or


[04/01/11 - 09:01 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "Grey's" Surges But Can't Catch "Idol"
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, march 31, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (16.43 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday thanks to a new "American Idol" (22.02 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.7, #1) and the reality special "Mobbed" (10.85 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.8, #3). Said numbers marked the most-watched unscripted telecast to follow an "Idol" episode in over two years (since "Hell's Kitchen" on 1/29/09).

ABC (8.89 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) then took home second place with new episodes of "Wipeout" (6.34 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.9, #9), "Grey's Anatomy" (12.72 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.8, #2) and "Private Practice" (7.60 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7).

Next up was CBS (12.10 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #3) with the post-NCAA return of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.70 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4), "Rules of Engagement" (8.18 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (12.49 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T5) and "The Mentalist" (13.86 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.38 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up its mix of "Community" (2.29 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.9, #15), "Perfect Couples" (2.14 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T12), "The Office" (3.16 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #10), "Parks & Recreation" (2.39 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #11), "30 Rock" (2.16 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T12) and "Outsourced" (2.12 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T12) - all repeats, save for "Couples," which hit a series low without first-run bookends.

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.20 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16) and "Nikita" (1.15 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.4, #17) on The CW (1.18 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Grey's Anatomy (33.30%), American Idol (8.10%), Private Practice (0.00%), The Big Bang Theory (-5.30% vs. 3/10/11), The Mentalist (-6.70% vs. 3/10/11), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (-9.70% vs. 3/10/11), Wipeout (-13.60%), Rules of Engagement (-17.90% vs. 3/10/11), Perfect Couples (-37.50%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.5/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.9/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.8/4; "Nightline," 1.1/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.5/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) tied "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/1/10):

CBS (12.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #1) snagged the top spot on Thursday thanks to a new "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (11.08 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T1) followed by a flipped editions of "The Mentalist" (13.93 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T3) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (13.21 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T3).

ABC (7.55 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2) then had to settle for the silver with new episodes of "FlashForward" (5.07 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11), "Grey's Anatomy" (9.75 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T1) and "Private Practice" (7.83 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T3).

Next up was FOX (7.20 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) with the return of "Bones" (8.44 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #6) and "Fringe" (5.97 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.44 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) offered up one-hour repeats of "The Office" (4.04 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #10), another "The Office" (4.02 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.8, #9) and a new "The Marriage Ref" (5.26 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #7).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.80 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #12) and "Supernatural" (2.39 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) on The CW (2.60 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [april 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/08/26 - 03:32 PM]
CBS All-"NCIS" Tuesday Premieres +39% Higher Than Last Year
"NCIS," the series premiere of "NCIS: New York," and "NCIS: Origins" were the night's top three most-watched scripted broadcast programs.

[10/08/26 - 02:26 PM]
ABC News Wins in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20: Home Alone" ranked as the Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49 on Friday, October 2.

[10/08/26 - 11:25 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Leads Late Night with Live Shows from Brooklyn Academy of Music
The series topped late-night for the second week in a row this season, scoring 2.66 million Total Viewers and a 0.27 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/07/26 - 02:01 PM]
UPtv Is the Fastest Growing Cable Network in 2026
Fueling UPtv's impressive growth are hit series "Hudson & Rex," UP Faith & Family original series "Blue Skies," which just wrapped its impressive cable debut, and acquired fan-favorite series "The Rookie."

[10/07/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 28
"Neagley," "Reacher," "Off Campus," "Sterling Point," and "El Juicio" led all original series worldwide.

[10/07/26 - 10:08 AM]
ESPN Studio Shows Continue Record Run with Strong September Audiences
Across ESPN's studio programming, average September viewership increased 7% year over year, continuing the strong audience trends seen throughout 2026.

[10/06/26 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Season-High Viewership from Iowa City
Plus: ABC won the Saturday noon and primetime windows in Week 5.

[10/06/26 - 02:50 PM]
FOX NFL Scores 19,149,000 Viewers in Week 4 Singleheader
Coverage was up +7% over last year's comparable delivery.

[10/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 28 - "East of Eden" Triumphs to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" claimed the No. 2 spot on the list with 5.7 million views, with a total of 32.3 million cumulative views in the three weeks since its debut.

[10/06/26 - 10:15 AM]
CBS Media Ventures Claims 8 of the Top 10 Most-Watched First-Run Syndicated Strips This Season
"The Drew Barrymore Show" delivered its highest season premiere ever in total viewers, up 21% versus last season's premiere.

[10/02/26 - 04:16 PM]
USA Sports' Fever-Aces Game 3 Coverage on USA Network and CNBC Averages 2.25 Million Viewers; Second-Best First Round Game on Record
Viewership of Fever-Aces on USA Network and CNBC peaked at 2.7 million viewers in the 11:15 p.m. ET quarter hour.

[10/02/26 - 02:49 PM]
Yankees Sweep of Red Sox on NBC & Peacock Is Most-Watched First Two Games of MLB Wild Card or Division Series Since 2004
The audience for Wednesday's night's Game 2 peaked at 9.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET.

[10/01/26 - 02:39 PM]
NHL on ESPN Opens Season with Year-Over-Year Viewership Growth
The Panthers-Hurricanes matchup averaged 859,000 viewers, up 16% from a year ago.

[10/01/26 - 02:18 PM]
Tuesday's Red Sox-Yankees on NBC & Peacock Is Most-Watched Game 1 Among MLB Wild Card or Division Series Since 2006
Coverage averaged 7.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

[10/01/26 - 08:35 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Kicks Off Season 39 with Best Premiere Week in Three Years
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 189 consecutive weeks (more than three years) across all key measures.