Fast National ratings for Thursday, October 10, 2013.
It was a very mixed Thursday, as several networks found things to be enthusiastic about and several shows sunk into the danger zone.
CBS was, as always, led by “The Big Bang Theory,” which was Thursday’s top show in must measures and led the network to overall wins for the night, though “The Millers,” “The Crazy Ones” and “Two and a Half Men” all continued to fall, despite that powerful lead-in.
Some of the declines for several shows in the 9 p.m. hour are probably due to a well-above-average audience for FOX’s “Glee,” which paid tribute to the late Cory Monteith and drew its biggest audience since last September.
The night’s lone premiere was ABC’s “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,” which came in below the fall Thursday 8 p.m. launches for “FlashForward,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “Last Resort” from recent years. And while it still led the 10 p.m. hour, ABC’s “Scandal” was down from last week’s premiere.
Meanwhile, NBC’s former Must See Thursday was five shows averaging under 4 million viewers and between an 0.8 and 1.2 in the key demo, with rather dire numbers across the board.
Note that The CW’s lineup was preempted in the New York market for football and will probably change, perhaps dramatically in the case of the 9 p.m. encore of “The Originals.”
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.8 rating for Thursday night, tops in the key demographic. ABC was a close second with a 2.5 key demo rating, edging out FOX’s 2.4 key demo rating. NBC averaged a woeful 1.1 key demo rating, edging out the 0.9 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, CBS had more of a cushion averaging 10.97 million viewers and a 6.9 rating/11 share for Thursday, well ahead of the 7.82 million viewers and 5.2/8 for ABC. FOX was third with 6.85 million viewers and a 4.3/7, followed at a distance by NBC’s 3.39 million viewers and a 2.2/4. The CW averaged a 1.5/2 and 2.2 million viewers.
8 p.m. – CBS ruled the 8 p.m. hour with “The Big Bang Theory” (17.19 million and a 4.9 key demo) and “The Millers” (11.91 million and a 3.1 key demo). [“The Millers” was down by over a million viewers, but the key demo drop of only 0.2 so far is pretty encouraging.] FOX’s “The X Factor” was second with 6.29 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” launched to 5.74 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating. NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” (3.25 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo) and “Welcome to the Family” (2.5 million and a 0.8 key demo) both struggled in a close race with the provisional 2.49 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for “The Vampire Diaries” on The CW.
9 p.m. – CBS held a narrow overall lead, but finished third in the key demo with “The Crazy Ones” (9.92 million and a 2.4 key demo) and “Two and a Half Men” (9.03 million and a 2.3 key demo). ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was second overall with 8.72 million viewers and tied for first with a 2.8 key demo rating, slipping from last week despite a heavily promoted episode. FOX’s “Glee” averaged 7.41 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating, strikingly up from last week’s 4.42 million and 1.6 in the demo. NBC’s “Sean Saves the World” (3.26 million and a 1.0 key demo) and “The Michael J. Fox Show” (3.845 million and 1.2 key demo) were both down. The CW currently has averages of 1.92 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating for an “Originals” encore, but that’s going to change.
10 p.m. – “Scandal” won the 10 p.m. hour with just under 9 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49, over by roughly 1.5 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo from last week’s return. “Elementary” averaged 8.94 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating in second. NBC’s “Parenthood” averaged only 3.75 million viewers and a 1.2 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.