TV Ratings: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ rises, ‘Bad Teacher’ and ‘Idol’ drop and CBS rules Thursday

Fast National ratings for Thursday, May 1, 2014.

“The Big Bang Theory” had enough 8 p.m. juice to help CBS dominated Thursday night in all measures, even with big drops for “The Millers,” “Two and a Half Men” and, particularly, “Bad Teacher.”

The drops weren't limited to CBS on Thursday, though.

“American Idol” took an ugly drop to a number below “Hell's Kitchen” in the key demo, though maybe FOX should be paying attention to the stability “Surviving Jack” has been delivering despite the regular “Idol” slide.

Almost falling on Thursday was ABC's “Black Box,” which failed to capitalize on a big weekly bump for “Grey's Anatomy.”

And if you were wondering why on Earth NBC would have ended its low-rated comedies early, the fabricated IHeartRadio Music Awards did, relatively speaking, pretty huge numbers for NBC. [OK, entirely “relatively speaking” on the hugeness, but still very respectable numbers.]

On to the numbers…

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.2 rating for Thursday night, easily winning the key demographic. NBC was a respectable second with a 1.7 key demo rating, followed closely by ABC's 1.6 key demo rating and FOX's 1.4 key demo rating. The CW averaged a 0.6 key demo rating for the night.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 9.43 million viewers and a 6.0 rating/10 share for Thursday primetime. ABC was a distant second with 6.08 million viewers and a 4.3/7 for the night, topping NBC's 5.45 million viewers and 3.3/6. FOX was a close fourth with 4.93 million viewers and a  3.0/5, followed by the 1.1/2 and 1.62 million viewers for The CW.

8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first with the normal “Big Bang Theory” juggernaut (15.69 million and a 4.4 key demo) and a normal drop to “The Millers” (9.58 million and a 2.1 key demo). There was a steep drop to NBC's music awards telecast in second with 5.77 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, compared to the 4.41 million viewers and 1.6 key demo rating for FOX's “Hell's Kitchen.” ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” repeat averaged 4.14 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating in fourth. The CW got 1.82 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating for “The Vampire Diaries.”

9 p.m. – “Grey's Anatomy” moved into first in the 9 p.m. hour with 8.69 million viewers and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC. CBS was second with “Two and a Half Men” (9.16 million and a 2.1 key demo) and the second week of “Bad Teacher” (6.52 million and a 1.5 key demo). FOX was third overall but fourth in the key demo with “American Idol” (6.92 million and a 1.5 key demo) and “Surviving Jack” (3.91 million and a 1.0 key demo). NBC's IHeartRadio thing averaged 5.41 million viewers for fourth and a 1.7 key demo rating for third. The CW's “Reign” averaged 1.42 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – CBS' “Elementary” won the 10 p.m. hour with 7.81 million viewers and tied for first with a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “Black Box” slipped to 5.405 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating, compared to the 5.25 million viewers and 1.6 key demo rating for NBC's awards show.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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