Fast National ratings for Thursday, March 13, 2014.
Fleeing “The Big Bang Theory” to 9 p.m. failed to give “American Idol” a bump in its new first time period airing, however the return of “Hell's Kitchen” handily outperformed “Rake,” giving FOX a Thursday boost. However, “The Big Bang Theory” kept CBS atop the night in all measures.
The “Idol” shift to 9 p.m. had its biggest impact on ABC's “Grey's Anatomy,” which had a second straight week of big declines and also led to some “Scandal” slippage.
Subtracting “Idol” from the 8 p.m. hour failed to provide any boost to the competition, as “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” and “Community” were flat, while “Parks and Recreation” was down a hair from last week.
Of *very* minor interest: The CW's “Reign” had a repeat for a lead-in and faced “Idol” for the first time, but came very close to reproducing last week's near-series-highs and finished in line with its general season averages.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.5 rating for Thursday night, topping FOX's 2.1 rating in the key demographic. ABC was third for the night with a 1.9 key demo rating, far ahead of NBC's 1.1 key demo rating and the 0.4 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 10.58 million viewers and a 6.5 rating/11 share for Thursday primetime, comfortably beating the 7.02 million viewers ad 4.3/7 for FOX. ABC was third with 6.115 million viewers and a 4.2/3. NBC was a distant fourth with 3.22 million viewers and a 2.2/4, followed by the 1.39 million viewers and 0.9/2 for The CW.
8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first with week-to-week drops for “The Big Bang Theory” (17.26 million and a 4.9 key demo) and “The Millers” (11.1 million and a 2.6 key demo). FOX's “Hell's Kitchen” was a distant second with 5.27 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” was third with 3.12 million viewers and fourth with a 0.8 key demo rating, compared to NBC's “Community” 2.895 million and a 1.0 key demo) and “Parks and Recreation” (2.73 million and a 1.1 key demo). The CW's repeat of “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 1.13 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “American Idol” narrowly won the 9 p.m. hour for FOX with 8.76 million viewers and tied for second with a 2.2 rating among adults 18-49, down in viewers from last week's 8 p.m. airing, but flat in the key demo. CBS was second with “Two and a Half Men” (10.04 million and a 2.6 key demo) and “The Crazy Ones” (7.01 million and a 1.8 key demo). ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” was third overall with 7.13 million viewers, but won the hour with a 2.3 key demo rating. NBC was far back in fourth with 2.97 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating for “Hollywood Game Night.” On The CW, a new “Reign” averaged 1.65 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Elementary” won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 9.03 million viewers and finished second with a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC's “Scandal” averaged 8.09 million viewers and an hour-winning 2.7 key demo rating. NBC's “Parenthood” averaged 3.87 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating in third.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.