The Sked: MONDAY RATINGS May 21

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With its comedies in repeats, CBS moved into fourth pace last night, creating a tight race between the other three networks.  NBC premiered American Ninja Warrior, which started decently in the first half hour but declined steadily until 11 pm.  FOX aired the series finale of House, which managed to win the 9 pm hour on a relatively sleepy night.

With CBS in repeats, NBC moved into first place last night, the last Monday of the May Sweep and the broadcast season.  One hour of America’s Got Talent at 8 pm averaged a 3.1 in the preliminary fast nationals with Adults 18-49, down from a 3.7 official rating for last week’s two-hour premiere.  NBC premiered American Ninja Warrior from 9-11 pm, averaging a 2.4 rating.  Although a 2.4 looks good on the surface (it tied the second week of Bachelorette on ABC in the same time period), a look at the half-hour ratings is disturbing.  Ninja Warrior started at a 2.6 rating from 9:00-9:30 and declined all the way to a 2.0 from 10:30-11:00.  The latter rating is much more indicative of where the new reality competition show is headed this summer. Nonetheless, the entire night averaged a 2.6 rating, much better than the same night last year:  Minute to Win It (1.5), The Event (1.6) and Law & Order LA (1.3).

ABC tied for second place with FOX last night with a 2.5 rating from 8-11 pm.  The final performance episode of Dancing with the Stars picked up a few tenths of a rating point from last week, averaging a 2.8 from 8-9 pm (but still 40% below the same episode last year).  The Bachelorette dipped to a 2.4 rating from 9-11 pm, although it is within relative spitting distance of last year (down 14%).  Last year on this night on ABC: Dancing with the Stars 8-9 pm (4.7) and Bachelorette 9-11 pm (2.8).

FOX said goodbye to House last night with a retrospective from 8-9 pm averaging a 2.0 rating (similar to recent Bones episodes) and the series finale from 9-10 pm averaging a 2.9, enough to win the time period but far from its season and series highs.  Last year on this night on FOX: House (3.4) and Chicago Code (2.0).

CBS fell to fourth place (a 1.6 rating from 8-11 pm) with a slate of repeat comedies and an original special, Clash of the Commercials: USA vs the World, which averaged a 1.4 rating (down 26% from last year’s Clash on this night and a few tenths lower than a typical Hawaii Five-O repeat).  Last year on this night:  How I Met Your Mother repeat (1.5), How I Met Your Mother repeat (1.5), Two and a Half Men repeat (2.2), Mike & Molly repeat (1.9) and Clash of the Commercials  (1.9).

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