TV Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' crushes 'American Idol' on Thursday, while 'Do No Harm' tanks
'30 Rock' gets a solid finale bump for NBC
Thursday's "Big Bang Theory"
Credit: NBC
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"American Idol" had its first head-to-head meeting of the season with a new "Big Bang Theory" and the results weren't close. The CBS comedy crushed "American Idol" in all measures, helping the network to ratings wins on Thursday night.
On a busy night, NBC saw "30 Rock" get a reasonably large finale bump (by recent "30 Rock" standards), but "Do No Harm failed immediately and dramatically. Meanwhile, ABC's "Scandal" approached series highs once again and The CW got a very strong night out of "The Vampire Diaries," as lots and lots of people were watching TV on Thursday.
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 3.4 rating, nipping the 3.3 rating for FOX in the key demographic. ABC's 2.2 rating was third, followed by NBC's 1.6 rating and the 1.0 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, CBS had a bit more breathing room with 14.01 million viewers and an 8.7 rating/14 share, comfortably beating the 5.7/9 and 9.63 million viewers for FOX. ABC was third on the night with 7.15 million viewers and a 4.9/8, followed by the 2.6/4 and 4.05 million viewers for NBC. The CW averaged a 1.3/2 and 2.15 million viewers for Thursday night.
[Univision averaged 4.01 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 for Thursday night.]
8 p.m. - CBS won the 8 p.m. hour with "The Big Bang Theory" (17.51 million and a 5.3 key demo) and "Two and a Half Men" (13.72 million and a 3.9 key demo). FOX's "American Idol" averaged 13.73 million viewers and a 4.5 rating among adults 18-49 for the hour, losing the first half-hour, but slipping ahead of CBS in the second. NBC's "30 Rock" moved up to third with nearly 4.8 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating for its series finale. ABC's repeat of "Shark Tank" was fourth with 4.59 million viewers and fifth with a 1.1 key demo rating. The CW's "The Vampire Diaries" averaged 2.57 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. - "Person of Interest" controlled the 9 p.m. hour for CBS with 15.62 million viewers and a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" was second with 8.77 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating. Increased competition took a big bite out of FOX's "Glee," which slipped to 5.54 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating in third. On NBC, two episodes of "The Office" averaged 4.23 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating. The CW's "Beauty and the Beast" averaged 1.73 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.
10 p.m. - "Elementary" won the 10 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 10.8 million viewers, but finished second with a 2.2 rating among adults 18-49. It was the second biggest night for "Scandal," which drew nearly 8.1 million viewers and ruled the hour with a 2.7 key demo rating for ABC. NBC's "Do No Harm" did no ratings in third with 3.13 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating. [NBC's "Awake" drew over 6.2 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating in its premiere at nearly the same time last year.]
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.
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.
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February 1, 2013 at 2:25PM EST Reply to CommentDo No Harm just looked awful. I can't believe they managed to find 3 million people to watch. I imagine that was measured during the first few minutes from The Office's lead in?
John I'm guessing all the people in the demo turned off NBC after The Office and all the kids and old people fell asleep in front of the TV.
February 1, 2013 at 2:49PM ESTSam @John Old people asleep in front of the TV is CBS's bread and butter!
February 1, 2013 at 3:16PM ESTGina
February 1, 2013 at 3:15PM EST Reply to CommentSo glad that "Person of Interest" is getting these great numbers. The last few episodes have been amazing!
night magic
February 4, 2013 at 6:59PM EST Reply to Commentwow cant believe the ratings were down for tvd ep 12 .it was great lots of action ! Stefan wasnt being so cruel and i think Stebecca are really cute !!! and what he did for her was really nice !!! so sad about kol dying !! but so glad Damon is out !!! klaus is one scary original !!! thank goodness for Bonnie !!!