overnights

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy continued to rebound from its series low two weeks ago, growing for the second straight week. Grey’s was last night’s No. 1 scripted series with a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating, up 10% over last week and hitting a 10-week high in the demo.

ABC’s new comedy Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 declined but still put up a solid number in its second week, and it was hardly the only show to fall last night. Trust averaged a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating at 9:30 p.m., down 10% from last week’s 2.9 debut. The new show’s lead-in, Modern Family, was down a bit, too, which certainly accounted for some of Trust‘s decline. Family averaged a season-low 4.0 at 9 p.m., off 0.1 from last week.

ABC’s Private Practice may not be the answer to the network’s Tuesday night problems. The long-running drama, which moved from Thursday to Tuesday last night, was unimpressive in its debut, posting a season-low rating in the 10 p.m. timeslot, where ABC has struggled for several years. Practice averaged a 1.7 among adults 18-49. That was first in the timeslot ahead of a rerun of CBS’s Unforgettable and NBC’s new reality show Fashion Star.

Last week CBS’s Two and a Half Men fell to a series low just months after hitting a series high. Last night it rebounded a bit to finish with a better rating than NBC’s The Voice for the first time this season. Men averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., up 6% over last week, when it averaged a 3.5.

On a generally low-rated night, CBS’s new procedural NYC 22 debuted to unimpressive numbers. NYC averaged a 1.5 in adults 18-49, off 32% from the 2.2 that CSI: Miami has averaged in the same slot. The latter went on hiatus for NYC‘s trial run. The new show held 83% of lead-in The Good Wife‘s audience, a decent retention rate, but Wife only averaged a 1.8.

With CBS in reruns, the other networks all saw gains last night, including several new shows hoping to gain spots on next fall’s schedule. Fox’s Touch, ABC’s Scandal and NBC’s Up All Night, all first-year programs, were all up over last week in total viewers or adults 18-49.

Don’t Trust the B—– in Apartment 23 had a decent debut last night behind ABC’s hit show Modern Family. Trust averaged a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating at 9:30 p.m.,retaining 70% of Family‘s 4.1 lead-in. That was slightly above the 2.8 rating that Happy Endings drew in the same timeslot last year, though it was well below the 3.7 that another post-Family comedy, Mr. Sunshine, bowed to in February 2011.

The two networks averaged a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share apiece, according to Nielsen, just barely ahead of third-place CBS’s 2.4/7. NBC was up 14% over last week and Fox jumped 56%. For NBC, The Voice posted a 9% increase over last week. Fox was driven by Glee.

NBC won another Monday night, but top show The Voice fell to a Monday season low, as did several other shows on a generally slow evening for broadcast. Voice averaged a 3.9 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., topping Two and a Half Men as the night’s No. 1 show. It once again more than doubled NBC’s previous season average in the timeslot.

Masters overrun lifted CBS to victory last night, inflating ratings for 60 Minutes and The Amazing Race as the tournament went to a two-hole playoff. At 7 p.m., when the final hour of coverage aired along with the beginning of 60 Minutes, CBS averaged a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating. That was easily the best rating of the night for the Big Four networks, with Fox entirely in repeats and ABC airing two reruns. Easter is traditionally a slow night for TV viewership.

CBS and Fox split the night with respective wins among viewers and the demo, while ABC’s new Shonda Rhimes drama gets numbers familiar to its timeslot.

The series finale of One Tree Hill gave the CW a lift last night. The show, which aired from 8 to 10 p.m., averaged a 1.4 among the network’s target women 18-34, the CW’s best Wednesday rating since February of last year. It also matched the network’s season highs among adults 18-34 (0.9), 18-49s (0.8) and women 18-49 (1.1).

The Voice topped the competition on a new night yesterday. The singing show, airing its first Tuesday results show of the season, was the No. 1 program on a slow night and clearly had an impact on the competition, with ABC’s Dancing with the Stars Results and Fox’s New Girl both sliding from last week. Voice averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., with Stars drawing a 2.7 in the same one-hour timeslot, down 13% from last week’s 3.1 in its season premiere. Stars was the night’s No. 2 show.

Both ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and NBC’s The Voice slid to season lows last night, but that was hardly a surprise. They faced the NCAA men’s basketball tournament title game on CBS, which was up versus last year, based on early numbers. Kentucky beat Kansas 67-59. Voice averaged a 4.1 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down 9% from last week, while Stars fell 13%, to 2.8, in the same timeslot.

The Academy of Country Music Awards led CBS to an easy first-place finish last night, despite the fact that it dipped slightly from last year’s ceremony. The ACMs averaged a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 11 p.m., off 6% from a 3.3 last year. But that was still easily the night’s top-rated program, with the No. 2 show, ABC’s Once Upon A Time, managing a 2.7. It was a rather slow evening otherwise on broadcast.

CBS’s The Big Bang Theory has overtaken Fox’s American Idol as the top show on Thursday night, but Fox still has a slight edge over its rival on the night. Fox finished first on Thursday for the 11th straight week with a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating and 10 share, just ahead of CBS at 3.2/9. But CBS had the top show, Big Bang, which averaged a 4.5 at 8 p.m. and beat Idol by a sizeable margin in their shared half hour, 22%. Bang had been in reruns for the past few weeks.

It was another quiet night for broadcast, with ABC and CBS airing mostly repeats, which meant little challenge to usually dominant Fox on the night. Fox finished first for the evening with a 5.0 adults 18-49 rating and 14 share, bettering the other Big 4 networks combined. Fox’s American Idol was up very slightly versus last week, from a 4.9 to a 5.0, though it’s still lagging well behind last year’s numbers.

With CBS in repeats last night NBC easily earned its seventh Monday win in the past eight weeks, led by The Voice. The network averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating and 10 share in primetime, 28% ahead of No. 2 ABC at 2.9/8. For the second straight week, Voice and Dancing split their shared timeslot. Voice was the victor in 18-49s, with a 4.2, down 4% from last week but still easily the night’s top show.

College basketball once again gave CBS a slight edge over ABC on Sunday night. Overrun from the Kansas-North Carolina game, which lasted until 7:19 p.m. last night, boosted CBS to a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share, just ahead of ABC’s 2.2/6. The basketball overrun and the start of 60 Minutes from 7 to 7:30 p.m. were the night’s top program, averaging a 3.5.

It was a night of mixed results for Fox. The network’s hit reality show American Idol slid to a season low last night, but the new show Touch, which aired behind Idol, did well in its first episode since a January sneak peek. Idol averaged a 4.0 in adults 18-49 at 8 p.m., its lowest-rated episode this season and in fact its lowest rating since season one, when the show aired in the summer. Idol was off 13% from last week.

NBC’s new comedy Bent had a rough first night. The show bowed to disastrously low ratings, becoming the lowest-rated new scripted series this season. Bent averaged a 1.0 in adults 18-49 in its first episode at 9 p.m. and a 0.9 for the second episode, which aired at 9:30. It lost 29% of the 1.4 for lead-in Are You There, Chelsea?, another comedy, which was up sharply over last week along with fellow NBC sitcom Whitney.

When CBS is in originals on Tuesday night, as it was last night, it’s a tough network to beat, especially when so many shows had lackluster ratings. CBS averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating and 8 share in primetime, 29% ahead of second-place NBC, which averaged a 2.1/6. CBS’s NCIS was the night’s top show with a 3.3, and in fact it was the only show to break the 3.0 mark. CBS also had the night’s No. 2 show, NCIS: Los Angeles, which drew a 2.8.

Mondays are now the most competitive night of the week with the addition of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, which led to some interesting results last night. Airing against NBC’s hit The Voice for the first time this season, Dancing bowed to its lowest premiere rating ever. But it may have hurt its competitor a bit too. Voice slid to a season low last night in the shows’ shared 8 to 10 p.m. timeslot.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament boosted CBS past ABC Sunday night, though just barely. Runover from the tourney helped the network to a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share, just ahead of ABC’s 2.2/6. It also pushed CBS’s shows’ start times back a bit, which means that the overnight measurements aren’t completely accurate.

ABC’s new drama Missing had a so-so premiere last night against college basketball, which undoubtedly drew many viewers to cable. Missing averaged a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating, third in the 8 p.m. timeslot behind Fox’s American Idol and NBC’s “Community” and 30 Rock. It also drew a respectable 10.6 million total viewers, ABC’s best audience in the timeslot in more than a year.

Daylight saving time seems to be sapping the networks’ lineups this week. Fox won another slow night yesterday, with most shows seeing declines versus their most recent original episodes, including top-rated American Idol. Idol averaged a 5.3 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down 7% from last week’s 5.7. The show peaked with a 5.8 in its final half hour.

