TV Ratings: Viewers bid farewell to George W. Bush, 'CSI' star

Laurence Fishburne and William Petersen of 'CSI'

Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009.

President George W. Bush and "CSI" star William Petersen said good-bye to America on the same night. In terms of ratings, it wasn't even a close race.

CBS averaged a 4.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic for Thursday say, topping the 3.5 rating for ABC and NBC's 3.0 rating. FOX's 1.8 rating and The CW's 1.5 rating trailed in the key demo.

CBS also won handily overall, averaging an estimated 17.4 million viewers and a 10.7 rating/17 share. ABC was a distant second with a 6.0/9. NBC's 4.4/7 was third. FOX had a 2.6/4 and narrowly beat the 2.2/3.

Pres. Bush's speech made a bit of a mess of the 8 p.m. hour. CBS came out on top with the speech and a "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" repeat averaging an 8.6/13. NBC was second with the 4.1/6 for the speech and "My Name Is Earl." ABC's speech and "Scrubs" beat FOX's speech and "Kitchen Nightmares" and The CW's "Smallville," which both averaged a 2.6/4.

At 9 p.m. CBS aired the end of the "CSI" repeat and Gil Grissom's final "CSI" episode and drew a 13.9/21 for the hour. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" was a distant second with an 8.5/13 on the hour. NBC averaged a 4.5/7 for "The Office" and "30 Rock." FOX finished fourth with "Kitchen Nightmares," beating the 1.8/3 for "Supernatural."

CBS also won the 10 p.m. hour with the end of "CSI" and a new "Eleventh Hour," which did a 9.7/16 for the hour. ABC's "Private Practice" did a 5.9/10, beating "ER" on 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, particularly in the case of live events.