalist” leading CBS to yet another overall win.
In other ratings highlights, a slew of new shows took second week drops, with NBC’s “Prime Suspect” and possibly ABC’s “Charlie’s Angels” inching closer to cancelation and CBS’ “How To Be a Gentleman” dropping a hefty percentage of its lead-in for its premiere.
Among those bucking the downward trend were NBC’s 8 p.m. comedies and The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries.”
On to numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 3.8 rating, comfortably beating the 3.0 rating for CBS in the key demographic. ABC’s 2.6 rating was third, followed by NBC’s 2.1 rating. The CW averaged a 1.1 rating for the night.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 12.29 million viewers in primetime along with a 7.6 rating/12 share, beating FOX’s 6.9/11 and 11.92 million viewers. ABC was third with a 5.6/9 and 8.35 million viewers, comfortably ahead of NBC’s 3.4/5 and 5.25 million viewers. The CW averaged a 1.5/2 and nearly 2.4 million viewers.
[Univision averaged 3.8 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49 for the night.]
8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first both overall and among adults 18-49 with “The Big Bang Theory” (14.545 million viewers and a 4.8 key demo rating) and the premiere of “How To Be a Gentleman” (8.96 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating). FOX’s “The X Factor” recovered from a slow opening half-hour against “Big Bang” to average 11.27 million viewers and a 3.5 key demo rating for second (easily winning the 8:30 half-hour overall and in the demo). ABC’s “Charlie’s Angels” dropped to 7.15 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, third overall and fourth in the demo. NBC’s “Community” (4.045 million and a 1.8 demo rating) and “Parks and Recreation” (4.36 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating) were both up a hair. The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” was also up with 2.7 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating. [Adding to the “Charlie’s Angels” pain, The CW notes that “The Vampire Diaries” topped ABC among viewers 18-34 and women 18-34.]
9 p.m. – FOX moved into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 12.57 million viewers and a 4.2 key demo rating for “The X Factor.” CBS’ “Person of Interest” was second overall with 12.42 million viewers and fourth in the key demo with a 2.7 rating, though neither drop from premiere week was extreme. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was third overall with 10.02 million viewers and second in the key demo with a 3.5 rating. NBC’s “The Office” (6.6 million and a 3.4 key demo) and “Whitney” (5.37 million and a 2.5 key demo) were both down from last week, with “Whitney” posting bigger percentage drops. The CW’s “The Secret Circle” averaged 2.095 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating, steady from last week.
10 p.m. – “The Mentalist” won the 10 p.m. hour overall for CBS averaging 12.71 million viewers, but finishing second with a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Private Practice” premiered to 7.89 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating. That left NBC’s “Prime Suspect” in third with 5.5 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, a drop from last week, but not a huge drop (and still better than “The Playboy Club,” “Free Agents” and a couple other cancelation candidates).
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.