Ratings News - 19th October 2012 *Full Tables Posted*

Metered Market Thursday Ratings
Clean Sweep for the Eye Net

Thursday 10/18/12

Household
Rating/Share
CBS 8.8/14
ABC 5.7/ 9
Fox 4.2/ 7
NBC 2.6/ 4
CW 1.8/ 3

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-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Thursday 10/20/11
NBC: +30, ABC: + 8, CBS: + 4, CW: -10, Fox: -52

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-Winners:
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Two and a Half Men (CBS), Person of Interest (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Elementary (CBS)

-Wise to Call it Quits:
The Office (NBC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
30 Rock (NBC), Up All Night (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Beauty and the Beast (CW), Rock Center With Brian Williams (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS scored a hefty Thursday overnight victory, with a 54 percent advantage over second-place ABC and a first-place finish in each of the six half-hours. The Big Bang Theory took top-rated honors for the evening with a season high 10.7 rating/17 share at 8 p.m., followed by Two and a Half Men (9.4/15 at 8:30 p.m.), Person of Interest (9.0/14 at 9 p.m.) and episode three of Elementary (7.4/13 at 10 p.m.). Comparably, Elementary held 83 percent of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Person of Interest (8.9/14) and dipped by only three percent in the overnights from its second episode on Oct. 4. But versus year-ago occupant The Mentalist (8.9/15 on 10/20/11), it dropped by 17 percent. Three-episode overnight track for Elementary: 9.0/16 – 7.6/13 – 7.4/13. The early verdict: still promising.

As for Two and a Half Men, growth versus year-ago occupant Rules of Engagement (7.1/11 on 10/20/11) was a considerable 32 percent.

On ABC, episode four of 8 p.m. drama Last Resort leveled off with a second-place 4.8/ 8 at 8 p.m. Comparably, this was up by 20 percent from short-lived year-ago occupant Charlie’s Angels (4.0/ 7 on 10/20/11). For-week overnight track for Last Resort: 6.5/11 – 5.5/ 9 – 4.7/ 8 – 4.8/ 8.

Next on the alphabet net was Grey’s Anatomy at a second-place 7.4/11 at 9 p.m., which should be more than enough to win the hour among adults 18-49, followed by sophomore Scandal at a 5.0/ 8 (#2) at 10 p.m. Comparably, Scandal is right on par with modest year-ago occupant Private Practice, with retention of 68 percent out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Grey’s Anatomy (7.3/11).

In other freshman series news, episode two of drama Beauty and the Beast on The CW finished a distant fifth at 9 p.m. with a 1.5/ 2 in the overnights. Comparably, that dropped by a significant 37 percent from its week-ago opener (2.4/ 4 on Oct. 11) and it was down by 12 percent from failed year-ago time period occupant The Secret Circle (1.6/ 3 on 10/20/11). Retention for Beauty and the Beast out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of lead-in The Vampire Diaries (2.1/ 3 at 8 p.m.) was 67 percent. The early verdict: Don’t get too used to Beauty and the Beast.

Overall, The Vampire Diaries averaged a 2.2/ 4 from 8-9 p.m., which was eight percent below the 2.4/ 4 on the year-ago evening.

Elsewhere, game four of the National League Championship Series on Fox (Cardinals 8, Giants 3) finished third overall for the night with an average 4.2/ 7 in the overnights in primetime. And NBC could not compete, as usual, with lackluster combination of sitcoms 30 Rock (#3: 2.6/ 4), Up All Night (#4: 2.4/ 4), The Office (#4: 3.0/ 5) and Parks and Recreation (#4: 2.5/ 4) from 8-10 p.m., and sophomore newsmagazine Rock Center With Brian Williams (#4: 2.7/ 5).

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights