ratings

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.

The proximity of the broadcast to Whitney Houston’s death allowed the viewing audience an opportunity to share in a communal social moment with the artists, as they simultaneously processed the immediacy of the shocking news. The impact this had was evident on a market by market basis, as 20 of the 25 LPM markets delivered higher household ratings than the national broadcast — which was the most-watched Grammy broadcast since 1984 (the year of Thriller).

In last week’s top 30 ranking, CBS claimed all but eight of the most-watched shows. Fox was represented only by its two editions of American Idol — which ranked second and third — with NBC’s lone entry, The Voice, taking fourth place.

The first full week of the sweep finds other strong performances from Dr. Phil, Anderson, Extra and Criminal Minds.

Tuesday is turning into a night of the haves and the have-nots. CBS and Fox are the haves; ABC is clearly, until Dancing with the Stars returns next month, a have-not. The network had just one show with a rating above a 1.7 in adults 18-49 last night, with Last Man Standing averaging a 2.2.

NBC’s The Voice continues to be a real smash. The new drama Smash, not so much. Voice lifted NBC to its third straight Monday win last night despite fading ratings for its critically acclaimed lead-out, Smash, which lost more than half its lead-in in its third week. Voice averaged a 5.8 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down just 3% from last week and dominating its timeslot. CBS, the No. 2 network in those two hours, managed just a 3.8.

With the football barely visible in the rear-view mirror and last week’s record-breaking Grammys out of the way, the Sunday lineup lacked any destination programming last night, making room for a very tight race between the big four. Overrun of golf’s Northern Trust Open led into the dominant CBS lineup, which gave the network a 2.2 among adults 18-49 and 10.5 million viewers for the night. 60 Minutes earned a 1.8 in the demo, followed by the season premiere of The Amazing Race (2.7), The Good Wife (2.2) and CSI: Miami (2.1).

The proximity of the broadcast to Whitney Houston’s death allowed the broadcast audience an opportunity to share in a communal social moment with the artists, as they simultaneously processed the immediacy of the shocking news. The impact this had was evident on a market by market basis, as 20 of the 25 LPM markets delivered higher household ratings than the national broadcast.

It’s still sweeps, and networks are still putting on new episodes of their top shows in an attempt to lure in viewers, but this week viewers didn’t seem very interested in them. Thursday night saw nearly across the board declines for shows on broadcast as the third week of sweeps began. Similar declines were also seen on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Fox’s American Idol and CBS’s The Big Bang Theory tied as the night’s top show, both averaging a 5.0 among adults 18-49.

American Idol definitely seems to have leveled off. For the second straight week the hit Fox reality show was essentially flat to the prior week, ending two weeks of earlier declines. Though Idol remains well behind last year, it’s still walloping the competition. Idol averaged a 6.0 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m. last night, even to last week.

NBC’s The Voice, buoyed by its post-Super Bowl success, had the biggest audience on Monday, a night CBS usually dominates. Fox’s American Idol was the top show on both Wednesday and Thursday. Fox’s Glee did well on Tuesday night, although three other broadcast programs did better.

After months of agitating to get back on the air, ABC’s sitcom Cougar Town had a disappointing debut last night. The show returned to a series low on a low-rated night for the network. Cougar averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating at 8:30 p.m., losing 18% of lead-in Last Man Standing‘s 2.2.

In its first off-net season, Big Bang Theory ties Judge Judy and Wheel of Fortune for syndication’s No. 1 spot in the week ending Feb. 5.

The Voice and Smash did not maintain last week’s huge ratings, but they still did pretty well for NBC last night. Voice averaged a 5.9 among adults 18-49 from 8 to 10 p.m., off 12% from a 6.7 for last week’s timeslot debut. But the show still dominated the competition, with CBS’s entire comedy lineup and Fox’s drama lineup all posting season lows.

Oprah Winfrey issued a public apology on Monday for sending a controversial tweet on Sunday night. As the Grammys took many viewers over to CBS on Sunday, Oprah took to Twitter to ask people to tune into her cable network, OWN — “especially if you have a Nielsen box.”

Viewers turned out in huge numbers to remember late singer Whitney Houston last night. Early numbers suggest that CBS’s Grammy Awards, which included several tributes to Houston, will draw its second-biggest audience ever, and a Houston-focused special on NBC drew Dateline NBC‘s best Sunday numbers since 2009. The Grammys averaged 41.6 million total viewers from 8 to 11 p.m.

