Ratings News - 25th February 2011

Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:
Idol Lifts Fox to Victory; Rules of Engagement the CBS Weak Link

Thursday 2/24/11
Note: The overnight data now includes DVR playback until 3 a.m. local time. One year earlier it was based on Live data only. All times are ET/PT.

HH
Rtg/Shr
Fox 13.8/21
CBS 8.1/13
ABC 5.3/ 8
NBC 2.9/ 5
CW 1.8/ 3

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-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Thursday, February 25, 2010):
ABC: +71, Fox: +68, CW: +50, CBS: +29, NBC: -81
Note: NBC aired The Winter Olympics on the year-ago evening, while Fox did not include American Idol.

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
American Idol (Fox), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), The Mentalist (CBS)

-Honorable Mention:
CSI (CBS), Gray’s Anatomy (ABC)

-Disappointing:
Rules of Engagement (CBS)

-Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):
Community (NBC), Perfect Couples (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Outsourced (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
It’s repetitive, I know. But any evening with American Idol is a victory for Fox. Last night’s two-hour installment set in Hollywood scored a 13.8 rating/21 share in the overnights, with the half-hour breakdown as follows:

American Idol (Fox)
8:00 p.m.: 13.1/20 (#1)
8:30 p.m.: 14.5/22 (#1)
9:00 p.m.: 13.6/20 (#1)
9:30 p.m.: 14.0/21 (#1)

At this point, does anyone even remember that Simon Cowell was on the series?

In time period premiere news, CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement was no better than recent 8:30 p.m. occupant $#*! My Dad Says, with a second-place 6.2/ 9 in the overnights at 8:30 p.m. Comparably, retention out of lead-in The Big Bang Theory (#2: 8.6/13 at 8 p.m.) was a disappointing 72 percent. Given the network just shut down production on veteran Two and a Half Men for the season (see TV Tidbits below), the more important question is how to fill the Monday 9 p.m. half-hour.

Also on CBS Thursday, of course, were older-skewing crime solvers CSI (#2: 7.8/12), which dipped to a season low, and The Mentalist (#1: 9.2/15). If CSI returns next season, and chances are it will, CBS may have to find another time period.

Over at ABC, the network faces the same problem CBS does and it is called a fading drama. Although Grey’s Anatomy at 9 p.m. will finish a comfortable second among adults 18-49 behind American Idol at 9 p.m., a third-place 7.0/11 in the overnights at 9 p.m. is a shell of what it once was. Regardless, Grey’s still built out of lead-in Wipeout (#3: 3.8/ 6 at 8 p.m.) by a considerable 84 percent. At 10 p.m. three year-old Private Practice finished second, with a 5.2/ 9. While that trailed The Mentalist by a hefty 43 percent in the overnights, its adult 18-49 disadvantage, if any, will be considerably smaller.

Elsewhere, NBC had a typically bland Thursday with demo-friendly The Office the standout, as always. But facing American Idol has not been beneficial for the gang at Dunder-Mifflin, with a below-average 4.2/ 6 in the overnights. Here are the results for NBC by half-hour:

Thursday/NBC
8:00 p.m. – Community: 2.6/ 4 (#4)
8:30 p.m. – Perfect Couples: 2.0/ 3 (#5)
9:00 p.m. – The Office: 4.2/ 6 (#4)
9:30 p.m. – Parks and Recreation: 2.9/ 4 (#4)
10:00 p.m. – 30 Rock: 3.1/ 5 (#3)
10:30 p.m. - Outsourced: 2.6/ 4 (#3)

The CW capped off the evening with its highest rated series, The Vampire Diaries (#5: 2.1/ 3) and freshman action/adventure Nikita (#5: 1.5/ 2), which has a very different audience skew.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)

Source: pifeedback