Thursday night’s ratings race included a surprisingly strong premiere for ABC’s Scandal, disappointments for NBC and it was business-as-usual at CBS with a big showing for The Big Bang Theory.
CBS won the night with an average of 11.73 million viewers and a 2.9 18-49 rating, topping the other networks in both stats, notes HitFix. The night kicked off with Big Bang, which scored 17.75 million viewers and a big 5.0 18-49 rating. The Millers’ premiere took full advantage, with 13.15 million viewers and a 3.3 18-49 rating. The Crazy Ones did dip to 11.76 million viewers and a 2.9 key demo rating, while Two and a Half Men also fell to 9.25 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating. The network’s night ended with Elementary, which scored 9.24 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating.
ABC was in second with 8.545 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo average. After a Scandal clip-show, Grey’s Anatomy had 9.4 million viewers and a 3.0 18-49 rating, down 12 percent from last week, notes TheWrap. Scandal had an impressive 10.5 million viewers and a 3.6 18-49 rating, up 71 percent over its previous season premiere. Clearly, all the awards attention star Kerry Washington has received is paying off.
Fox’s overall numbers were 5.7 million viewers and a 1.8 18-49 rating, notes THR. The X Factor had 7 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating, while Glee had 4.55 million and a 1.6 rating.
NBC may have had football in the Cleveland market, but it didn’t really help the early Nielsen numbers. The network only averaged 4.545 million viewers and a 1.6 18-49 rating. After Parks & Recreation (1.3 18-49 rating), Welcome to the Family flopped with just a 1.2 key demo rating and 3.32 million viewers. Sean Saves the World saw 4.8 million viewers and a 1.6, while Michael J. Fox Show sunk to 5.9 million and a 1.9 key demo rating.
Over at The CW, the premieres of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals averaged 2.35 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 rating.
image: CBS