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[08/10/12 - 09:06 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: Summer Games Still Dominate, But Fall to Primetime Low
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, august 9, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL market preemptions, Fast Nationals for FOX, ABC and CBS are approximate.]

NBC (22.40 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.8, #1) was still the network to beat on Thursday as its "2012 Summer Olympics" (22.40 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.8, #1) coverage fell to a primetime low.

CBS (5.83 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.90 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3), "Two and a Half Men" (6.19 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T4), "Big Brother 14" (6.22 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) and "Person of Interest" (4.73 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8).

Next up was ABC (5.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with a repeat of "Wipeout" (5.34 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6) followed by originals from "Wipeout" (4.83 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T4) and "Rookie Blue" (5.01 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7).

Next up was FOX (2.74 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) with rebroadcasts of "Raising Hope" (2.64 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8), another "Raising Hope" (2.84 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) and "Glee" (2.75 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11).

And finally, encores of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.92 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and "The L.A. Complex" (0.63 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) on The CW (0.77 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 0.3 rating while "Complex" posted a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+30.77% - Wipeout
+10.53% - Big Brother 14
0.00% - Rookie Blue (vs. 7/26/12)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+7.14% - Rookie Blue
+6.25% - Wipeout (vs. Expedition Impossible)
-34.38% - Big Brother 14

[NOTE: Late-night metered market ratings will return after the Olympics.]


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/11/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to local NFL preseason preemptions, fast nationals for ABC, CBS and NBC are inflated.]

CBS (7.69 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) held off the competition on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.80 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2), "Rules of Engagement" (7.16 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T3), "Big Brother 13" (8.64 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) and "The Mentalist" (6.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6).

FOX (6.28 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then had to settle for second place despite its two-hour season finale of "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.28 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T3). Compared with last year's finale, "Dance" was down 13% in both total viewers and adults 18-49.

Next up was ABC (5.55 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with fresh installments of "Wipeout" (6.35 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #5), "Expedition Impossible" (5.23 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T6) and "Rookie Blue" (5.08 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.12 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) was out of the hunt with its all-repeat lineup of "Community" (2.72 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #13), "Parks & Recreation" (2.66 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #12), "The Office" (3.14 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9), "30 Rock" (2.74 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T10) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.74 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T10).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.09 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) and "Plain Jane" (1.11 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) on The CW (1.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): So You Think You Can Dance (31.3%), Big Brother 13 (18.5%), Expedition Impossible (14.3%), Rookie Blue (7.7%), Wipeout (0.0%).

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," 2.0/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.8/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.1/3 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/3; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/3 with an encore delayed by golf coverage). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1 with an encore delayed by golf coverage).

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

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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