TV Ratings: 'Big Bang' repeat, 'Ice Age' special lead Thanksgiving Thursday

'A Very Gaga Thanksgiving' wins 10 p.m. with young viewers

By Daniel Fienberg Friday, Nov 25, 2011 12:17 PM

Scrat from "Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas"

Credit: FOX

Are you a fan of TV Ratings?

Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.

Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 24, 2011.

On a Thanksgiving night featuring two different Charlie Brown specials, an "Ice Age" special and a "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving," CBS dominated primetime with its regular lineup of Thursday repeats, led by "The Big Bang Theory."

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 2.1 rating, nipping FOX's 1.7 rating and ABC's 1.6 rating in the key demographic. NBC was fourth with a 1.1 rating, followed by the 0.3 rating for The CW.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 8.43 million viewers in primetime along with a 4.9 rating/9 share. ABC was second with a 2.9/6 and 5.39 million viewers, edging out the 2.4/5 and 5.1 million viewers for FOX. NBC was fourth with 3.69 million viewers and a 2.1/4. The CW's 0.6/1 and 884,000 viewers trailed.

8 p.m. - CBS dominated the 8 p.m. hour with repeats "The Big Bang Theory" (11.24 million viewers and a 3.6 key demo rating) and "Rules of Engagement" (7.88 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating). FOX was second a solid performance for "Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas" (7.06 million and a 2.3 key demo rating) and "Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown" (5.3 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating). ABC's "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" averaged 5.78 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's "Horton Hears a Who" averaged 3.39 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating in fourth, beating the 992,000 viewers for The CW's "Vampire Diaries" repeat.

9 p.m. - A "Person of Interest" repeat won the 9 p.m. hour for CBS with 7.97 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's repeat of "The Middle" (4.25 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo) and the start of "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" (5.75 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating) was second. FOX was third with 4.02 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating for the end of the Charlie Brown special and repeat of "The Simpsons." NBC's "Horton Hears a Who" averaged nearly 4 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating for fourth. The CW's "Secret Circle" repeat trailed with 776,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.

10 p.m. - CBS' "The Mentalist" repeat won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 7.76 million viewers, but finished second with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" was second overall with 5.39 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.6 key demo rating. NBC's "The 85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" special averaged 3.69 million viewers and a 1.1 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.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.