Ratings News - 10th February 2012 *Full Tables Added*

We'll have the full tables and updated Cancellation Chart online shortly. Check the Twitter feed for updates.



METERED MARKET THURSDAY RATINGS
CBS Wins; Fox’s The Finder in Danger of Extinction

Thursday 2/09/12
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
CBS 9.2/15
Fox 8.2/13
ABC 5.1/ 8
NBC 3.1/ 5
CW 2.0/ 3

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Thursday 2/10/11
CBS and CW: +11 each, NBC: - 3, ABC: -11, Fox: -21

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-Winners:
American Idol (Fox), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Person of Interest (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), The Mentalist (CBS)

-Honorable Mention:
The Vampire Diaries (CW)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Wipeout (ABC), 30 Rock (NBC), The Finder (Fox), Up All Night (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Fox aired American Idol and it finished as the highest rated show of the evening, with a 12.0 rating/19 share in the metered markets from 8-9 p.m. But CBS still managed to dominate overall with a 1.0 rating point advantage over second-place Fox. Third overall was ABC, followed by distant NBC, which did not benefit by slotting an encore telecast of The Voice at 10 p.m., and The CW. On a rare positive note, The CW increased by 11 percent year-to-year.

CBS’ red-hot The Big Bang Theory finished second in the overnights at 8 p.m. with a 10.4/16. Comparably, that built from the year-ago evening (8.8/13 on 2/10/11) by 18 percent. Recent entry Rob! at 8:30 p.m. was consistent at a second-place 6.8/11, which held 65 percent of The Big Bang Theory lead-in. But like former time period occupant Rules of Engagement, the question to ponder is if Rob! can eventually stand on its own. At present, it does not seem like it can.

Next on CBS was growing freshman drama Person of Interest (#1: 9.6/15 at 9 p.m.), which increased from year-ago occupant CSI (8.1/12 on 2/10/11) by 19 percent, followed by perfectly compatible The Mentalist (9.3/16 at 10 p.m.). Yes, you can count on Person of Interest returning next season.

On Fox, aforementioned American Idol remained on the downside, with last night’s 12.0/19 off by 16 percent from the 14.3/22 on year earlier. Next was week five of drama The Finder at a series-low (and distant third-place) 4.3/ 7 at 9 p.m., which held only 34 percent of the 8:30 p.m. portion of American Idol. Tick, tock…the cancellation clock is ticking. There is no way to spin a loss of two-thirds.

Over at ABC, Wipeout at 8 p.m. continues to deteriorate with a mere 3.2/ 5 at 8 p.m. (#3t). One year earlier it scored a 3.9/ 6 on 2/10/11. Veteran Grey’s Anatomy is the net’s strongest Thursday occupant, as always, with a 7.1/11 (#2, down nine percent from one year earlier) at 9 p.m. And spin-off Private Practice, which cannot stand on its own, finished second at 10 p.m. with a 5.0/ 9. As a reminder, Private Practice will move into the Tuesday 10 p.m. hour out of Dancing With the Stars for four weeks beginning on April 10.

Elsewhere, a one-hour edition of NBC’s 30 Rock was left at the starting gate with a 3.2/ 5 (#3t) from 8-9 p.m. Demo-friendly The Office at 9 p.m. scored a 3.8/ 6 in the overnights (#4) at 9 p.m., which dropped by 19 percent year-to-year, followed by relocated Up All Night at a fourth-place 2.8/ 4 at 9:30 p.m. Although Up All Night did seem promising on Wednesday, a move to Thursday does not bode well for its future.

An encore telecast of aforementioned The Voice capped off the evening for NBC with a very last-place 2.8/ 5 at 10 p.m. Reality/competitions never repeat well.

Over at The CW, solid The Vampire Diaries (#5: 2.5/ 4) increased by 14 percent year-to-year, followed by freshman The Secret Circle at a 1.6/ 2. Comparably, retention for The Secret Circle out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of The Vampire Diaries (2.4/ 4) was 67 percent. In other words, could be but/could be worse.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights