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[08/31/12 - 09:17 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "Big Bang," "Big Brother" Put CBS on Top
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for thursday, august 30, 2012)

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to significant local NFL pre-season pre-emptions, Fast Nationals for FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC are inflated.]

CBS (5.74 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2), "Two and a Half Men" (6.66 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3), "Big Brother 14" (6.51 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) and its "CBS News Special" (3.47 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

ABC (5.27 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) then claimed the silver with originals from "Wipeout" (5.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) and "Rookie Blue" (5.79 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) plus its "ABC News Special" (4.17 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11).

Next up was FOX (3.51 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with rebroadcasts from "Raising Hope" (3.34 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7), "New Girl" (3.40 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #6) and "Glee" (3.65 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.63 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up repeats of "The Office" (3.82 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and "Parks & Recreation" (3.06 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11) followed by the Saturday-bound "Saving Hope" (4.14 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7) and its "NBC News Special" (3.31 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #14).

And finally, a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.31 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) lead into week three of "The Next" (1.27 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15) - a series high - on The CW (1.29 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "The Vampire Diaries" delivered a 0.4 rating while "The Next" posted a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - The Next
+37.50% - Saving Hope
+25.00% - Rookie Blue
+4.55% - Big Brother 14
-5.88% - Wipeout

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - The Next (vs. Plain Jane (Repeat))
+7.14% - Rookie Blue (vs. Rookie Blue (Repeat))
-11.11% - Wipeout (vs. Wipeout (Repeat))
-32.35% - Big Brother 14
-37.14% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/30 Rock (Repeat))

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," 1.9/5; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.4/4; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.0/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.1/4 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.6/3; "Late Show," 0.3/2; "Nightline," 0.7/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/3 with an encore.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.8/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 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 (9/1/11):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to significant local NFL pre-season pre-emptions, Fast Nationals for FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC are inflated.]

CBS (8.62 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) overshadowed the competition on Thursday with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (8.91 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3), another "The Big Bang Theory" (8.98 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2), "Big Brother 13" (9.68 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) and "The Mentalist" (7.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4).

Second place then went to ABC (5.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T2) with repeats of "Wipeout" (6.55 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5) and "Rookie Blue" (5.92 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12) followed by a new "Rookie Blue" (5.85 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T8).

Sharing the silver was NBC (4.84 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T2) with encores of "Community" (4.57 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T12), "Parks & Recreation" (4.49 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T8), "The Office" (5.02 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T5), "30 Rock" (4.65 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.7, #7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.15 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T8).

Meanwhile, FOX (5.26 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up repeats of "Bones" (5.00 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #14) and another "Bones" (5.52 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.07 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) and "Plain Jane" (1.14 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T15) 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): Rookie Blue (23.1%), Big Brother 13 (6.3%), Wipeout (-5.3%).

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.4/6; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.0/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/5; "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 1.0/4; 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" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 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 with an encore and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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