Early Ratings - Rob strong, The Finder & The Firm flop

Early ratings indicate Rob started strong while The Finder and The Firm flopped.

UPDATE:
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-Winners:
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Rob! (CBS), Person of Interest (CBS), The Mentalist (CBS)

-Down but Not Out:
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
The Finder (Fox), Up All Night (NBC), The Secret Circle (CW), The Firm (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
It was an easy Thursday overnight victory for CBS, which bested No. 2 ABC by a hefty 70 percent with a first-place finish in each of the six half-hours. Third overall was Fox, followed by NBC and The CW, which continues to benefit from The Vampire Diaries.

In series-premiere news, sitcom Rob! opened on CBS with a very solid (and dominant) 8.3 rating/13 share in the overnights at 8:30 p.m. Comparably, this outdelivered the debut of short-lived fall occupant How To Be a Gentleman (5.5/ 9 on 9/29/11) by 51 percent, with retention out of The Big Bang Theory (10.3/16 at 8 p.m. – No.1 for the evening) of 81 percent. Consider this a winning start for Rob!

With stronger lead-in support, lead-out Person of Interest rose to a series-high 9.4/14 in the overnights from 9-10 p.m., followed by The Mentalist at a dominant 8.8/15 at 10 p.m.

In the second series-debut of the evening, Bones spin-off The Finder on Fox disappointed at a third-place 3.8/ 6 in the overnights at 9 p.m. Comparably, former time period occupant Bones opened its season with a 6.6/10 in the time period on 11/3/11, which was a loss of 42 percent. Retention out of Bones at 8 p.m. (#3. 5.9/10), meanwhile, was just 64 percent for The Finder. The biggest challenge for The Finder, no doubt, might be finding an audience.

In season-premiere news, sitcom 30 Rock returned to NBC with a fourth-place 3.6/ 6 in the overnights at 8 p.m., which was 29 percent above opening levels for former occupant Community on 9/22/11 (2.8/ 5). Parks and Recreation was next with a 3.2/ 5 at 8:30 p.m. (#4), followed by demo friendly The Office (#3: 4.1/ 6) and relocated Up All Night (#4: 3.0/ 5) from 9-10 p.m. Comparably, Up All Night was 40 percent below the debut of former time period occupant Whitney (5.0/ 8 on 9/23/11), with retention out of The Office of 73 percent.

In time period-premiere news, drama The Firm on NBC finished a distant third at 10 p.m. with a 2.9/ 5. Former failed occupant Prime Suspect debuted in this hour with a 4.6/ 8 on 9/22/11. Needless to say, NBC may want to rethink that 22-episode order.

Elsewhere, ABC had nothing unusual to report with its combination of Wipeout (#3: 4.1/ 6), Grey’s Anatomy (#2: 7.3/11) and Private Practice (#2: 4.9/ 8). And The CW capped off the evening with its top-rated series, The Vampire Diaries (#5: 2.4/ 4) and freshman drama The Secret Circle (#5: 1.6/ 2), which dipped by 33 percent. Year-to-year, aging Grey’s Anatomy slipped by 21 percent.
Source: Nielsen Media Research data
Source: Marc Berman