‘American Idol’ hits new low ratings mark, ‘Big Bang Theory’ helps CBS cruise to win

Last night saw the return of NBC’s sitcoms, but few people seemed to care about that, with American Idol and The Big Bang Theory competing for viewers. The big headline though was the poor performance of Idol’s results show.

CBS cruised to an easy win, averaging 13.37 million viewers and a 3.1 18-49 rating, notes HitFix. Big Bang drew 15.71 million viewers and a 4.5 18-49 rating, easily beating Idol during the half hour. Two and a Half Men followed with 12.4 million viewers and a 3.4 18-49 rating, while Person of Interest had 14.57 million and a 2.9 rating. Elementary finished the sweep with 11.49 million viewers and a 2.4 18-49 rating.

Fox had 8.54 million viewers and a 2.5 18-49 rating on the night. Idol scored jsut 11.63 million viewers and a 3.0 18-49 rating. According to Deadline, that was a 9 percent drop from last week’s results show and an all-time low for a regularly scheduled episode of the series. Half of Idol’s viewers left when Glee started, leaving the show with 5.46 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating.

ABC was far back in third with 5.63 million viewers and a 1.7 18-49 rating. After a Shark Tank repeat, Grey’s Anatomy had just over 8 million viewers and a 2.6 18-49 rating, reaching a new series low, notes THR. A Scandal repeat followed.

NBC averaged 3.15 million viewers and a 1.2 18-49 rating. Community kicked off the night with just 2.6 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 rating, tying the series low. Parks & Recreation was up, but that only meant 3 million viewers and a 1.6 18-49 rating. The Office had 3.55 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating while 1600 Penn had 2.29 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 rating.

The CW’s Vampire Diaries had 2.49 million viewers and a 1.6 18-49 rating. Beauty and the Beast had 1.54 million and a 0.5 key demo rating.

image: CBS