Articles

May 18, 2012
 

The Sked: THURSDAY RATINGS May 17 — Fully Updated and Corrected

FOX won again last night, the final Thursday of the May Sweep.  An uptick in American Idol was partially erased by a downtick in Touch.  CBS was mostly original last night, although the key contributor (Big Bang Theory) was a repeat, bringing the night half a rating point below last week’s level and moving CBS from second to third place.   ABC had a good night, especially the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy.  NBC crashed and burned with a Community-dominated evening.

Nightly Primetime Average: Adult 18-49 Rating (Live+Same Day)
Thursday ABC CBS NBC FOX
05.17.2012 2.5 2.4 1.1 3.0 This Week
05.10.2012 2.2 2.9 1.5 3.0 Last Week
05.19.2011 2.6 2.9 2.5 4.8 Last Year

 

FOX’s American Idol (4.2 preliminary rating) was up a few tenths from recent lows but remains stuck at levels we would not expect to see the week before the finale next week.  Although Idol was up from recent weeks, Touch continues to trend down, setting a new season low.  Last year on this night, FOX averaged a 4.8 rating from 8-10 pm: American Idol (6.3) and Bones (3.2).

Season Last Six Episodes
FOX Thursday High Low 4.12 4.19 4.26 5.03 5.10 5.17
X Factor 4.3 2.8
American Idol 5.7 3.9 4.3 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.2*
Touch 3.3 1.9 2.3 2.1 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.8*
Bones 3.3 2.4
The Finder 2.8 1.7

What a difference one half hour makes.  Big Bang Theory aired a repeat, turning in a mid-2 rating rather than the 4.5 or so one would expect from an original.  This pushed Rules of Engagement to a season low, and while Person of Interest and Mentalist bounced up a bit to match ratings from recent weeks, neither show got the season finale “bounce” that could have happened if the entire night had been original episodes.  Last year on this night: Big Bang Theory (3.6), Rules of Engagement (2.5), and The Mentalist two-hour (2.8).

Season Last Six Episodes
CBS Thursday High Low 4.12 4.19 4.26 5.03 5.10 5.17
Big Bang Theory 5.5 4.1 2.8r 2.5r 4.1 4.7 4.4 2.4r
Rules of Engagement 3.7 2.2 2.7 2.2 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.1*
Rob 4.1 2.9
Person of Interest 3.4 2.4 1.8r 1.5r 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.5*
Mentalist 3.0 2.2 1.5r 2.2 2.5 2.4 2.5*


In contrast, ABC got a nice season finale bump from Grey’s Anatomy, up to a 3.9 in the preliminary (and almost certainly a 4.0 in the official nationals — above the rating for the same week last year).  Scandal also bounced up to a season high, a more moderate 2.4 rating (but a very good number for the 10 pm hour this season).  Last year on this night: Wipeout (1.7), Grey’s Anatomy (3.6) and Private Practice (2.5).

Season Last Six Episodes
ABC Thursday High Low 4.12 4.19 4.26 5.03 5.10 5.17
Charlie’s Angels 2.1 1.1
Wipeout 2.7 1.5
Missing 2.1 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.3*
Grey’s Anatomy 4.5 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.9*
Scandal 2.4 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.9 2.4*
Private Practice 2.8 2.1

 

NBC once again saw how much it relies on The Office.  As bad as it has become creatively and as weak as it is relative to comedy hits like Modern Family and Big Bang TheoryThe Office is really all that NBC has to offer on Thursdays.  Last night, it was a night of Community (three original episodes at 8:00, 9:00 and 9:30) and 30 Rock, and each half hour received a 1.3 rating, pushing Awake back down to a series low 0.7 rating.  Last year on this night: Community (1.2), The Office repeat (1.5), The Office one-hour (3.9), Parks & Recreation (2.4) and Parks & Recreation (2.0).

Season Last Six Episodes
NBC Thursday High Low 4.12 4.19 4.26 5.03 5.10 5.17
Community 1.8 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3*
30 Rock 1.8 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.3*
The Office 3.9 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.3
Parks & Recreation 2.1 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7
Whitney 3.3 1.9
Up All Night 2.0 1.2 1.5
Awake 1.9 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.7*
Prime Suspect 1.8 0.8
The Firm 1.0 0.8

###



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.