TV Ratings Thursday:American Idol FLOPS, NBC Comedy Night Begins Well, CBS Down Across the Board

Scoreboard
Rating/Share: Adults 18-49	5.7/15	3.1/8	2.8/7	1.7/5	1.6/4	0.5/1
Rating/Share: Adults 18-34	4.6/13	1.8/5	3.2/9	1.4/4	1.6/5	0.5/1
Total Viewers (million)	16.788	13.630	5.434	5.421	3.858	1.343

   Of course Fox topped the adults 18-49 ratings on Thursday night, but Idol’s timeslot move took its toll on the ratings. CBS was pushed down across the board, interestingly it fared worse in the later hours than at 8pm. While NBC’s “Comedy Night Done Right” exceeded its 2 hour comedy block ratings from the fall.
NBC’s “Comedy Night Done Right” ratings started better than most of our readers expected, averaging a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating on the night. Community’s 2.2 adults 18-49 rating tied its second best mark of the season, up 16% from its last new episode. Perfect Couples’ 2.1 rating was far better than its December “preview’s” 1.3 rating. The Office’s 4.5 adults 18-49 rating was a season high, up 22% from its last new episode. Parks & Recreation returned with a pop, its 3.2 adults 18-49 rating was a series record. 30 Rock’s 2.7 rating at 10pm, was 29% above its last new episode. Its skeptics will feast on the fact that Outsourced tumbled to a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating, a series low, down 28% from its last new episode.
American Idol’s Thursday premiere scored a 7.8 adults 18-49 rating, that’s down 23% from last season’s second night’s 10.1 rating (on a Wednesday, somewhat apples/oranges). Its 22.6 million viewers was down from last season’s Wednesday start of  26.416 million. Following Idol, Bones drew a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating. That’s Bones’ best rating since 1/28/10.

CBS’s The Big Bang Theory weathered the Idol storm quite well, its 4.2 adults 18-49 rating was down just 5% from its last new episode. $#*! My Dad Says’ 2.7 rating was a series low, and down 7% vs. its last new episode. CSI’s 3.1 rating was down 6% from its last new episode, while The Mentalist’s 2.8 rating was down 10% from its last new episode.
ABC’s Wipeout’s 2.6 rating, still impressive for reality vs. Idol (and the NBC 8pm comedies), tumbled 28% vs. last week.


Late-night results are below the primetime data.
Overnight ratings for Thursday, January 20, 2011:

Time	Net	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers Live+SD (million)
8:00	FOX	American Idol 10	7.0	19	20.586
	CBS	The Big Bang Theory	4.2	12	13.582
	ABC	Wipeout	2.3	6	7.879
	NBC	COMMUNITY	2.2	6	4.740
	CW	THE Vampire Diaries – R	0.6	2	1.424
8:30	FOX	American Idol 10	8.4	22	24.672
	ABC	Wipeout	2.8	8	8.624
	CBS	$#! My Dad Says	2.7	7	10.292
	NBC	Perfect Couples	2.1	6	4.157
	CW	THE Vampire Diaries – R	0.6	1	1.319
9:00	NBC	The Office	4.5	12	8.285
	FOX	Bones	3.9	10	11.906
	CBS	CSI	3.1	8	14.025
	ABC	GREY’S ANATOMY – R	1.7	4	5.034
	CW	Nikita – R	0.5	1	1.295
9:30	FOX	Bones	3.3	9	9.986
	NBC	PARKS AND RECREATION	3.2	8	6.189
	CBS	CSI	3.0	8	14.555
	ABC	GREY’S ANATOMY – R	1.5	4	4.379
	CW	Nikita – R	0.5	1	1.335
10:00	CBS	The Mentalist	2.8	7	14.770
	NBC	30 Rock	2.7	7	5.281
	ABC	Private Practice – R	1.1	3	3.563
10:30	CBS	The Mentalist	2.8	8	14.556
	NBC	Outsourced	1.8	5	3.953
	ABC	Private Practice – R	0.9	3	3.048

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Via NBC press note:

In Late-Night Metered Markets Thursday night:
In Nielsen’s 56 metered markets, household results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 2.9/7; CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman,” 3.2/8; and ABC’s combo of “Nightline,” 2.9/7; and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 1.4/4
In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 1.1/5; “Late Show,” 0.9/4; “Nightline,” 0.9/4; and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 0.5/3.
At 12:35 a.m., “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (1.4/5 in metered-market households) trailed CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (1.5/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, “Late Night” (0.7/4 in 18-49) tied “Late Late Show” (0.5/3).
At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly” averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.