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[12/10/10 - 08:45 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS, Despite Declines, Stays in Front
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, december 9, 2010)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (12.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1), despite across the board dips (see below for specifics), held onto the top spot on Thursday with new episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (12.13 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T1), "Bleep My Dad Says" (9.50 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (13.14 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4) and "The Mentalist" (13.35 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #7).

ABC (10.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #2) then took home a competitive second place with its mix of "Shrek the Halls" (6.94 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T13), "Disney Prep & Landing" (7.46 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.1, #10), "Barbara Walters Special: Oprah, The Next Chapter" (13.15 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #5) and "Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2010" (12.15 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.2, #3).

Next up was NBC (5.69 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) with new episodes of "Community" (4.74 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11) and "30 Rock" (5.24 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.2, #9) followed by a one-hour "The Office" (7.59 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.8, #T1) and the season finale of "The Apprentice" (4.50 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T13). Said number for "Apprentice" in the key demo graphic marked a season high.

Meanwhile, FOX (7.02 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #4) offered up the fall finales of "Bones" (8.76 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8) and "Fringe" (5.27 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.9, #12).

And finally, The CW (2.71 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) did the same with "The Vampire Diaries" (3.12 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.3, #15) and "Nikita" (2.31 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #16).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Apprentice (28.60%), Fringe (5.60%), Community (5.30%), The Office (2.70%), Bones (-4.20%), 30 Rock (-4.30%), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (-6.30% vs. 11/18/10), The Big Bang Theory (-11.60% vs. 11/18/10), Bleep My Dad Says (-12.90% vs. 11/18/10), The Vampire Diaries (-18.80%), Nikita (-20.00%), The Mentalist (-20.00% vs. 11/18/10).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (4.0/9) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.9/7) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.1/8). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.9/6) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.5/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.6/5) and "Daly" (0.9/4) on NBC.


Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/10/09):

CBS (15.94 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) dominated the competition on Thursday thanks to new episodes of "Survivor: Samoa" (13.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.3, #2), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (17.11 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #3) and "The Mentalist" (16.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.8, #4).

FOX (8.58 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T2) then took home the silver with new episodes of "Bones" (10.83 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.1, #6) and "Fringe" (6.32 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T7).

Sharing second place was NBC (6.65 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #T2) with fresh installments of "Community" (5.98 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T7), "Parks & Recreation" (5.62 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T7), "The Office" (9.24 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1), "30 Rock" (7.54 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.5, #5) and "The Jay Leno Show" (5.77 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.9, #10).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) dropped to fourth with its all-repeat lineup of "FlashForward" (3.95 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13), "Grey's Anatomy" (4.87 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #11) and "Private Practice" (3.91 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.85 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14) and "Supernatural" (1.42 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #15) on The CW (1.64 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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