Ratings News - 27th April 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 Leads; Live 30 Rock on NBC Still Lackluster

Thursday 4/26/12
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
CBS 7.7/12
Fox 7.3/12
ABC 5.8/ 9
NBC 2.4/ 4
CW 1.6/ 2

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Thursday 4/28/11
CBS: + 5, CW: - 6, ABC: - 8, Fox: -26, NBC: -37

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-Winners:
American Idol (Fox), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Person of Interest (CBS), The Mentalist (CBS)

-Fading Fast:
The Office (NBC)

-Still Weak:
30 Rock (NBC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Community (NBC), Touch (Fox), Parks and Recreation (NBC), The Secret Circle (CW), Awake (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS led this final Thursday in April in the metered markets, with a four-tenth of a rating point advantage over second-place Fox. Third was ABC, followed by distant NBC and The CW.

American Idol on Fox won the 8 p.m. hour, with a 10.5 rating17 share. But Idol year-to-year slipped by 22 percent (versus a 13.4/21 on 4/28/11), and lead-out Touch, with Kiefer Sutherland, dipped to a series-low 4.1/ 7 (#3) at 9 p.m. Comparably, retention for Touch out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of American Idol (11.3/18) was only 36 percent. There is no reason to believe that Touch will make it into season two.

On CBS, Howard’s (Simon Helberg) bachelor party on The Big Bang Theory finished a solid second at 8 p.m. with an 8.8/14 in the overnights. Sure-to-be-axed Rules of Engagement dropped the ratings ball at 8:30 p.m., with a 5.4/ 8 (#2), but red-hot Person of Interest perked up to a dominant 8.2/13 at 9 p.m. While everyone, including myself, is predicting Person of Interest will shift to 10 p.m. next season out of an 8-10 p.m. Thursday sitcom block, CBS can also use the drama to ignite deteriorating Sunday.

At 10 p.m., The Mentalist on the Eye net won the time period with a 7.9/14.

On ABC, consistent recent drama entry Missing remained just that with a 5.1/ 8 (#3) at 8 p.m. Next was still on-the-map Grey’s Anatomy at a second-place 7.2/11 at 9 p.m. (down by 14 percent from one year earlier), followed by episode four of Scandal at a second-place 5.3/ 9 at 10 p.m. Comparably, that was down by seven percent from one week earlier (5.7/10 on April 19) and close to year-ago levels for Private Practice. With Private Practice, now on Tuesday, expected to return next season, ABC will have to decide if either Missing or Scandal are worthy of a renewal. As it stands, neither is a miss or a hit. They are right in the middle.

Over at NBC, a live edition of 30 Rock rose to its best overnight performance in six weeks (since a 2.9/ 5 on March 15) with a 2.7/ 4 at 8:30 p.m. And that was 23 percent above lead-in Community (#4: 2.2/ 4 at 8 p.m.). But, let’s be honest, a 2.7 is still…well…a 2.7. Next on NBC was fading The Office (#4: 3.2/ 5 at 9 p.m.: down 44 percent from one year earlier), followed by Parks and Recreation (#4: 2.4/ 4 at 9:30 p.m.) and failing Awake (#3: 1.9/ 3 at 10 p.m.).

The CW closed the evening with reliable The Vampire Diaries (#5: 2.1/ 3) and modest The Secret Circle (#5: 1.1/ 2), which held only 55 percent of the 8:30 p.m. portion of The Vampire Diaries (2.0/ 3). If The Secret Circle does return next season, it is not because the ratings are all that good.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights