TV Ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Mentalist' score Thursday wins

CBS dominates Thursday overall, but ABC ekes out a win in the demo

By Daniel Fienberg Friday, Nov 6, 2009 12:44 PM

Simon Baker of 'The Mentalist'

Credit: CBS

Fast National ratings for Thursday, November 5, 2009.

With no World Series Game Seven in sight, the networks returned to their usual Thursday night ratings form. "Grey's Anatomy" was the night's top show in the 18-49 demo and helped ABC to a win there, while "The Mentalist" was Thursday's most-watched show overall, helping CBS dominate overall.

Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 3.7 rating, just ahead of the 3.5 rating for CBS. NBC's 2.4 rating, the 2.1 rating for FOX and The CW's 1.6 rating followed in a bunch.

Overall, though, CBS was in control, averaging an estimated 14.4 million viewers to go with an 8.9 rating/15 share. ABC was second with a 6.8/11 and an estimated 10.43 million viewers. FOX's 4.1/7 was good for a distant third, still better than NBC's 3.6/6 and the 2.1/3 for The CW.

The resilient "Survivor: Samoa" dominated the 8 p.m. hour with a 7.5/12 and a 3.7 rating in the key demographic. ABC's "FlashForward" slipped slightly to a 5.5/9 overall and a 2.6 rating in the demo. That was barely enough to beat FOX, which had a 5.2/8 for "Bones," along with a 2.5 rating in the demo. NBC's "Community" and "Parks and Recreation" was fourth, barely up from last week. In fifth, The CW's "The Vampire Diaries" remained strong with a 2.6/4 and 4.21 million viewers.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" won the 9 p.m. hour overall with a 9.4/15. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" had an 8.9/14 for second, but won the hour in the demo with a 5.0 rating. NBC's "The Office" (4.8/7) and "30 Rock" (3.6/6) were third overall and tied "CSI" for second in the demo. FOX's "Fringe" returned to a 3.1/5 and a weak 1.7 demo rating. The CW's "Supernatural" in line with its season average.

CBS closed the night in first with a 9.9/17 for "The Mentalist," which had averaged 15.37 million viewers, most of any show on the night. ABC's "Private Practice" was second with a 6.1/11 and won the hour in the 18-49 demo with a 3.5 rating, though its demo-winning margin was the smallest all season. NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" was third.

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.