Most Americans relaxed after their turkey by watching a pigskin.
DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews (women 18-49, men 18-49 and adults 50+ shares) and total viewership (thousands of people over the age of 2).
Ratings analysis and comparisons follow the chart.
NBC: Although the number will shift when final timezone-adjusted ratings arrive, there’s no doubt that THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, currently at 5.8 (down 0.2 from last Thanksgiving night) owned the evening.
FOX: CAUSE FOR PAWS: AN ALL-STAR DOG SPECTACULAR is currently at a healthy 1.6, but it’s a lopsided rating that started at 2.8 in the first half hour (which was probably an afternoon NFL overrun) and fell to 1.0 by the last. The overall number will likely come down to earth.
CBS: The network threw the bulk of its line-up to the wolves (or turkeys) by starting with a rerun BIG BANG THEORY (1.7). That helped send MOM down 0.9 from last week to 1.6, 2 1/2 MEN down 0.7 to 1.5, and THE MCCARTHYS down 0.3 to 1.1. ELEMENTARY gained 0.1 to 1.1. (Why would CBS waste first-run programming on such a low-viewing night? It’s likely that advertisers paid premiums despite the ratings to advertise their Black Friday sales, and the dollars balanced out.)
ABC: After a THANK YOU AMERICA special at 0.6, reruns were at 0.5/0.6.
CW: A night of WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY reruns was at 0.2-0.4.
Tonight is another slow holiday weekend evening for the networks. Only NBC is airing its full line-up, with reruns predominating elsewhere, although there will be fresh episodes of THE AMAZING RACE and 20/20.
COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR NIGHTS: Preliminary adult 18-49 ratings versus the same night last year and same night last week.
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