CBS'S PREMIERE THURSDAY HAS A BIG BANG

Network Wins Night in Viewers and Adults 25-54

The Season Premiere of "The Big Bang Theory" Wins its Time Period in All Measures and Delivers its Largest Thursday Audience and Second Best Adult 18-49 Rating

A Special Second Episode is the Night's No. 1 Program in Viewers and Adults 18-49

The Series Premiere of "A Person of Interest" Wins its Time Period in Viewers

"The Mentalist" Returns with a 10:00 PM Win in Viewers

CBS won premiere Thursday in viewers and adults 25-54 led by THE BIG BANG THEORY, the night's No.1 program in viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, and PERSON OF INTEREST and THE MENTALIST, both winning their time periods in viewers, according to Nielsen preliminary live plus same day ratings for Sept. 22.

The season premiere of THE BIG BANG THEORY (P) was first in households (8.5/14), viewers (14.061m), adults 25-54 (6.2/17) and adults 18-49 (4.8/15). THE BIG BANG THEORY posted its largest Thursday audience to date, posted best Thursday households and adults 25-54 ratings and second best Thursday adults 18-49 ratings.

A special second episode of THE BIG BANG THEORY 8:30 PM SPECIAL (S) was first in households (8.7/14), viewers (14.65m), adults 25-54 (6.4/16) and adults 18-49 (5.0/14). THE BIG BANG THEORY 8:30 PM SPECIAL was the night's number one program in households, viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49.

At 9:00 PM, the series premiere of PERSON OF INTEREST (P) was first in households (8.3/13), viewers (13.22m), second in adults 25-54 (4.4/10, tie with ABC) and averaged a 3.1/08 in adults 18-49. PERSON OF INTEREST posted the time period's best drama delivery in households, viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 since March 10, 2011 (CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION).

At 10:00 PM, the season premiere of THE MENTALIST (P) was first in households (8.3/13), viewers (13.36m), second in adults 25-54 (3.9/09) and adults 18-49 (2.8/07).

For the night, CBS was first in households (8.4/13), viewers (13.64m), adults 25-54 (4.9/12) and second in adults 18-49 (3.6/10). CBS won premiere week Thursday in households, viewers and adults 25-54 for the second consecutive year.

Updated Thursday ratings will be available this afternoon.

Note: DVR penetration is at 42%, up from 38% last year. Last Fall, Live+7 audiences for original entertainment series on CBS gained over 1.8 million viewers, on average, over Live+ Same Day ratings, more than any other network. This season, we expect DVR penetration to continue to increase and, as a result, we expect DVR playback audiences to grow as well.