Fast National ratings for Thursday, December 25, 2014.
The animated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and the Jim Carrey live-action “Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas” ruled Christmas Thursday primetime, even if a “Big Bang Theory” repeat was still the night's most-watched show.
There weren't many other Christmas ratings notables, though ABC is saying that its NBA double-header was up double-digits from last year.
On to the primetime notables…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 1.8 rating for Thursday night, comfortably tops in the key demographic. CBS was a distant second with a 0.8 key demo rating, followed by FOX's 0.5 key demo rating. NBC's 0.3 rating and The CW's 0.2 rating trailed in the key demo for the night.
Overall, CBS averaged a 3.0 rating/6 share to ABC's 2.5/5, but ABC averaged 5.18 million viewers to the 4.86 million for CBS for Thursday primetime. There was a big drop to FOX's 2.36 million viewers and 1.5/3 and to NBC's 1.0/2 and 1.48 million viewers. The CW averaged 920,000 viewers and a 0.6/1.
8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first overall and second in the key demo with repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” (6.83 million and a 1.2 key demo) and “Mom” (5.23 million and a 1.0 key demo). ABC was second with a half-hour of the animated “Grinch” (5.92 million and a 1.9 key demo) and the first hour of largely inanimate “Grinch” (4.99 million and a 1.6 key demo). The first of two “Bones” repeats averaged 2.19 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating for FOX, topping the 1.375 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating for an encore of “How Murray Saved Christmas” on NBC. The movie “The 12 Dogs of Christmas” — See what they did there? — averaged 917,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating for The CW.
9 p.m. – “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” averaged 5.12 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC in the 9 p.m. hour. CBS' repeats of “Two and a Half Men” and “The McCarthys” averaged 4.25 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating in second. FOX's “Bones” repeat remained in third with 2.53 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating. NBC's “Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas” drew 1.14 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating, edging out the 922,000 viewers and 0.2 key demo rating for The CW's “12 Dogs of Christmas.”
10 p.m. – ABC's “Grinch” airing averaged 4.97 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 10 p.m. hour. An “Elementary” repeat put CBS in second with 4.3 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating. NBC's “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” averaged 1.93 million viewers and a 0.4 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.