TV Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' dominates as CBS originals lead Thursday

'Person of Interest' and 'Elementary' also control their hours

By Daniel Fienberg Friday, Jan 4, 2013 11:57 AM

"The Big Bang Theory"

Credit: CBS

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Fast National ratings for Thursday, January 3, 2013.

With the competing networks either in repeats or airing "Mobbed," CBS' original lineup dominated Thursday primetime, with "The Big Bang Theory," Two and a Half Men," "Person of Interest" and "Elementary" all leading their slots in all key measures.

It was, in fact, the largest-ever audience for "Big Bang Theory" and "Person of Interest," as well as the biggest "Elementary" audience since its premiere.

For the night, CBS averaged a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49, trouncing second place FOX's 1.1 rating in the key demographic. ABC and NBC both averaged a 0.8 key demo rating, while The CW did a 0.4 key demo rating.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 14.895 million viewers to go with a 9.0 rating/14 share for Thursday primetime. ABC was laughably far back with a 2.3/4 and 3.25 million viewers, beating the 2.915 million viewers and 1.8/3 for FOX. NBC was close behind with a 1.7/3 and 2.52 million viewers. The CW averaged 996,000 viewers and a 0.7/1 for the night.

8 p.m. - "The Big Bang Theory" delivered a whopping 18.98 million viewers and a 6.0 rating among adults 18-49, leading into the 15.39 million viewers and a 4.6 key demo rating for "Two and a Half Men." ABC got 3.19 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating for a "Nashville" repeat, compared to the 2.74 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for FOX's "Mobbed." NBC's repeats of "30 Rock" and "Up All Night" averaged 2.21 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo. On The CW, a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" averaged 1.12 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.

9 p.m. - "Person of Interest" averaged 16.135 million viewers and a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS in the 9 p.m. hour. FOX's "Mobbed" was a distant second with 3.09 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating. A repeat of "Scandal" averaged 2.91 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating for ABC, compared to the 1.92 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating for NBC's repeats of "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation." The CW's repeat of "Beauty and the Beast" averaged 868,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.

10 p.m. - "Elementary" closed out CBS' sweep with 11.36 million viewers and 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. Another "Scandal" repeat averaged 3.65 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating for ABC, topping the 3.43 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating for NBC's "Rock Center."

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

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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.