TV Ratings: 'It's a Wonderful Life' helps NBC split Thursday

Christmas Eve is slow across the board, but CBS wins overall and NBC takes the demo

Saturday, Dec 26, 2009 1:44 PM

Daniel Fienberg

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'It's a Wonderful Life'

Credit: NBC

Fast National ratings for Thursday, December 24, 2009.

CBS' procedurals may have won Christmas Eve overall, but younger viewers favored NBC's encore presentation of that beloved holiday favorite "It's a Wonderful Life."

Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 1.6 rating, editing the 1.3 rating for CBS in the key demographic. ABC and FOX both posted a 0.8 rating, beating out the 0.3 rating for The CW.

Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 6.84 million viewers on Christmas Eve to go with a 4.4 rating/10 share. NBC was second with a 3.0/7. FOX's 1.9/4 and the 1.6/4 for ABC followed. The CW's 0.7/2 trailed.

CBS began the night in first with a 3.4/8 for a repeat of "CSI: New York." NBC's "It's a Wonderful Life" had a 2.5/6 overall and won the hour in the key demo with a 1.3 rating. FOX was third with a 2.2/5. ABC's umpteenth encore of "Disney's Prep & Landing," plus a repeat of "The Middle" was fourth. The CW's "Vampire Diaries" repeat had a 0.7/2 for fifth.

A repeat of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" kept CBS in first at 9 p.m. with a 4.5/10. NBC's Jimmy Stewart movie remained second with a 2.9/6 and improved to a 1.6 rating in the key demo. ABC moved up to third with a 1.7/4 for repeats of "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town." FOX's "Fringe" had a 1.5/3 for fourth. The CW's "Supernatural" was fifth.

CBS' "The Mentalist" delivered a 5.3/11 in the 10 p.m. hour, the biggest audience of the night. NBC's "It's a Wonderful Life" was second with a 3.5/8 and a 2.0 demo rating. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" trailed.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.