TV Ratings: 'Survivor,' 'CSI,' 'Mentalist' dominate Thursday

'The Office' and 'Bones' are both up, but 'Fringe' dips

By Daniel Fienberg Friday, Dec 11, 2009 11:40 AM

Laurence Fishburne of 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'

Credit: CBS

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009.

Facing repeats from its usual top competition on ABC, CBS "Survivor: Samoa," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "The Mentalist" all delivered convincing wins on Thursday. In the ABC-less space, NBC's comedies and FOX's "Bones" were also up, but "Fringe" fell from last week.

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 4.1 rating, far ahead of FOX and NBC's 2.7 rating in the coveted demographic. ABC's 1.2 rating was a distant fourth, still holding off the 0.7 rating for The CW in fifth.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 15.94 million viewers in primetime to go with a 9.7 rating/16 share. FOX was second with a 5.3/8, followed by NBC's 4.0/7 and the 3.0/5 for ABC. The CW's 1.1/2 trailed.

CBS swept primetime both overall and in the key demo, starting at 8 p.m. with an 8.0/13 for "Survivor: Samoa," which also turned in a 4.3 rating in the demo. FOX's "Bones" did a 6.7/11 and also had a robust 3.1 demo rating. NBC's "Community" and "Parks and Recreation" averaged a 3.6/6, with both shows up from last week. ABC's "FlashForward" repeat was fourth overall, still beating the 1.3/2 for The CW's repeat of "The Vampire Diaries."

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" had a 10.4/16 for CBS in the 9 p.m. hour, also winning with a 4.1 demo rating and delivering the night's biggest overall audience with 17.1 million viewers. NBC's "The Office" and "30 Rock" both had good weeks with a 4.8/8, with the 4.4 demo rating for "The Office" standing as the night's best. FOX's "Fringe" had a 3.8/6 for third, but, lost viewers and dropped slightly in the demo from that week. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" repeat was a close fourth with a 3.4/5. The CW's "Supernatural" repeat was fifth.

In the 10 p.m. hour, "The Mentalist" did a 10.6/18 and averaged a 3.8 rating in the demo. NBC got to spend a night in second with "The Jay Leno Show" doing a 3.7/6 and a 1.9 rating in the demo, both better than ABC's "Private Practice" repeat.

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.