TV Ratings: Thursday split fueled by 'Big Brother,' 'Rookie Blue'

CBS wins overall, while ABC narrowly wins the demo

By Daniel Fienberg Friday, Jul 30, 2010 11:38 AM

Andrew of 'Big Brother'

Credit: CBS

Fast National ratings for Thursday, July 29, 2010.

The continued successes of summer originals "Big Brother" and "Rookie Blue" helped ABC and CBS each claim a small slice of the Thursday night glory.

Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 1.7 rating, nipping the 1.6 ratings for CBS and FOX in the key demographic. NBC's 1.0 rating was fourth, with The CW's 0.5 rating bringing up the rear.

Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 6.615 million viewers to go with a 4.2 rating/8 share. ABC was a solid second with 3.6/7 and an average of 5.97 million viewers. FOX's 3.0/6 was third, with NBC's 2.0/4 coming in fourth. The CW was fifth with a 0.8/1.

"Big Brother" ruled the 8 p.m. hour for CBS, doing a 4.0/8 and a 2.2 demo rating. ABC's repeat of "Wipeout" averaged a 3.5/7 for second. FOX's "Glee" repeat had a 2.6/5, easily topping NBC's repeats of "Community" and "30 Rock." The CW's repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" was fifth with a 0.9/2.

ABC moved into first overall in the 9 p.m. hour with a 4.1/7 for "Rookie Blue," which has been holding its audience even with "Wipeout" repeats leading in. CBS was second with a repeat of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" results did a 3.5/6 for third overall, but won the hour with a 1.9 demo ratings. NBC's "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" repeats finished fourth with a 1.9/3, leaving The CW's "Moonlight" repeat in last with a 0.7/1.

CBS moved back into first in the 10 p.m. hour with a 4.8/9 for a repeat of "The Mentalist," which also won the hour with a 1.4 demo rating. ABC's "Boston Med" had a 3.2/6 for second. NBC's repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" 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.