On a night when no network did all that well, NBC’s new reality show Fashion Star got off to a pretty bland start. Star averaged a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating from 9:30 to 11 p.m., losing 20% of lead-in The Biggest Loser‘s 2.0 rating. Star did finish first at 10 p.m. with a 1.6 but it did so against limp competition.

ABC’s GCB got off to a so-so start last week, but last night it showed a bit of growth. The second episode of the new drama averaged a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating in its 10 p.m. timeslot, up 5% from the 2.2 the series premiere averaged last week. The show finished first in its timeslot, just edging out the 2.2 NBC averaged for the second half of Celebrity Apprentice and the 2.1 CBS averaged for CSI: Miami. Last week GCB finished second in the slot behind Apprentice.

Thursday nights have turned into a two-horse race for viewers 18-49. Fox, boosted by its top show American Idol, and CBS, lifted by its top comedy The Big Bang Theory, tied for first for the night among viewers 18-49, each with a 3.6 average rating and a 10 share. Bang was the night’s top show in the demo, averaging a 5.1 from 8 to 8:30 p.m. and beating out the 4.5 Idol posted in their shared half hour.

Fox’s American Idol received a ratings boost over last week for the first performance episode of the finals, although the show was still well down from the same episode a year ago. Idol averaged a 5.6 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., up 14% from a 4.9 the previous week.

Even against minimal competition, the premiere of Fox’s new Tuesday comedy block got off to a slow start last night, with two shows drawing less than a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating. The network did win the night with a 2.1 rating and 6 share in 18-49s. But that came against repeats on CBS and a sagging ABC lineup where its only two originals sank to series lows.

NBC’s lineup, most notably the drama Smash, benefited from airing against CBS reruns last night. The Voice and Smash both saw ratings rise over their previous episode, the second straight week that Smash has risen. Smash averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating at 10 p.m., up 17% over the previous week and hitting a three-week high. The show easily won its timeslot against limp competition.

ABC’s much-hyped new dramedy GCB got off to an okay start on Sunday night, drawing an unremarkable rating in its premiere, though it did improve sharply on former timeslot occupant Pan Am. GCB averaged a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen, up from a 1.2 for Pan Am‘s final episode two weeks ago and ABC’s best rating in the timeslot in five months.

It wasn’t exactly a bang-up premiere, but compared to what NBC’s been averaging in the Thursday 10 p.m. timeslot the new drama Awake did alright. The show averaged a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating in its 10 p.m. debut, NBC’s best non-sports rating in the hour since May 19. It also improved the network’s dismal 1.2 average in the slot this season by 58%, and it finished No. 1 in the hour in the demo, ahead of repeats on the other Big Three networks.

American Idol won the final night of the February sweeps for Fox despite seeing declines versus both last week and last year. Idol averaged a 4.9 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down 4% from last week and off 37% from the same night last year, when a 90-minute Idol averaged a 7.8. Though Fox dominated the other networks, ABC’s Modern Family came very close to tying as the top-rated program of the night.

A special Tuesday edition of American Idol last night resulted in new lows for competing shows on ABC, NBC and CBS. Expanding from its usual Wednesday-Thursday timeslots, Idol averaged a 5.0 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., off 34% from the same night last year. But it was still easily the night’s highest-rated show, boosting Fox to a dominant victory, and it clearly took a toll on the competition.

Fox ended NBC’s three-week Monday winning streak last night, though just barely. Fox carried special coverage of the Daytona 500, which was delayed from Sunday by rain, and it averaged a 4.5 adults 18-49 rating and 11 share from 8 to 11 p.m., just ahead of NBC’s 4.4/11.

It looks as though ABC’s Oscars improved on last year’s performance, according to very early Nielsen numbers. The Oscars broadcast averaged a 25.5 household rating and 38 share from 8:30 to 11:24 p.m. last night, according to Nielsen metered-market data. That was up a full point over last year, when the show averaged a 24.5/37.

CBS tied the usually victorious Fox on the final Thursday of the February sweeps as the hit show American Idol fell to a season low and its lowest-rated episode in years. Idol averaged a 4.4 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., down 12% from a 5.0 overnight rating last week.

Wednesday was another night of declining ratings for the broadcast networks, and Fox’s hit American Idol declined the most. Idol averaged a 5.1 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m. last night, off 16% from last week. It was still the night’s top show and boosted Fox to an easy first-place finish on the night, but the declines came after two weeks of stable ratings for the hit singing show.