The Sked: THURSDAY RATINGS February 16

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>FOX Thursday was up from last week, thanks to a second hour of American Idol replacing The Finder at 9 pm.  But those two hours of Idol were also the lowest Thursday episode to date.  CBS was also down a bit from recent weeks, and the Grey’s Anatomy / Private Practice crossover did not improve ABC’s fortunes on the night.  And finally, The Office is in freefall: next stop, a 2.0 rating.    

             Nightly Adult 18-49 Rating
Thursday     FOX    CBS    ABC    NBC    
02.16.2012   5.0    3.3    2.4    1.4   THIS WEEK   
02.09.2012   4.0    3.6    2.6    1.7   LAST WEEK
02.17.2011   5.5    3.0    2.7    2.0   LAST YEAR 

American Idol scored a 5.0 in the preliminary Adult 18-49 fast nationals Thursday for a two-hour episode, which should go up to a 5.1 in the official nationals later today (but still easily the worst Thursday performance yet).   The episode started at a 4.6 in the 8:00 half hour, peaked at a 5.4 at 8:30, then settled down to a 4.9 at 9:00 and 5.2 at 9:30.  As others have pointed out, the recent episodes have really been more about vomiting in trash cans, collapsing on stage, catching a flu that is going around and crying — almost crowding out the singing.  Given, the 6.0 official rating NBC’s The Voice posted Monday, get ready for a new round of NBC promos proclaiming the #1 status of its show.  For its part, American Idol promos have recently sniffed that it is the only singing competition show to create “real superstars”, complete with graphics of record sales and music award wins.  Can you hear those footsteps behind you, Idol?  This night last year: American Idol (7.6) and Bones (3.3).     

Its not Daylight Saving Time yet, but it certainly seems that way in the ratings.  Big Bang Theory won the 8:00 half hour but with a 5.0 preliminary rating, down sharply from last week and toward the low end for the season.  At 8:30, Rob held very steady at a 3.2.  At 9 pm, Person of Interest was down from recent weeks, while The Mentalist fell a few tenths from last week’s season high.  On the same night last year: Big Bang Theory (3.7), $#*! My Dad Says (2.6), CSI (2.9) and The Mentalist (3.0).

ABC finished in third place with a 2.4 rating from 8-11 pm, with another season low at 8 pm for Wipeout, an atrocious 3.1 for Grey’s Anatomy at 9 pm, but a relatively decent 2.6 for Private Practice at 10 pm.  The crossover “event” between the two medical dramas (event being one of the most over-used words in on-air promotion) backfired for Grey’s but helped Private a bit.  On balance, the crossover was a net loss for ABC from 9-11 pm, compared to recent weeks.  On this night last year: Wipeout (1.9), Grey’s Anatomy (3.7) and Private Practice (2.3). 

NBC’s fourth-place 1.4 rating from 8-11 pm is down three tenths from last week and shows a comedy block in absolute freefall.  30 Rock was back down almost to its level from two weeks ago (when DVRs incorrectly coded the episode as a repeat).  No such excuse this week.  And The Office plunged to a 2.2, as most of the cast was in Florida on a business trip.  Abrasive, sexually-harassing sales guy Todd Packer (a blast from the show’s great past) made an appearance but felt oddly out of place and not all that funny.  Up All Night is in line to set another season low.  Last year on this night NBC managed a 2.0 rating from 8-11 pm: Community (1.8), Perfect Couples (1.4), The Office (3.3), Parks & Recreation (2.2), 30 Rock (2.0) and Outsourced (1.5).

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