Ratings News - 13th December 2011 *Full Tables Added*

Metered Market Monday Ratings
CBS Wins; Respectable Return for Fear Factor on NBC

Monday 12/12/11
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
CBS 8.0/12
NBC 4.4/ 7
Fox 3.6/ 5
ABC 2.9/ 5
CW 0.9/ 1

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Monday 12/13/10:
Fox: +33, CBS: + 5, CW: no change, NBC: - 6, ABC: -17

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-Winners:
2 Broke Girls (CBS), Two and a Half Men (CBS), Mike & Molly (CBS), Hawaii Five-O (CBS)

-Honorable Mention:
Fear Factor (NBC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
You Deserve It (ABC), Rock Center With Brian Williams (NBC)

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Ratings Breakdown:
Minus Dancing With the Stars on ABC in the competitive mix, it was a clean overnight sweep for CBS in each of the six half-hours. The Eye net bested second-place NBC by a hefty 82 percent, followed by Fox, ABC and a night of encore telecasts on lowly The CW. But the return of Fear Factor on NBC finished a comfortable second in the 8-10 p.m. block, while a successful 8 p.m. telecast of recent entry 2 Broke Girls on CBS could mean the network has plans to expand from six to eight comedies next season.

2 Broke Girls opened with a dominant 8.1 rating/13 share at 8 p.m., which outdelivered regularly scheduled How I Met Your Mother (7.7/12 on 12/05/11; 6.8/10 on 12/13/10) by five percent from one week ago and 19 percent from one year earlier. A repeat of 2 Broke Girls followed with a 6.9/10 (#1) at 8:30 p.m., which was 11 percent above an original installment of Rules of Engagement on the year-ago evening (6.2/ 9 on 12/13/10).

Next on CBS was its winning combination of Two and a Half Men (9.9/15: + 3 percent from one year earlier), Mike & Molly (8.3/13: + 9) and Hawaii Five-O (#1: 7.3/12: - 4) from 9-11 p.m. Note to Melissa McCarthy: last night’s episode, particularly the drunken scene, is exactly what you need to win Emmy No. 2. Note to the writers of Two and a Half Men: stay away from gorillas, please. Last night’s episode clearly “jumped the shark.”

Over at NBC, the two episode return of demo friendly Fear Factor, which is grosser and more dangerous than ever, lifted NBC to second from 8-10 p.m., with a 5.2/ 8 in the overnights. Comparably, that bested week-ago occupant The Sing Off Holiday Special (2.7/ 4 on 12/05/11) by a considerable 93 percent. And the half-hour breakdown was consistent as follows:

Fear Factor (NBC)
8:00 p.m.: 5.2/ 8 (#2)
8:30 p.m.: 5.4/ 8 (#2)
9:00 p.m.: 5.1/ 8 (#2)
9:30 p.m.: 5.2/ 8 (#2)

Next Monday, the debut of NBC game show Who’s Still Standing? at 8 p.m. will lead into Fear Factor at 9 p.m.

Despite the improved lead-in support (and the arrival of Ted Keppel and an interview with Chelsea Clinton), NBC newsmagazine Rock Center With Brian Williams still still finished a distant third at 10 p.m. with a mere 2.8/ 5.

Elsewhere, recent Fox entry Terra Nova, which ends the season next Monday with back-to-back episodes, finished third at 8 p.m. with a 4.4/ 7 in the overnights. That led into a repeat of House at a third-place 2.8/ 4 at 9 p.m. As a reminder, upcoming J.J Abrams drama Alcatraz kicks-off on Fox with a two-hour installment on Monday, Jan. 16 from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT. One week later it airs Mondays at 9 p.m. out of relocated House at 8 p.m. Alcatraz features guards from the famous prison who mysteriously reappear in present day to help a team of FBI agents track down the disappearance of a group of prisoners 30 years earlier. Sam Neill and Jorge Garcia star.

On ABC, annual animated holiday repeat I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown finished fourth at 8 p.m. with a 3.4/ 5. Next was recent failed game show entry You Deserve It (#4: 2.3/ 4 at 9 p.m.), which does not deserve to stay on the air, followed by a repeat of Castle at a second-place 3.2/ 5 at 10 p.m. The CW capped off the evening with two encore telecasts of recent entry Hart of Dixie at an average 0.9/ 1 from 8-10 p.m.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights