TV Ratings: Thursday Night Football rout tops ‘Gracepoint,’ NBC comedy premieres

Fast National ratings for Thursday, October 2, 2014.

Yet another dismal Thursday Night Football rout still helped CBS hold off the primetime competition as “Gracepoint,” “Bad Judge” and “A to Z” all delivered lackluster debuts.

Meanwhile, although ABC's Shonda Rhimes Thursday lineup sported across-the-board declines, none of the drops were dangerously large as the network finished second in all measures. [Plus, all three ABC dramas rose last week in Finals, which has been a consistent recent trend for ABC.]

Oh and The CW had its first fall premieres, with “The Vampire Diaries” delivering solid demo numbers and “Reign” flopping. “The Vampire Diaries” was, in fact, up from last year's finale and beat NBC's “Biggest Loser” among adults 18-34.

On to the Fast National ratings…

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 4.2 rating for Thursday night, far ahead of ABC's 3.0 rating in the key demographic. NBC and FOX both averaged a 1.3 key demo rating for a distant third, while The CW averaged a 0.6 key demo rating for the night.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 12.4 million viewers and a 7.4 rating/12 share for Thursday, comfortably beating the 10.415 million viewers and and 7.0/12 for ABC for the night. FOX was third with 5.57 million viewers and a 3.5/6, topping NBC's 4.81 million viewers and 3.2/5. The CW's 1.42 million viewers and 0.9/2 trailed.

8 p.m. – Pregame and the start of Thursday Night Football led CBS in the 8 p.m. hour with 11.87 million viewers and a 3.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” dropped to 9.07 million viewers and a 2.6 key demo rating for second, still far in front of the 6.3 million viewers and 1.5 key demo rating for FOX's “Bones.” NBC's “The Biggest Loser” averaged 4.72 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating in fourth. On The CW, “The Vampire Diaries” drew 1.78 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – The Vikings-Packers game, which got out of hand quickly, drew 14.28 million viewers and a 4.9 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS in the 9 p.m. hour. ABC's “Scandal” was second with 10.41 million viewers and a 3.3 key demo rating, easily beating CBS in female demos. NBC was third with unimpressive debuts for “Bad Judge” (an OK 5.86 million viewers, but a less OK 1.3 key demo rating) and “A to Z” (4.81 million and a 1.2 key demo rating). FOX's “Gracepoint” didn't make a big splash with 4.83 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, though it beat NBC's comedies in most male demos). The CW's “Reign” drew only 1.05 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating in its second season premiere.

10 p.m. – ABC's “How To Get Away With Murder” won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 11.76 million viewers and finished second with a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49, compared to the 11.04 million viewers and 4.1 key demo rating for CBS' football. NBC's “Parenthood” averaged 4.36 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.

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