Ratings News - 30th September 2011 *Updated with Full Tables*

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Metered Market Ratings Results – Thursday, Sept. 29
Fox Inches Past CBS; Lackluster How to Be a Gentleman Opener on CBS

Thursday 9/22/11
Note: The following averages exclude the Houston market.

Household
Rating/Share
Fox 8.1/13
CBS 8.0/13
ABC 5.9/10
NBC 3.7/ 6
CW 2.0/ 3

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening (Thursday 9/30/10):
Fox: +62, NBC: no change, ABC: – 2, CBS: – 8, CW: – 9

———-

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

-Losers:
Community (NBC), How to Be a Gentleman (CBS), Parks and Recreation (NBC), The Secret Circle (CW), Prime Suspect (NBC)

———-

Ratings Breakdown:
Led by two-more hours of The X Factor, Fox inched by second-place CBS by one-tenth of a rating point in the overnights. In the distant No. 3 spot was ABC, followed by NBC and The CW.

In series-premiere news, CBS sitcom How to Be a Gentleman disappointed with a distant second-place 5.5 rating/9 share in the overnights at 8:30 p.m. Comparably, that dropped from lead-in The Big Bang Theory (#1: 9.3/15 at 8 p.m.) by a significant 41 percent. And it was down by 18 percent from episode two of failed year-ago time period occupant $#*! My Dad Says (6.7/11 on 9/30/10). Not even the house of hits, CBS, can have all “winners.”

CBS has considerably better news at 9 p.m., with week two of older-skewing crime solver Person of Interest at an 8.1/13 (#2). Comparably, that dipped by only six percent from its week-ago opener (8.6/13 on 9/22/11). One year earlier, former occupant CSI, which is now the most-watched show in its new Wednesday 10 p.m. time period, was slightly higher at an 8.8/13. Since even the 50+ audience is valuable in this writer’s opinion, consider episode two of Person of Interest a “winner.”

The Mentalist capped off the night for the Eye net with a dominant 8.5/15 in the overnights at 10 p.m. But one year earlier it was stronger at a 9.6/16 (on 9/30/10).

Fox, no doubt, is poised for victory among adults 18-49 for the evening care of The X Factor, which scored a consistent 8.1/13 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. While this is not a hit in the caliber of similar appeal American Idol, it did build from year-ago occupants Bones (6.4/10) and Fringe (3.6/ 5 on 9/30/10) by an average of 62 percent in the overnights. And it was on par with last Thursday’s time period premiere (8.3/13 on 9/22/11). Here is the half-hour breakdown:

The X Factor (Fox)
8:00 p.m.: 7.0/12 (#2)
8:30 p.m.: 8.6/14 (#1)
9:00 p.m.: 8.3/13 (#1)
9:30 p.m.: 8.6/13 (#1)

Over at ABC, week two of revival Charlie’s Angels dipped to 4.6/ 8 (#3) in the overnights at 8 p.m., which was down by a hefty 25 percent from its series opener (6.1/10 on 9/22/11). But compared to the final episode of failed year-ago occupant My Generation (3.0/ 5 on 9/30/10), this was still an improvement of 53 percent. Let’s wait and see what happens with Charlie’s Angels next week before we label it anything.

Next on ABC was veteran Grey’s Anatomy (#3: 7.4/11 at 9 p.m.), which was down by18 percent year-to-year, followed by the season-premiere of spin-off Private Practice at a second-place 5.9/10 in the overnights at 10 p.m. Private Practice, which was on par from one year earlier, is expected to win the time period among adults 18-49 (against older-skewing dramas The Mentalist and Prime Suspect).

NBC was off, but not running last night with its combination of low-rated sitcoms Community (#4: 2.7/ 5) and Parks and Recreation (#4: 3.1/ 5) from 8-9 pm. The only way NBC will improve its overall performance on Thursday is to anchor the evening with something stronger. Demo friendly The Office at 9 p.m. perked up to a 4.4/ 7 (#4), which was 42 percent above lead-in Parks and Recreation, but down from last Thursday’s 5.4/ 8. With weaker lead-in support, week two of abysmal Whitney slipped to a 3.8/ 6 (#4) at 9:30 p.m. Comparably, that dropped by 14 percent from The Office, and seven percent from failed year-ago occupant Outsourced (4.1/ 6 on 9/30/10). While Whitney is still expected to resonate among adults 18-49 thanks to The Office, finding a laugh in last night’s episode was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Mad About You this is not!

At 10 p.m., week two of NBC crime drama Prime Suspect finished a distant third with a 4.2/ 7. Comparably, that was nine percent below last week’s already disappointing 4.6/ 6 (on 9/22/11). While this was slightly above lead-in Whitney, results among adults 18-49 (and other young demos) are expected to be considerably weaker.

Over at The CW, The Vampire Diaries at 8 p.m. was on par from one year earlier with a 2.3/ 4 in the overnights. But week three of The Secret Circle dropped to a 1.7/ 3, which was 19 percent below year-ago occupant Nikita (2.1/ 3 on 9/30/10). Take a look at the three-week overnight track:

The Secret Circle (CW)
9/15/11: 2.3/ 4
9/22/11: 1.9/ 3
9/29/11: 1.7/ 3

And there you have it…the second Thursday of the 2011-12 season.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights