Fast National ratings for Thursday, October 16, 2014.
A consistently tight Thursday Night Football game between the Jets and Patriots didn't give CBS a bit ratings boost, but the coverage was in line with last week and led the network to primetime wins in all measures.
Thursday's ratings sported only minor variations, so it's better not to over-invest in thought, which would be the kind of thing ABC might say after a semi-steep Week 4 decline for “How To Get Away With Murder,” which may or may not have been the victim of the closeness of the CBS football game.
Things continued to be discouraging for FOX's “Gracepoint,” which dropped even as “Bones” was up a little.
NBC's “Bad Judge” continued to hold its advantage over lead-out “A to Z,” though “A to Z” held its place at The Mulaney lead, week-to-week.
And over on The CW, both “The Vampire Diaries” and “Reign” were up and I've been told preemptions were negligible, so good luck making sense of anything.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 3.6 rating for Thursday night, comfortably beating ABC's 2.7 rating in the key demographic. FOX and NBC tied for third with a 1.2 key demo rating, while The CW averaged a 0.7 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 11.87 million viewers and a 7.5 rating/13 share for Thursday primetime, leading the way. ABC was second with 9.32 million viewers and a 6.4 rating/11 share for the night. FOX's 3.1/5 and 5.11 million viewers topped the 4.29 million viewers and 2.8/5 for NBC. The CW averaged 1.61 million viewers and a 1.0/2 for the night.
8 p.m. – Pregame and Thursday Night Football kickoff averaged 10.54 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS in the 8 p.m. hour. ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” was second with 8.445 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating. FOX held third with 6.405 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, ahead of the 4.71 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating for NBC's “The Biggest Loser.” The CW's “The Vampire Diaries” averaged 1.86 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating for the hour.
9 p.m. – CBS' Jets-Patriots coverage averaged 13.215 million viewers and a 4.0 rating among adults 18-49 for the 9 p.m. hour. ABC's “Scandal” averaged 9.84 million viewers and a season-low 2.9 key demo rating in second. NBC was a distant third with “Bad Judge” (4.69 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo) and “A to Z” (3.36 million and a 1.0 key demo). FOX's “Gracepoint” averaged only 3.82 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating. And The CW's “Reign” hit season highs with 1.36 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – CBS' football led the 10 p.m. hour with 11.85 million viewers and a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49, both above the comparable hour last week, so maybe that's why ABC's “How To Get Away With Murder” dropped to 9.67 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating. NBC's “Parenthood” averaged 4.14 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, particularly in the case of live events.