overnights

Despite Charlie Sheen’s seeming omnipresence on television of late, viewers aren’t tiring of him. ABC scored strong ratings with Sheen’s second primetime interview in as many nights. A special edition of 20/20, “Charlie Sheen: In His Own Words,” averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating in the 10 p.m. timeslot. ABC’s second-best ratings of the season in the timeslot behind the finale of Dancing with the Stars in November.

With Bachelor Brad Womack down to his final few choices and ABC introducing the new cast of Dancing with the Stars on last night’s Bachelor commercial breaks, ABC earned a win on the final Monday of February sweeps. The network averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating and 9 share for the night, with Bachelor matching last week’s season high with a 3.4 rating.

Last night’s Oscars telecast slid a bit in the ratings compared to last year, but it was still well ahead of the 2009 and 2008 ceremonies, based on early ratings from Nielsen. From 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., the ceremony averaged a 24.6 household rating and 37 share on ABC, down 7% from a 26.5/40 last year. But it was up nicely over 2009, when the ceremony averaged a 23.3 rating, and 2008, when it managed just an all-time-low 21.9.

A two-hour American Idol dominated the competition on the final Thursday of the February sweeps. Idol averaged a 7.2 adults 18-49 rating, peaking with a 7.5 in its final half hour at 9:30 p.m. Idol, though down from a 7.5 last week, was up 11% over the comparable night last year.

Most new shows are expected to lose viewers in their second outing, but they’d prefer if the declines weren’t quite this steep. The second episode of CBS’s spinoff Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior averaged a 2.5 rating among viewers 18-49 in its 10 p.m. timeslot last night, off 24% from the 3.3 its premiere averaged last week.

CBS’s NCIS finished ahead of Fox’s Glee in the 8 p.m. timeslot for the first time this month last night, and that helped CBS to its first Tuesday night win of this February sweeps. NCIS posted a 4.4 rating among viewers 18-49 last night, up 19% from a 3.7 last week and pushing just ahead of Glee‘s 4.3. For the night CBS averaged a 3.4 overnight rating and 9 share, up 13% from a 3.0/8 last week.

Charlie Sheen’s antics are catching up, and now CBS is paying for them. The troubled actor’s unscheduled hiatus into rehab prompted the network to air a rerun of Two and a Half Men last night, causing CBS to slip to second place for the night among viewers 18-49. This was the first time this February sweeps that CBS didn’t win Monday night. Last night’s Men rerun — the only repeat in CBS’s lineup — posted a 3.0 among 18-49s. That’s not bad for a repeat, but off 29% from a 4.2 for an original episode last week.

Fox posted a narrow win over ABC on a slow Sunday night. The network’s animated comedies averaged a 2.4 rating in the adult 18-49 demographic compared to ABC’s 2.3. CBS pulled in the most total viewers with 10.4 million and was a close third with a 2.2 rating from 7 to 11 p.m.

A slight bounce back for Fox’s American Idol led the network to a comfortable first-place finish last night among viewers 18-49, its third straight Thursday night February sweeps win. Idol posted a 7.5 among 18-49s in its 8 p.m. timeslot, up 4% from a 7.2 last week and even to two weeks ago.

There was nothing suspect about the premiere of CBS’s spinoff Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior last night. The new Forest Whitaker drama posted a 3.3 rating among viewers 18-49 in the 10 p.m. hour, winning its timeslot and placing No. 3 for the night behind Fox’s American Idol (8.1) and ABC’s Modern Family (4.3).

It was another lackluster night on broadcast, only this one can’t be blamed on Valentine’s Day date nights taking viewers away from their TVs, as Monday night’s could.  A number of shows saw their ratings decline week to week last night, with Fox’s new sitcom Traffic Light seeing the biggest decline. CBS and Fox tied for the lead on the night with a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating and 8 share apiece.

Mad Love had an OK premiere on CBS last night, sandwiched between two of the network’s stronger shows, How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, though it was the network’s lowest-rated sitcom of the night. The new romantic comedy averaged a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating at 8:30 p.m., retaining 81% of Mother‘s 3.7 rating at 8 p.m.

