Hit shows slide
on a slow Thursday night
'American Idol' and 'The Big Bang Theory' tie for No. 1
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 17, 2012
It's still sweeps, and networks are still putting on new episodes of their top shows in an attempt to lure in viewers, but this week viewers didn't seem very interested in them.
Thursday night saw nearly across the board declines for shows on broadcast as the third week of sweeps began. Similar declines were also seen on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fox's "American Idol" and CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" tied as the night's top show, both averaging a 5.0 among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights.
But both were down double-digit percentages from last week, when "Idol" averaged a 5.8 and "Bang" averaged a 5.5.
They were hardly the only shows to fall. Only two programs on the Big Five saw ratings gains over last week. ABC's "Private Practice" was up 18 percent, likely because it was part of a sweeps crossover stunt with lead-in "Grey's Anatomy."
The CW's "The Vampire Diaries" also rose a tenth over last week.
Nearly every other show dipped from last week, echoing results from earlier this week. CBS's entire lineup was off, and most of NBC's lineup slid to or tied season lows.
Just why the shows saw such declines is unclear. Last night's "Premio lo Nuestro" special on Univision did well and may have pulled some viewers away from the competition, but its gains do not equal out the big declines.
And though Tuesday night, Valentine's Day, saw a decline in TV usage, the other nights have been on par with the rest of the season, and there hasn't been any major competition on cable that would account for the change in viewing patterns.
Fox led Thursday night among 18-49s with a 5.0 average overnight rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 3.3/9, ABC third at 2.4/6, Univision fourth at 2.2/6, NBC fifth at 1.4/4, CW sixth at 1.0/3 and Telemundo seventh at 0.4/1.
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-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 5.0 for "Idol," followed by CBS with a 4.1 for "Bang" (5.0) and "Rob" (3.2). Univision was third with a 2.2 for its first hour of "Premio," NBC fourth with a 1.6 for "30 Rock" (1.4) and "Parks and Recreation" (1.7), ABC fifth with a 1.5 for "Wipeout," CW sixth with a 1.3 for "Diaries" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.5 for "Una Maid en Manhattan."
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 5.0 for more "Idol," while ABC moved to second with a 3.1 for "Grey's." CBS was third with a 2.9 for "Person of Interest," Univision fourth with a 2.3 for "Premio," NBC fifth with a 1.9 for "The Office" (2.2) and "Up All Night" (1.5), CW sixth with a 0.8 for "The Secret Circle" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.4 for "Flor Salvaje."
At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 2.8 for "The Mentalist," with ABC a close second with a 2.6 for "Practice." Univision was third with a 2.1 for "Premio," NBC fourth with a 0.7 for a repeat of "Grimm" and Telemundo fifth with a 0.4 for "Relaciones Peligrosas."
Fox was also first for the night among households with a 9.7 average overnight rating and a 15 share. CBS was second at 8.1/13, ABC third at 4.4/7, Univision fourth at 2.4/4, NBC fifth at 2.0/3, CW sixth at 1.5/2 and Telemundo seventh at 0.6/1.
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