Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 30, 2015.
Two hours of “Grey's Anatomy” grieving helped ABC eke out a slim Thursday win among young viewers, while an unusually low-rated “The Big Bang Theory” helped pace CBS' comfortable overall victory.
“Grey's Anatomy” was down from last week's poorly-kept-secret of a shocker, but it was still the show's second best performance since January.
Thursday was full of ugly numbers, including a series low for “The Blacklist,” a dip below The Mulaney Line for “Bones,” a low finale for “Backstrom” and an inability to retain a solid lead-in from “American Crime.”
On the more positive side, “Mom” ended its season on a high-ish note.
Let's get to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 2.0 rating for Thursday night, edging out CBS' 1.9 rating in the key demographic. [With “Big Bang Theory” prone to Live+SD Finals upticks, it wouldn't be surprising to see CBS either tie or top ABC for the night.] There was a big drop to NBC's 0.9 key demo rating and to the 0.8 key demo rating for FOX. The CW averaged a 0.4 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 8.85 million viewers and a 5.5 rating/10 share for primetime, topping ABC's 4.8/8 and 7.04 million viewers. Again there was a big gap to third place with NBC averaged 4.895 million viewers and a 3.2/6, followed by FOX's 3.51 million viewers and 2.3/4. The CW averaged 1.04 million viewers and a 0.7/1 for the night.
8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first with “The Big Bang Theory” (13.45 million and a 3.2 key demo) and “The Odd Couple” (8.65 million and a 2.0 key demo). The first hour of ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” was a distant second with 8.68 million viewers and a close second with a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. FOX's “Bones” averaged 4.18 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating, topping the 3.165 million viewers and 0.5 key demo rating for NBC's “The Blacklist” repeat. The CW's “The Vampire Diaries” averaged a low 1.22 million viewers and 0.5 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – ABC moved into first place in the 9 p.m. hour with 8.68 million viewers and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 for the second hour of “Grey's Anatomy.” CBS was second with the “Mom” finale (8.65 million and a 2.0 key demo) and a “Big Bang Theory” repeat (7.64 million and a 1.7 key demo). NBC's new “The Blacklist” averaged 6.44 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, followed at a distance by the 2.835 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for FOX's “Backstrom” finale. “Reign” averaged only 854,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating for The CW.
10 p.m. – “Elementary” won the 10 p.m. hour with 6.94 million viewers and a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. NBC's “Dateline: The Real Blacklist” was second with 5.08 million viewers and third with a 0.9 key demo rating, compared to the 3.765 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for “American Crime” on ABC.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.