Boosted by performances from hot artists like Eminem and Lady Gaga, CBS’s Grammy Awards surged to its best viewership in at least a decade last night. The special averaged 27.6 million total viewers from 8 to 11 p.m., bettering last year’s ceremony by 4%.

American Idol boosted Fox to its second straight Thursday night February sweeps win, easily besting rivals CBS and ABC despite slight declines for its top show. Idol averaged a 7.2 adults 18-49 rating, down 4% from last week’s 7.5 but 85% better than the two shows that tied for No. 2 on the night, The Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy (3.9 apiece).

Matthew Perry managed to better his former TV wife, Cougar Town star Courteney Cox, with the debut of his new show last night on ABC. The much-hyped Mr. Sunshine debuted to good numbers at 9:30 p.m., averaging a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating, up 23% over Cougar‘s season average of 3.0 and placing second in the timeslot to CBS’s Criminal Minds.

The premiere of Fox’s new Traffic Light seemed to get a red from viewers. The new comedy managed just a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating in the 9:30 p.m. timeslot last night, losing 32% of lead-in Raising Hope‘s 2.8 rating. It finished third in the timeslot behind CBS’s NCIS: Los Angeles and NBC’s The Biggest Loser.

The Super Bowl promotional push didn’t give Fox’s new drama The Chicago Code a big premiere, though it certainly could have done worse. The show debuted to an unremarkable 2.4 adults 18-49 rating in the 9 p.m. timeslot last night, holding just 56% of lead-in House‘s season-high 4.3 rating.

Last night’s post-Super Bowl Glee was a thriller for the show’s devoted fans, though it proved less of a draw than last year’s post-Super Bowl Undercover Boss debut on CBS. Glee averaged 26.8 million total viewers and an 11.1 adults 18-49 rating from 10:39 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. on Fox, according to Nielsen time-zone adjusted fast nationals, which are more accurate than regular overnights. The show scored series highs in both demos and more than doubled its season average.

It looks like the Super Bowl is on its way to another record. Last night’s contest tied with the 1987 game for the highest-rated ever, up 3% over last year, which was the most-watched game in history. Fox’s Super Bowl XLV averaged a 47.9 household rating and a 71 share, according to Nielsen metered-market ratings released by Fox this morning.

Fox steamed to its third straight Thursday victory last night, kicking off the February sweeps with an easy win. Boosted by American Idol, Fox averaged a 5.4 adults 18-49 rating and 14 share, 74% ahead of CBS and ABC, who tied for second at 3.1/8. It marked Fox’s first-ever victory among 18-49s to open a February sweeps period, as this is the first year Idol has aired regularly on Thursdays.

Fox’s American Idol contracted from two to one hour last night, but it saw minimal declines despite the shorter running time. The show averaged an 8.9 adults 18-49 rating, off 3% from last week’s 9.2. But that 9.2 was for a 120-minute episode where hour two rose 11% over hour one. Last night’s episode was actually up slightly over Idol‘s first hour last week, which drew an 8.5.

NCIS is proving quite the juggernaut this year. The eighth-year CBS drama rose to a series high for the second time in three weeks last night, drawing a record 22.7 million total viewers in the 8 p.m. timeslot. That bettered its previous record, set Jan. 11, by 800,000 viewers. Last night’s episode also hit a season high among adults 18-49, averaging a 4.6, up 0.1 from its former best.

Brad Womack is getting closer to making his selection, and ratings for The Bachelor are rising. ABC’s aging reality show hit a season high last night, boosting the network to No. 1 for the night against reruns on usual winner CBS. Bachelor averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., lifting ABC to a 2.7 rating and 7 share for the night.

Fox scored an easy victory with last night’s Pro Bowl, dominating primetime against relatively weak competition on the other Big Four networks. Fox averaged a 4.4 adults 18-49 rating and 12 share last night, including a 4.4 for the NFL’s equivalent of the all-star game, which aired from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Fox’s American Idol will apparently be less potent on Thursday nights than on Wednesday, but it will still be more than enough for the network to win the night. With Idol off just 3% from last week, Fox averaged a 5.8 adults 18-49 rating and 15 share for the night, more than double second-place NBC’s 2.5/7.

