Fast National ratings for Thursday, September 15, 2011.
Solid season premieres for “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Secret Circle” helped The CW spend a rare Thursday night out of last place, but it was ABC and CBS that claimed primetime victories.
Among adults 18-49, ABC and CBS averaged a 1.8 rating, tops in the key demographic. The CW averaged a 1.4 rating, beating FOX’s 1.0 rating and the 0.9 rating for NBC.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 8.06 million viewers to go with a 5.3 rating/9 share in primetime. ABC was well back in second with a 3.4/6 and 5.55 million viewers. FOX averaged a 2.6/4 and 3.79 million viewers in third. The CW’s 1.9/3 and 2.989 million viewers beat NBC’s 1.9/3 and 2.7 million viewers.
[Univision averaged 3.72 million viewers and primetime and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49.]
8 p.m. – CBS’ repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” started primetime in first with 8.42 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC was second with 6.49 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating for “Wipeout.” FOX’s “Bones” repeat finished third with 3.7 million viewers. The CW was fourth with 2.985 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating for “The Vampire Diaries,” which tied last September’s premiere in the key demo and was down by only a hair in total viewers. On NBC, repeats of “Community” (2.17 million) and Wednesday’s premiere of “Up All Night” (2.59 million) finished fifth.
9 p.m. – CBS stayed first overall for the 9 p.m. hour with 7.31 million viewers for a “Mentalist” repeat. ABC’s “Wipeout” was second overall with 6.95 million viewers and tops among adults 18-49 with a 2.4 rating. Another FOX “Bones” repeat stayed third with 3.87 million viewers. On The CW, the series premiere of “The Secret Circle” averaged 2.99 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. While “Secret Circle” averaged fewer viewers than “Nikita” did last year, it outstripped “Nikita” in the 18-49 demo and actually matched a CW all-time high for the time period among women 18-34. NBC’s repeats of “The Office” (3.13 million) and “Free Agents” (2.39 million) trailed.
10 p.m. – Another “Mentalist” repeat kept CBS in first for the 10 p.m. hour with 8.435 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-4. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” repeat averaged 3.21 million viewers, beating the 2.96 million for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.