Fast National ratings for Thursday, May 22, 2014.
On the first day of TV's Summer of 2014, a “Big Bang Theory” repeat helped CBS rule Thursday overall, but NBC won among young viewers with a solid return for “Last Comic Standing.”
Without originals as lead-ins, ABC's “Black Box” and CBS' “Bad Teacher” both fizzled and even with a solid “Hell's Kitchen” as a lead-in, FOX's new drama “Gang Related” failed to stir up any heat.
Thursday also saw an OK debut for The CW's “Labyrinth,” as the four-hour miniseries launched to basically “Reign”-esque ratings.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 1.5 rating for Thursday night, edging out CBS' 1.3 rating and FOX's 1.2 rating in the key demographic. ABC's 0.7 key demo rating and the 0.4 key demo rating for The CW trailed.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 5.76 million viewers and a 3.9 rating/7 share for Thursday, topping NBC's 4.89 million viewers and 3.2/6 for the night. FOX's 3.6 million viewers and 2.3/4 was just ahead of the 2.2/4 and 3.05 million viewers for ABC. The CW averaged a 0.9/2 and 1.33 million viewers for the night.
8 p.m. – CBS won the 8 p.m. hour with repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” (night-best 8.94 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo) and “The Millers” (6.035 million and a 1.5 key demo). FOX's “Hell's Kitchen” was second with 5.39 million viewers and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's “Hollywood Game Night” averaged 3.9 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating in third, ahead of the 2.66 million viewers and 0.6 key demo rating for ABC's encore of “The Bachelorette.” On The CW, the first hour of “Labyrinth” averaged 1.46 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – NBC moved into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 5.32 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 for the first hour of “Last Comic Standing.” CBS was second with a “Two and a Half Men” repeat (5.73 million and a 1.3 key demo) and a new “Bad Teacher” (4.45 million and a 1.1 key demo rating). FOX's “Gang Related” averaged 2.99 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating for its first airing, which is still better than FOX's early summer premieres for “Riot” and “I Wanna Marry 'Harry.'” ABC's “Bachelorette” encore was fourth with 2.77 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, followed by the 1.2 million viewers and 0.3 key demo rating for The CW's “Labyrinth.”
10 p.m. – “Last Comic Standing” closed primetime in first with 5.45 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC. CBS was second with 4.71 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating for an “Elementary” repeat. ABC's new “Black Box” averaged 3.72 million viewers and a 0.8 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.