After a bit of a hiccup last Thursday against stronger competition, American Idol bounced back up in its third episode last night. Fox’s smash reality show averaged a 9.2 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., up 18% from a 7.8 for its second episode last Thursday.

On a night where the networks’ usual schedules were rearranged by President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, NBC picked up an easy victory. The network averaged a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share in primetime, becoming the only network to average more than a 2.0 rating on a night littered with repeats.

With usual Monday leader CBS in reruns, Fox stole the lead last night, paced by the aging but still potent drama House. House averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., overnights, easily the night’s top show and up 6% versus last week.

With what will undoubtedly be the highest-rated primetime program of the season, CBS crushed the competition last night. The AFC Championship Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets averaged a 17.3 adults 18-49 rating from 7 to 10 p.m.

Fox  may have finally found an unlikely combo that works on Friday in the Gordon Ramsay reality show Kitchen Nightmares and supernatural thriller Fringe. The network overshadowed the series finale of CBS’s long-running drama Medium with a rare Friday victory, airing the night’s two top-rated shows. Fox averaged a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share, the network’s best non-sports Friday night since September 2008, double its season average on Fridays, and 36% ahead of No. 2 ABC, which averaged a 1.4/5.

Night two of Fox’s American Idol showed substantial dips compared to night one, though the show remained quite dominant over the competition. Idol averaged a 7.7 adults 18-49 rating in its new 8 p.m. timeslot, off 21% from a 9.7 for Wednesday’s season 10 debut, which was two hours. Last night’s show was only 60 minutes.

As expected, the numbers for last night’s season premiere of American Idol were off a good deal, although the Fox smash continued to dominate the competition and posted the best numbers this season for any non-football program. Idol averaged 26.1 million total viewers from 8 to 10 p.m., down 13% compared to last year’s 29.9 million.

Whether it was a season or series finale still is not clear, but the CW’s Life Unexpected did go out on a slightly higher note last night. The special two-hour show averaged 1.75 million total viewers, a season high. It was on par with its season average among adults 18-34 (1.0) and women 18-34 (1.3), though, meaning it put up relatively low numbers compared to other shows on the CW.

The new David E. Kelley legal drama did well among total viewers but not among adults 18-49 in last night’s premiere. The show, starring Kathy Bates as a lawyer who is fired from her old practice and starts anew, averaged a 2.1 18-49 rating in the 10 p.m. timeslot, NBC’s best rating in the slot since November but still a distant second in the hour behind CBS’s Hawaii Five-0.

Ricky Gervais’ incendiary remarks at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards last night did not send viewers flocking to their sets. Based on metered-market households, the show averaged an 11.8 household rating compared to last year’s 11.9. But NBC’s telecast (8-11 p.m.) of the annual Hollywood awards show nevertheless beat its broadcast competition

Winter Wipeout continues to be a hit for ABC. The second episode of the show aired last night to strong ratings and boosted the network to first place on a night when reruns were rampant. Wipeout averaged a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating, down 5% from last week’s premiere and dominating its 8 p.m. timeslot.

President Barack Obama’s speech at the Arizona shooting victims’ memorial last night was covered by the Big Four networks, and it knocked their shows around on the schedule. The speech aired from 8:39 to 9:20 p.m., forcing the networks to rearrange programming in two hours. The result was a disjointed and somewhat confusing night that ABC dominated thanks to an original Modern Family.

Without a new Glee to compete against, CBS’s NCIS rose to a season high last night. The hit drama averaged a 4.5 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., for its first new episode of the new year.

ABC won a very slow Monday last night, with only two Big Five networks running originals.  With The Bachelor and Castle, ABC averaged a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating and 6 share in primetime, 23% ahead of second-place CBS, which aired all reruns and averaged a 2.0/5.

The new animated series Bob’s Burgers served up the biggest debut for a new show yet this season, with a huge assist from the NFL. Burgers averaged a 4.5 adults 18-49 rating at 8:30 p.m. on Fox last night, unseating previous top debut $#*! My Dad Says, which averaged a 4.0 last September.