or


[01/06/12 - 08:43 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Dramas Return With Season Highs
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, january 5, 2012)

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

ABC (9.46 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with the return of "Winter Wipeout" (8.54 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T3), "Grey's Anatomy" (12.04 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) and "Private Practice" (7.82 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #T3).

CBS (9.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) then claimed the silver with its all-repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.61 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.5, #2), "Rules of Engagement" (8.69 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.6, #5), "Person of Interest" (8.71 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T6) and "The Mentalist" (9.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T6).

Next up was FOX (4.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3) with encores of "Bones" (4.83 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9) and another "Bones" (4.30 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10).

Meanwhile, The CW (2.63 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3) offered up fresh installments of "The Vampire Diaries" (3.20 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8) and "The Secret Circle" (2.06 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T14). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" posted a 2.3 rating while "Circle" delivered a 1.1 rating.

And finally, repeats of "Community" (2.64 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T14), "Parks & Recreation" (2.36 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T12), "The Office" (2.61 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10), "Whitney" (2.25 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T12), another "The Office" (1.83 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T16) and "Up All Night" (1.86 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T16) on NBC (2.26 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+47.37% - Winter Wipeout (vs. 12/8/11)
+12.50% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. 11/10/11)
+7.69% - Private Practice (vs. 11/17/11)
0.00% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. 11/10/11)
0.00% - The Secret Circle (vs. 11/10/11)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
180.00% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. The Vampire Diaries (Repeat))
60.00% - The Secret Circle (vs. Nikita (Repeat))
7.14% - Grey's Anatomy
0.00% - Private Practice
-24.32% - Winter Wipeout

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," 2.4/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.6/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) tied CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/6/11):

ABC (10.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1) took home top honors on Thursday with the season premiere of "Wipeout" (11.59 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.7, #3) followed by new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (11.66 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.2, #2) and "Private Practice" (7.78 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.8, #7).

CBS (13.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) nevertheless was the most-watched network with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (14.11 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 4.4, #1), "Bleep My Dad Says" (10.86 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.9, #6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (14.22 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #4) and "The Mentalist" (14.81 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.0, #5).

Next up was NBC (2.98 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) with its all-repeat mix of "Community" (3.04 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13), "30 Rock" (3.19 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), "The Office" (3.98 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.7, #8), "Outsourced" (3.16 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), another "The Office" (2.19 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13) and yet another "The Office" (2.30 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.98 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) offered up a new "Million Dollar Money Drop" (4.61 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9) alongside a repeat of "Bones" (3.36 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T13).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.42 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T16) and "Nikita" (1.40 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T16) on The CW (1.41 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): The Mentalist (25.00% vs. 12/9/10), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (10.00% vs. 12/9/10), The Big Bang Theory (7.30% vs. 12/16/10), Grey's Anatomy (5.00% vs. 12/2/10), Bleep My Dad Says (-3.30% vs. 12/16/10), Private Practice (-3.40% vs. 12/2/10).

In late-night metered market ratings, ABC's "Nightline" (3.6/8) took top honors over NBC's "Leno" (2.6/6) and CBS's "Letterman" (3.1/8). Rounding out the night then were "Kimmel" (1.7/5) on ABC "Ferguson" (1.6/5) on CBS and "Fallon" (1.2/4) and "Daly" (0.7/3) on NBC.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [january 2012]  
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
[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.

[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.

[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.

[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.