Fast National ratings for Thursday, October 31, 2013.
“Its The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” comfortably outdrew ABC’s normal 8 p.m. dramas and helped the network lead Thursday night among young viewers. Overall, though, CBS won despite a repeat of “Big Bang Theory” leading to significant drops for both “The Millers” and “Crazy Ones.”
While CBS’ comedies were down, CBS can be enthusiastic about “Elementary” beating “Scandal” overall for the first time this season, even if “Scandal” still dominated “Elementary” among young viewers.
A “Saturday Night Live” Halloween special gave NBC a big boost in the 8 p.m. hour over the network’s usual comedies and helped “Sean Saves The World” outdraw “The Michael J. Fox Show” for the second straight week and also top its 9 p.m. companion among young viewers.
Halloween siphoned a lot of viewers away from “The Vampire Diaries,” but The CW can take some solace in flat week-to-week demos for “Reign.” [“Vampire Diaries” was preempted in New York City, which may account for some of the decline.]
And, finally, an “X Factor” clip show drew no interest at all for FOX, which had been hoping this would be a night dominated by Game 7 of the World Series.
On to the numbers… Keep in mind that TV usage is appreciably lower on Halloween night.
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 2.6 rating for Thursday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 2.0 key demo rating, beating NBC’s 1.4 key demo rating. The CW and FOX both averaged a 0.7 key demo rating.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 9.36 million viewers and a 5.9 rating/10 share, beating ABC’s 5.3/9 and 8.355 million viewers for Thursday primetime. NBC was a distant second with 4.45 million viewers and a 2.9/5, beating FOX’s 2.6 million viewers and a 1.7/3. The CW averaged 1.85 million viewers and a 1.3/2 for the night.
8 p.m. – CBS still led the 8 p.m. hour both overall and among adults 18-49 for a repeat of “The Big Bang Theory” (11.56 million and a 2.5 key demo) and a new “The Millers” (9.57 million and a 2.0 key demo rating). ABC was second with 6.96 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating, doubling last week’s “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” among young viewers. NBC’s “SNL Halloween” averaged 5.51 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating in third, far ahead of the 3.25 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating for FOX’s “X Factor” clip show. The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 2.11 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, a big drop from last week, though “Vampire Diaries” has been regularly growing in Nationals.
9 p.m. – ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” won the 9 p.m. hour with 8.88 million viewers and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second with a new “Crazy Ones” (8.06 million and a 1.9 key demo) and another “Big Bang Theory” repeat (8.39 million and a 2.0 key demo). NBC was third with “Sean Saves The World” (4.11 million and a 1.2 key demo) and “The Michael J. Fox Show” (3.615 million and a 1.1 key demo). FOX’s “Glee” repeat averaged 1.96 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating, compared with the 1.59 million viewers and 0.6 key demo rating for “Reign.”
10 p.m. – “Elementary” won the 10 p.m. hour with 9.35 million viewers and finished second with a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, compared to the 9.23 million viewers and 2.9 key demo rating for “Scandal.” NBC’s “Parenthood” was a distant third with 3.97 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.