ABC wins Thursday with ‘CMA Awards’

ABC's "Country Music Association Awards" boosted the network to an easy victory last night among adults 18-49, its first Thursday win of the season, though the show was down from last year.

The "CMAs" averaged a 3.8 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 11 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, down 21 percent from last year's show, which averaged a 4.8.

Last year's show aired on a Wednesday night. This year the special fell to its lowest rating ever, yet it still marked ABC's best night so far of sweeps.

Household TV usage levels continue to be lower than usual because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy, including power outages.

CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" was the night's top-rated program with a 5.1 at 8 p.m.

ABC finished first for the night among 18-49s with a 3.8 average overnight rating and a 10 share. CBS was second at 3.2/9, Fox third at 2.3/6, Univision fourth at 1.6/4, NBC fifth at 1.3/3, CW sixth at 1.1/3 and Telemundo seventh at 0.6/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won't be available for several weeks. Forty-six percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

CBS started the night in the lead with a 4.3 at 8 p.m. for "Bang" (5.1) and "Two and a Half Men" (3.6), followed by ABC with a 3.4 for the first of three hours of the CMAs. Fox was third with a 2.2 for "The X Factor," Univision was fourth with a 1.6 for "Por Ella Soy Eva," CW fifth with a 1.5 for "The Vampire Diaries" (up 15 percent over last week), NBC sixth with a 1.1 for "The Voice" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.5 for "Rosa Diamante."

ABC moved to first at 9 p.m. with a 4.0 for the CMAs, while CBS slipped to second with a 3.0 for "Person of Interest." Fox was third with a 2.4 for more "X Factor," Univision fourth with a 1.8 for "Abismo de Pasion," NBC fifth with a 1.4 for more "Voice," and CW and Telemundo tied for sixth at 0.6, CW for "Beauty and the Beast" and Telemundo for "Corazon Valiente."

At 10 p.m. ABC remained in first place with a 4.0 for the final hour of the CMAs, with CBS second with a 2.4 for "Elementary." Univision was third with a 1.5 for "Amor Bravio," NBC fourth with a 1.3 for "Rock Center with Brian Williams" and Telemundo fifth with a 0.6 for "Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal" (0.7) and "El Rostro de la Venganza" (0.5).

ABC was also first for the night among households with an 8.4 average overnight rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 7.9/12, Fox third at 3.7/6, NBC fourth at 2.8/4, Univision fifth at 2.0/3, CW sixth at 1.5/2 and Telemundo seventh at 0.7/1.

Tags: abc, big bang theory, Brian Williams, cbs, cmas, country music association awards, cw, dvr, fox, hurricane sandy, nbc, overnight ratings, overnights, thursday overnights