TV Ratings: Thursday dramas drooping, ABC splits night with CBS

CBS' 'Survivor,' 'CSI' and 'The Mentalist' all win their hours, while 'The Office' has a big night

Friday, Oct 9, 2009 11:56 AM

Daniel Fienberg

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TV Ratings: Thursday dramas drooping, ABC splits night with CBS

James Pickens Jr. of 'Grey's Anatomy'

Credit: ABC

Fast national ratings for Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009.

Even though viewership for "FlashForward," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" left ABC well behind CBS overall on Thursday night, but the network still held onto the 18-49 demographic.

Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 4.0 rating for the night, beating the 3.3 rating for CBS in the all-important demo. NBC's 2.8 rating and the 2.5 rating for FOX followed. The CW trailed with a 1.4 rating

Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 13.51 million viewers to go with an 8.4 rating/14 share. ABC was well back in second with a 7.0/11, averaging nearly three million fewer viewers. FOX's 4.9/8 was third, beating the 3.9/6 for NBC. The CW trailed with a 1.9/3.

CBS won the 8 p.m. hour with a 7.1/11 for "Survivor: Samoa," which also had a 3.4 demo rating. FOX moved up to second with a 6.1/10 for "Bones." In its third week, "FlashForward" was down to a 5.9/9, though its 3.0 rating finished second in the demo. In its first 8 p.m. airing, "Community" had a 3.5/6 and did only a 2.0 rating, lower than what "Parks and Recreation" did afterwards. "The Vampire Diaries" on The CW had a 2.1/3 for the hour.

At 9 p.m. CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" won the hour overall with a 9.1/14, moving ahead of the 8.9/14 for ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," though "Grey's Anatomy" won the hour with a 5.3 demo rating. CBS was actually third for the hour in the demo, as NBC's "The Office," featuring a much-hyped wedding, did a 5.2/8 and a 4.5 demo rating, both on the high side. FOX's "Fringe" was a distant fourth with a 3.7/6 and a 2.1 demo rating. The CW was fifth with "Supernatural."

CBS remained in first at 10 p.m. with a 9.1/16 for "The Mentalist." ABC's "Private Practice" had a 6.3/11 and won the demo with a 3.7 rating. "The Jay Leno Show" averaged under 5 million viewers for NBC.

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