or


[05/06/11 - 08:48 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "Nikita," "Bones" Rebound
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, may 5, 2011)

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

FOX (15.95 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1) was as usual the network to beat on Thursday with new episodes of "American Idol" (20.81 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.1, #1) and "Bones" (11.09 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4).

CBS (11.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2) then took home the silver with fresh installments of "The Big Bang Theory" (10.26 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5), "Rules of Engagement" (7.70 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T9), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (10.46 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T9) and "The Mentalist" (13.64 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6).

Next up was ABC (7.19 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) with new episodes of "Wipeout" (4.80 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T13), "Grey's Anatomy" (9.86 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T2) and "Private Practice" (6.89 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.22 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4) dipped to fourth place with its combination of a new "Community" (3.46 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T13), a repeat of "The Office" (2.70 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.1, #16) followed by new episodes of "The Office" (6.76 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 3.5, #T2), "Parks & Recreation" (5.07 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.6, #T6), the season finale of "30 Rock" (4.21 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.1, #11) and a new "Outsourced" (3.15 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.5, #12).

And finally, a new "The Vampire Diaries" (2.67 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.2, #15) led into a new "Nikita" (1.93 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.8, #17) on The CW (2.30 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Nikita (33.30%), Bones (17.90%), Parks & Recreation (13.00%), American Idol (10.90%), 30 Rock (10.50%), Private Practice (4.50%), Grey's Anatomy (0.00%), The Mentalist (0.00%), The Vampire Diaries (0.00%), The Big Bang Theory (-3.10%), Rules of Engagement (-4.30%), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (-4.30%), Community (-6.70%), Outsourced (-11.80% vs. 4/14/11), The Office (-14.60%), Wipeout (-26.30% vs. 4/14/11).

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," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 3.1/8; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.5/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

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," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.5/5 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.5/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.8/5 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/6/10):

"Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (12.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1) continued to put CBS (13.90 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.5, #1) in front on Thursday. Leading out of the reality franchise were new episodes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.17 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.1, #5) and "The Mentalist" (14.73 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4).

The silver then went to ABC (7.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2) with its mix of "FlashForward" (4.75 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #14), "Grey's Anatomy" (10.74 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.7, #2) and "Private Practice" (8.29 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #6).

Next up was NBC (5.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) with fresh installments of "Community" (4.49 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.0, #11), "Parks & Recreation" (4.11 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.9, #12), "The Office" (6.85 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 3.5, #3), "30 Rock" (5.56 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.7, #7) and "The Marriage Ref" (5.00 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T9).

Meanwhile, FOX (7.36 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4) offered up new episodes of "Bones" (8.88 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.5, #8) and "Fringe" (5.85 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T9).

Rounding out the evening were the penultimate weeks of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.37 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.6, #13) and "Supernatural" (2.52 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #15) on The CW (2.94 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 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
[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.

[10/02/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" Season Premieres Hit Their Largest 3-Day Streaming Viewerships Ever
The "Survivor" season 49 premiere grew to 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership; while "The Amazing Race" season 38 premiere grew to 4.01 million viewers.

[10/02/25 - 09:38 AM]
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" Scores on Friday Nights with Biggest Total Viewer Audience in Nearly Two Years
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" stood as the No. 1 program of the night, rising by double digits in Total Viewers over its previous season premiere.

[10/01/25 - 10:27 AM]
"Big Brother" Season Finale Is Most-Watched Episode in Over Three Years
The finale was up +33% from its year ago finale and up +33% from this season's average.

[09/30/25 - 03:44 PM]
ESPN and ABC Win College Football's Week 5; "College GameDay's" Most-Viewed Season Rolls On
ABC is off to its best start ever with 7.1 million average viewers per game, and the network has aired eight of the top 10 most-viewed games this season.

[09/30/25 - 02:08 PM]
Packers-Cowboys OT Thriller Averages 26.9 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock, As NBC Sports Opens with Best Four-Week Audience Average in 20 Seasons of NBC "SNF"
The audience peaked at 29.9 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).

[09/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 22: "Wayward" Lures Viewers at No. 1, "KPop Demon Hunters" Sets Top 10 Record
New on Netflix this week is "House of Guinness," a historical drama series created by Steven Knight, which debuted at No. 3 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views.

[09/30/25 - 10:24 AM]
"High Potential" Season Premiere Vaults to Nearly 16 Million in First Week Across Platforms
This marks ABC's best season premiere for a drama among Total Viewers in five years.

[09/29/25 - 06:06 AM]
ESPN's 2025 MLB Game Viewership Up 21 Percent from Last Year
Coverage delivered 1.8 million viewers on average across 30 games this season.

[09/26/25 - 01:11 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Week Two Delivers Over 5 Million Total Viewers Rising Over Season Premiere for First Time in 14 Years
Once again, the show led its time period and stood as the No. 1 show of the night in Total Viewers (5.46 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.02 rating).

[09/25/25 - 02:05 PM]
Viewers Have Watched More Than 8 Billion Minutes of "Big Brother" This Summer - Up +27% from Last Year
Multiplatform average episode viewership grew to 5.1 million, up +23% versus last year in 35-days of viewing, outpacing the competition.

[09/24/25 - 02:47 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Returned on Tuesday to 6.26 Million Total Viewers on Broadcast, According to Initial Live+Same Day Measurement
In addition to linear ratings, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.