"THE BIG BANG THEORY" MATCHES ALL-TIME THURSDAY BEST ADULTS 18-49 RATINGS

Tops "American Idol" in Common Half-Hour in All Key Demos

"The Mentalist" Hits Season Highs in Viewers

"Person of Interest" Matches Series Highs in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54

CBS Wins Thursday in Viewers

THE BIG BANG THEORY matched its all-time Thursday best adult 18-49 rating and topped "American Idol" in key demographics at 8:00 PM while THE MENTALIST attracted its largest audience of the season, according to Nielsen preliminary live plus same day ratings for Feb. 9.

THE BIG BANG THEORY (9.7/16, 16.06m) was first in adults 25-54 (7.0/18), adults 18-49 (5.5/16) and adults 18-34 (4.1/14). THE BIG BANG THEORY matched Thursday highs in both adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 and topped "American Idol" at 8:00 PM in adults 18-49 (vs. 5.2/15, +6%), adults 18-34 (vs. 3.6/12, +14%) and adults 25-54 (vs. 6.6/17, +6%).

ROB was second in households (6.6/10), viewers (11.00m), adults 25-54 (4.4/10) and adults 18-49 (3.4/09). Compared to last week, ROB was up +3% in adults 18-49 (from 3.3/09).

PERSON OF INTEREST was first in households (9.1/14), viewers (15.07m), tied for first in adults 25-54 (4.7/11, with ABC) and second in adults 18-49 (3.3/08). PERSON OF INTEREST matched last week's series highs in both adults 25-54 and adults 18-49.

THE MENTALIST was first in households (8.9/15), viewers (14.36m), adults 25-54 (4.2/10) and adults 18-49 (2.9/08). THE MENTALIST posted season highs in households, viewers and adults 25-54 and matched the season's second-best adults 18-49 ratings (just -0.1 behind season's best).

For the night, CBS was first in households (8.7/14) and viewers (14.32m) and second in adults 25-54 (4.9/12, -0.1 behind FOX) and adults 18-49 (3.6/10).

Updated Thursday ratings will be available this afternoon.