Fast National ratings for Thursday, February 9, 2012.
There are enough pieces of the Thursday pie for several networks to be enthusiastic this morning. It was another night of week-to-week growth for “American Idol,” even though Thursday’s episode didn’t feature a single full musical performance. And even with “Idol” retaining its juice, there was still room for “The Big Bang Theory” and “Person of Interest” to once again approach series-high numbers. That led to a predictable Thursday split.
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 4.0 rating, topping the 3.6 rating for CBS in the key demographic. ABC was third with a 2.6 rating, followed by NBC’s 1.7 rating and the 1.0 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 14.32 million viewers and an 8.7 rating/14 share for Thursday primetime. FOX was a solid second with a 7.2/11 and 12.22 million viewers, far ahead of ABC’s 4.7/8 and 7.32 million viewers. NBC was fourth with a 2.6/4 and 3.93 million viewers, beating the 1.6/2 and 2.37 million viewers for The CW.
[Univision averaged 3.68 million viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 for Thursday night.]
8 p.m. – “American Idol” ruled the 8 p.m. hour overall with 17.92 million viewers and the full hour with a 5.7 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second with “The Big Bang Theory” (16.06 million viewers and a 5.5 key demo rating) and “Rob” (11 million viewers and a 3.4 key demo rating). [Of note, while “The Big Bang Theory” won its half-hour among adults 18-49 with a 5.5 rating, compared to the 5.2 rating for “Idol,” “Idol” beat “Big Bang” in viewers, ending a two-week run for the CBS sitcom.] ABC’s “Wipeout” was far back in third with 5.24 million viewers and fourth with a 1.5 key demo rating. On NBC, two episodes of “30 Rock” averaged 3.85 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 2.97 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating (also tying with ABC for the hour among adults 18-34), the show’s biggest overall audience since its first 2012 episode in January.
9 p.m. – CBS’ “Person of Interest” averaged 15.07 million viewers, a series high, to win the 9 p.m. hour, coming in second with a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was up with nearly 10.1 million viewers and an hour-winning 3.9 key demo rating. It was another dropping week for FOX’s “The Finder,” which slipped to 6.52 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating. NBC was fourth with “The Office” (5.16 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating) and “Up All Night” (3.7 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating). On The CW, “The Secret Circle” averaged 1.77 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “The Mentalist” won the 10 p.m. hour with 14.36 million viewers and a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC’s “Private Practice” averaged 6.63 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating. An encore airing of the post-Super Bowl “The Voice” brought 3.5 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating to NBC.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.