Fast National ratings for Thursday, May 29, 2014.
Buoyed by the aggressive promotional efforts by the show's stars and creative team, “Undateable” got off to a decent start for NBC, helping the network join a three-way tie for Thursday among young viewers. Overall, of course, there was very little competition as a CBS repeat of “The Big Bang Theory” was the night's most watched program by a wide margin.
NBC is boasting that “Undateable” had its best summer comedy premiere numbers since 2004 and the immortal “Come to Papa.”
The “Undateable” premiere far outdistanced most of NBC's Thursday comedy performances in-season, built slightly on its “Hollywood Game Night” lead-in in the key demo and was steady between two double-pumped episodes. That's good news for Bill Lawrence and company. Of course, “Last Comic Standing” was NBC's top program for the night.
Similarly, “Hell's Kitchen” got FOX's best results and was the reason FOX also tied for Thursday's key demo lead, but the network has to be at least somewhat relieved to see “Gang Related” steady in its second airing, rather than plummeting like the second week of “I Wanna Marry 'Harry.'”
The relatively good news for Thursday's summer scripted shows did not, however, extend to ABC's “Black Box.”
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS, NBC and FOX all averaged a 1.3 rating for Thursday night, tying for the top spot in the key demographic. [If you look at the two hours the three networks were head-to-head, CBS averaged a 1.6 key demo rating, followed by FOX's 1.3 rating and NBC's 1.2 rating.] ABC averaged a 0.6 key demo rating, while The CW averaged a 0.3 key demo rating.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 5.9 million viewers and a 3.9 rating/7 share for Thursday primetime, comfortably ahead of the 4.26 million viewers and 2.7/5 million averaged by NBC for the night. FOX was third with 3.83 million viewers and a 2.4/4, topping ABC's 2.0/4 and 2.86 million viewers. The CW averaged 829,000 viewers and a 0.6/1.
8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first with repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” (8.69 million and a 2.0 key demo) and “Mom” (6.45 million and a 1.5 key demo). FOX's “Hell's Kitchen” averaged 4.485 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 for second, up week-to-week. NBC's “Hollywood Game Night” was third with 4.3 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating. ABC's encore of “The Bachelorette” averaged 2.35 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating, topping the 844,000 million viewers and 0.3 key demo rating for The CW's “Vampire Diaries” repeat.
9 p.m. – CBS stayed in the lead for the 9 p.m. hour with repeats of “Two and a Half Men” (6.24 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo) and “The Millers” (5.03 million and a 1.2 key demo rating). NBC's “Undateable” premiere averaged 3.83 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 for second, topping the 3.17 million viewers and 0.9 key demo rating for FOX's “Gang Related.” ABC's “Bachelorette” encore averaged 2.63 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating in fourth, while an “Originals “repeat averaged 814,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating on The CW.
10 p.m. – “Last Comic Standing” closed primetime in first for NBC with 4.64 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' “Elementary” repeat averaged 4.51 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating in second, beating the 3.59 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for ABC's new “Black Box.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.