Ratings News - 27th January 2012 *Full Tables Added*

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METERED MARKET THURSDAY RATINGS
American Idol Down, But Fox Still Dominant

Thursday 1/26/12
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
Fox 8.3/13
CBS 7.4/12
NBC 2.8/ 5
ABC 2.7/ 4
CW 1.2/ 2

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Thursday 1/27/11
CBS: +16, NBC: -20, ABC: -21, Fox: -25, CW: -43

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

-Honorable Mention:
Rob! (CBS)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
30 Rock (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Movie: The Covenant (CW), The Firm (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
American Idol is down, but certainly not out as dominant Fox led the Thursday overnights with a 1.1 rating point advantage over second-place CBS. Two-thirds of the Eye net’s schedule were, however, encore telecasts. In the very distant No. 3 spot was NBC, followed by ABC and, of course, The CW.

American Idol kicked-off the evening for Fox with an 11.1 rating/17 share from 8-9 p.m., which compared to one year earlier (14.2/21 on 1/27/11) was off by 22 percent. Next was episode three of drama The Finder with a 5.6/ 9 at 9 p.m. and retention out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of American Idol (11.8/18) of an improved 47 percent. One week earlier, The Finder scored a 4.7/ 7 out of a 12.4/19 for Idol at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 19. One year earlier, former occupant (and parent series) Bones averaged a 7.9/12.

Over at CBS, week three of sitcom Rob! was equal to last Thursday with a second-place 7.2/11 at 8:30 p.m. (three week overnight track: 8.3/13 – 7.2/11 – 7.2/11). Comparably, Rob! outdelivered a repeat of year-ago occupant $#*! My Dad Says (5.7/ 9 on 1/27/11) by 26 percent, with retention out of The Big Bang Theory (#2: 10.3/16 at 8 p.m.) of 70 percent. Keep in mind that the year-ago installment of $#*! My Dad Says aired out of a repeat of The Big Bang Theory.

CBS capped off the evening with encore telecasts of Person of Interest (#1: 7.0/11) and The Mentalist (#1: 6.4/11) from 9-11 p.m. Chances of a second season for Person of Interest are very optimistic.

NBC could not compete with its combination of 30 Rock (#3: 3.0/ 5), which has never been a ratings success, Parks and Recreation (#4: 2.7/ 4), another episode of 30 Rock (#3: 3.1/ 5), a repeat of relocated Up All Night (#4: 2.3/ 4) and recent legal entry The Firm, which lagged at a 2.9/ 5 at 10 p.m. Comparably, The Firm is weaker than recent failed occupant Prime Suspect, with overnight erosion from year-ago occupants 30 Rock and Outsourced of an average 11 percent.

Elsewhere, ABC populated this fourth Thursday in January with encore telecasts of Wipeout (#3: 2.9/ 5), Grey’s Anatomy (#3: 3.0/ 5) and Private Practice (#3: 2.3/ 4). And The CW aired theatrical The Covenant, which lagged at a 1.2/ 2 (#5) from 8-10 p.m. As a reminder, ABC will test Private Practice out of Dancing With the Stars for four weeks beginning in March to give upcoming Shonda Rhimes political fixer drama Scandal a shot in the post Grey’s Anatomy slot.

Speaking of Dancing with the Stars, the upcoming new competitors will be announced live on Good Morning America on Tuesday, February 28.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights