‘The Big Bang Theory’ beats ‘American Idol’ in half-hour slot on Thursday

American Idol may have finally met its match and its name is CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. While Fox won the night in both overall audience and ratings, Big Bang actually had more viewers and a bigger key demographic rating in the 8 to 8:30 p.m. slot than Idol.

Fox barely won Thursday with an average of 12.75 million viewers and a 4.1 18-49 rating, according to Zap2It. For the entire hour, Idol drew 17 million viewers and a 5.4 18-49 rating, but when you break it down, the show’s first half-hour drew 15.5 million and a 4.8, both lower than Big Bang. Meanwhile, The Finder received a huge boost, jumping 32 percent to a 2.9 18-49 rating, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show drew 8.5 million viewers.

CBS came in a close second with 11.3 million viewers, but was a little further back in the ratings with a 2.8 18-49 rating. Big Bang drew 16 million viewers and a 5.4 18-49 rating, beating Idol. However, it was all down hill from there. The Wrap reports that Rob! drew about the same as last week with 11.5 million viewers and a 3.5 18-49 rating. The dramas that followed were both repeats, with Person of Interest and The Mentalist drawing 10.5 million and 9.6 million viewers, respectively.

Despite a night of repeats, ABC beat NBC with just 3.9 million viewers, but had a 1.2 18-49 rating. The Wipeout repeat was still a big draw with 4.9 million viewers.

NBC’s night could not have been any worse. With no new episode of The Office, the network drew just 3.65 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. 30 Rock was steady with 3.8 million viewers and a 1.6 18-49 rating, while Parks and Recreation fell to a 1.7 and 3.5 million viewers. Another 30 Rock followed with 4 million. An Up All Night repeat drew just 3 million. Finally, The Firm drew just 3.8 million viewers, but was up to a 1.0 18-49 rating.

The CW ran a movie called The Covenant that drew just 1.3 million viewers and a 0.5 18-49 rating.