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December 23, 2011
 

The Sked: THURSDAY RATINGS December 22

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Written by: Mitch Metcalf
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>Last night FOX concluded The X Factor last night and hit a 3.8 Adult 18-49 rating for the night, which might go up to a 3.9 in the official nationals later today.  CBS finished in second place with an all-repeat lineup, while NBC and ABC were around the 1 rating range.  ABC had the most to lose — it won the night (modestly) with a Grinch-themed night last year but failed with more younger-themed Christmas fare last night along with a dangling repeat of a female soap.

             Nightly Adult 18-49 Rating
Thursday     FOX    CBS    NBC    ABC
12.22.2011   3.8    1.8    1.1    1.0
12.23.2010   1.5    1.4    0.9    2.0

The X Factor finished its run with a 3.8 rating, a touch higher than the 3.7 forecast yesterday.  By half hour, X Factor rated 3.3, 3.8, 3.8 and 4.2.  While not the ratings blockbuster that Simon Cowell and some in the press predicted, The X Factor provided solid but not spectacular ratings for FOX.  Last year on this night, FOX received a 1.5 rating for a two hour Million Dollar Drop (by half hour: 1.2…1.4…1.6…1.8).     

            Season        Past  Six  Weeks

FOX Thu    High Low  1117 1124 12.1 12.8 1215 1222
X Factor   4.3  2.8  3.1  —   3.1  2.9  2.9  3.8*
Bones      3.3  2.6  2.7  —   2.8  2.4  1.5R —


CBS finished in a weak second place last night (1.8 rating) by repeating its regular Thursday schedule.  Last year on this night, CBS did the same thing and produced a 1.4 rating from 8-11 pm:  Big Bang Theory (1.8), $#*! My Dad Says (1.4), CSI (1.2) and Mentalist (1.3).

                 Season        Past  Six  Weeks

CBS Thu         High Low  1117 1124 12.1 12.8 1215 1222
Big Bang Theory 5.4  4.5  5.3  3.3R 2.9R 4.6  2.9R 2.6R
Rules Engagment 3.7  2.7  3.6  2.2R 2.2R 3.0  2.7  1.9R 
Person Interest 3.1  2.6  2.6  1.7R 1.6R 2.8  2.8  1.6R 
Mentalist       2.9  2.5  2.5  1.6R 1.6R 2.7  2.7  1.5R

NBC averaged a 1.1 rating last night with a 1.5 from Who’s Still Standing?, a 0.9 from a repeat Office, 0.8 from a repeat Whitney and 1.0 from a Prime Suspect original.  The four-night track for Who’s Still Standing? does not reveal the makings of a hit: 1.5…1.9…1.7…1.5.  Last night, however, is actually up from last year’s 0.9 on the same night, which was another Thursday with six repeat comedy episodes: Community (0.7), 30 Rock (0.8), The Office (1.0), Outsourced (0.8), The Office (0.9) and The Office (1.0).

                Season        Past  Six  Weeks

NBC Thu        High Low  1110 1117 1124 12.1 12.8 1215 1222
Community      1.8  1.4  1.5  1.6  —  1.7  1.5  0.7R —
Parks & Rec    2.1  1.8  1.8  2.0  —  1.8  1.8  0.7R — 
The Office     3.9  2.9  3.0  2.9  —  2.9  2.9  1.1R 0.9R 
Whitney        3.3  1.9  2.1  1.9  —  1.9  1.9  0.8R 0.8R 
Prime Suspect  1.8  0.8  1.3  1.1  —  1.3  —   0.9  1.0

ABC finished in fourth place with a 1.0 rating for the night with three Christmas specials: Disney’s Prep & Landing, Prep & Landing: Naughty vs Nice and I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown! (each 1.1) and an out-of-time-period Grey’s Anatomy repeat (0.7) at 10 pm.  This was a big downgrade from 2.0 rating on the same night last year, which featured an all Grinch lineup: Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1.6) from 8:00-8:30 and the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2.1) from 8:30-11:00.

                Season        Past  Six  Weeks

ABC Thu        High Low  1117 1124 12.1 12.8 1215 1222
Charlie’s Ang  2.1  1.1  —  —  —  —   —   —
Grey’s Anatomy 4.1  3.1  —  —  —  —   —   0.7R
Private Prac   2.8  2.1  2.6  —  —  —   —   —

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About the Author

Mitch Metcalf
MITCH METCALF has been tracking every US film release of over 500 screens (over 2300 movies and counting) since the storied weekend of May 20, 1994, when Maverick and Beverly Hills Cop 3 inspired countless aficionados to devote their lives to the art of cinema. Prior to that, he studied Politics and Economics at Princeton in order to prepare for his dream of working in television. He has been Head of West Coast Research at ABC, then moved to NBC in 2000 and became Head of Scheduling for 11 years.