or


[01/13/09 - 11:35 AM]
The Mentalist Delivers Its Largest Audience Ever
CBS spins the numbers for the week of January 5-11.

[via press release from CBS]

"THE MENTALIST" DELIVERS ITS LARGEST AUDIENCE EVER

"The People's Choice Awards" Posts Double Digit Percentage Gains Versus Last Year

"Flashpoint" Premieres With a Win in All Key Measures Delivering the Time Period's Largest Audience Since May 2007

CBS Wins Sunday as AFC Divisional Playoff Runover Averages 35 Million Viewers

In an atypical week with primetime football airing three nights on the competition, CBS placed second in viewers and key demographics led by record ratings for THE MENTALIST, the premiere of FLASHPOINT and a strong performance by THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for the week ending Jan. 11, week 16 of the 2008-2009 television season.

For the week in viewers: CBS (11.74m), FOX (14.17m), NBC (8.26m) and ABC (7.80m). Season-to-date, CBS is first in viewers (11.58m), ahead of ABC (9.22m), FOX (8.25m) and NBC (8.06m).

For the week in households: CBS (7.3/12), FOX (8.4/13),NBC (5.2/08) and ABC (5.0/08). Season-to-date, CBS is first (7.2/12), ahead of ABC (5.8/09) and both NBC and FOX (5.0/08, each).

For the week in key demographics, CBS was second in both adults 25-54 (4.1/10) and adults 18-49 (3.1/08). Season-to-date, CBS is first in adults 25-54 (4.1/10) and adults 18-49 (3.1/08).

CBS's Weekly Highlights:

-- CBS won Tuesday in households (10.8/17), viewers (17.32m), adults 25-54 (5.1/12) and was second in adults 18-49 (3.5/09). This was the sixth straight Tuesday win for CBS in households and viewers, 13th win this season in both measures. CBS won five of the last six Tuesdays in adults 25-54.

? NCIS was first in households (11.6/18), viewers (19.10m), adults 25-54 (5.6/13) and second in adults 18-49 (3.8/10, -0.2 behind NBC). This is the second largest audience ever for a first-run NCIS episode, just behind the Dec.16, 2008 broadcast.

? THE MENTALIST was first in households (12.2/18), viewers (19.62m), adults 25-54 (5.9/13) and second in adults 18-49 (4.0/10). THE MENTALIST was up +5% in households (from 11.6/18) while adding +310,000 viewers (from 19.31m, +2%) compared to the last first run episode (on Dec. 16, 2008). These are series highs in both households and viewers, second best delivery ever in adults 25-54 (behind the Dec.16, 2008 broadcast). This is CBS's largest audience for a first run regularly scheduled program in this time period since Feb. 28, 1995 (CBS TUESDAY MOVIE: "Children of the Dust" Part 2).

? THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS (S) was first in adults 18-49 (3.0/08) and second in households (6.0/10), viewers (9.41m) and adults 25-54 (3.6/08, -0.1 behind ABC). THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS was up +43% in households (from 4.2/07), +80% in adults 25-54 (from 2.0/05), +88% in adults 18-49 (from 1.6/04) and added +3.45m viewers (from 5.96m, +58%) compared to last year's event (on Jan. 8, 2008).

-- CBS was first Friday in households (6.4/11), viewers (10.26m), adults 25-54 (3.4/09) and adults 18-49 (2.3/07). This was CBS's 13th win in 15 Fridays in households, viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49. This was CBS's best Friday delivery in viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 since Nov. 21, 2008. CBS won every half-hour in households, viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49.

? FLASHPOINT (P) was first in households (6.2/10), viewers (10.00m), adults 25-54 (3.1/08) and adults 18-49 (2.1/06). Compared to the time period's regularly scheduled live plus same day delivery this season, FLASHPOINT was up +51% in households (from 4.1/07), +29% in adults 25-54 (from 2.4/07), +11% in adults 18-49 (from 1.9/06) and added +4.00m viewers (from 6.00m, +67%). This is CBS's best performance in this time period with a first-run regularly scheduled program in both households and viewers since May 11, 2007 ("Close to Home"), in adults 25-54 since Jan.18, 2008 ("Moonlight") and in adults 18-49 since May 2, 2008 ("Moonlight").

? GAME SHOW IN MY HEAD 8:00 PM was second in households (4.3/07), viewers (7.17m), adults 25-54 (2.8/07) and adults 18-49 (2.5/07) - all behind FOX's football. Compared to last week's premiere, GAME SHOW IN MY HEAD 8PM was up +95% in households (from 2.2/04), +133% in adults 25-54 (from 1.2/03), +150% in adults 18-49 (from 1.0/03) and added +3.86m viewers (from 3.31m, +217%).

? GAME SHOW IN MY HEAD 8:30 PM was second in households (3.3/05), viewers (5.56m), adults 25-54 (2.1/05) and adults 18-49 (1.9/05) - all behind FOX's football. Compared to last week's premiere, GAME SHOW IN MY HEAD 8:30PM was up +50% in households (from 2.2/04), +62% in adults 25-54 (from 1.3/03), +73% in adults 18-49 (from 1.1/03) and added +2.13m viewers (from 3.43m, +62%).

-- CBS was first Sunday in households (11.0/17), viewers (18.56m), adults 25-54 (6.9/15) and adults 18-49 (5.5/13).

? CBS's AFC Divisional Playoff Game 62 minute prime run over posted a 19.9/32 with 34.95m viewers, 14.4/34 in adults 25-54 and 12.2/33 in adults 18-49. CBS led the 7:00-8:00PM time period in households, viewers and key demographics. From 8:02-8:06PM, CBS's AFC Post-Game Show delivered a 12.6/20 with 21.35m viewers, 8.4/19 in adults 25-54 and 7.0/18 in adults 18-49.

CBS top programs of the week: #3 AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF POST-GAME (S) (an average 21.35m viewers), #4 THE MENTALIST (19.62m), #5 NCIS (19.10m), #8 60 MINUTES (15.03m), #12 WITHOUT A TRACE (13.13m), #15 COLD CASE (12.30m), #17 TWO AND A HALF MEN (11.56m), #18 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (R) (11.00m), #20 GHOST WHISPERER (10.64m), #21 CSI: MIAMI (R) (10.40m), #24 THE UNIT (10.16m), #25 NUMB3RS (10.14m), #26 FLASHPOINT (P) (10.00m) and #28 THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS (S) (9.41m).





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 60 MINUTES (CBS)
· CLOSE TO HOME (CBS)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· CSI: MIAMI (CBS)
· FLASHPOINT (ION)
· GAME SHOW IN MY HEAD (CBS)
· GHOST WHISPERER (CBS)
· MENTALIST, THE (CBS)
· MOONLIGHT (CBS)
· NCIS (CBS)
· NUMB3RS (CBS)
· TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[05/29/26 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine, Leading "Dateline" in Total Viewers for the 5th Consecutive Broadcast Season
"20/20" improved on the previous season in Total Viewers (+5%/+170,000 - 3.672 million vs. 3.502 million).

[05/29/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
"Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.

[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.

[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.

[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.

[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.

[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.

[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.

[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.

[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.

[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.

[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.

[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.