Fox’s American Idol gained some momentum last night. The show saw its rating rise week to week for the first time this season, though it did finish slightly behind CBS’s The Big Bang Theory in their shared half hour for the third straight week. Idol averaged a 5.7 adults 18-49 rating last night at 8 p.m., up 6% over last Thursday’s 5.4 and tying for the highest-rated Thursday edition of Idol this season.

For the first time this season the singing show did not see a week-to-week decline, finishing flat to the prior week in its fourth Wednesday outing. American Idol averaged a 6.0 adults 18-49 rating, even to last week’s 6.0 and finishing as the night’s top show, just ahead of ABC’s Modern Family at 5.5. Idol rose 11% from its first to its second half hour, going from a 5.7 at 8 p.m. to a 6.3 at 8:30.

The CBS O&O says its 244,000 average viewers to the city’s New York Giants parade between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. yesterday was tops in the market.

The CBS drama celebrates its bicentennial, dominating in the key demo and total viewers, while the new ABC horror series The River hits time slot highs but doesn’t get off to the most auspicious of starts.

They were two of the few syndication standouts in the week ending Jan. 29 that saw viewing levels fall and some show preempted by the president’s State of the Union address.

NBC’s midseason prospects are looking a lot rosier this morning. The network’s decision to air The Voice behind the Super Bowl paid off handsomely with the show growing 29% over last year’s season debut in its regular Monday 8-10 p.m. timeslot last night. Voice averaged a 6.6 adults 18-49 rating, NBC’s best average in that timeslot for non-sports programming since Feb. 16, 2004, and the network’s top non-sports, non-special on any night in four-and-a-half years, since September 2007.

It was by the slimmest of margins, but last night’s Super Bowl XLVI set a record for most-watched program in TV history. The NBC broadcast averaged 111.3 million total viewers, bettering last year’s record on Fox by 300,000. It marked the third straight year that the Super Bowl has set a new record for most-watched program, having surpassed the 106 million who watched the final edition of M*A*S*H in 2010.

For the second straight week CBS’s The Big Bang Theory outdrew Fox’s American Idol in their shared half hour, though Idol surged in its second half hour in order to tie Bang as the night’s top show. Bang averaged a 5.4 at 8 p.m., while Idol averaged a 5.0 in that half hour. It was the second week in a row that Bang has beaten Idol in the slot, though its winning margin was smaller.

American Idol slid again last night, though it was still by far the top show on broadcast. Idol averaged a 5.9 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., down 9% from the previous week’s 6.5. The show averaged 18.2 million total viewers, and it was still easily the No. 1 program of the night on both counts on an evening littered with reruns.

Strategies include front-loading national commercials early in a show and extending hit shows a minute or two into the following hour.

The other networks were awash in reruns last night, which helped Fox to a strong Tuesday evening. The network nearly doubled the average of the No. 2 finisher, CBS, en route to an easy win with the night’s three top-rated shows. Glee was the night’s No. 1 program with its best rating since Oct. 4 for a Michael Jackson tribute episode. The musical comedy averaged a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 16% from its most recent original episode two weeks ago.

The CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory had a slightly larger audience than Fox’s American Idol during the half hour when the shows were in head-to-head competition last Thursday, the Nielsen Co. said. The advantage was slight — 16.13 million to 15.56 million — but significant. It is believed to be the first scripted series to beat the Fox juggernaut in head-to-head competition.

Five of the genre’s six shows posted gains in the week ending Jan. 22, fueled by day-after coverage of the annual awards show.

Fox finished first last night against another evening of repeats on CBS, but new show Alcatraz saw a week-to-week slide. Alcatraz averaged a 2.7 at 9 p.m., down 10% from the previous week’s 3.0 and off 18% from its debut two weeks ago, though it did tie for first in its timeslot.

Without a highly rated football game to cushion its lead-in, Fox’s new animated comedy Napoleon Dynamite dipped sharply from its premiere two weeks ago. Dynamite averaged a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating last night at 8:30 p.m., less than half the 4.4 the show drew in its premiere on Jan. 15, airing a half hour after a highly rated game between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers.

The Finder may have a future after all. The Bones spinoff that premiered to very low numbers two weeks ago climbed by double-digit percentages for the second straight week airing behind American Idol. Finder averaged a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m. last night, up 32% over the previous week’s 2.2 and well above the 1.7 the show posted in its premiere two weeks ago.

While playoff football games draw big ratings, TVB says a look at numbers in the teams’ home markets reveals much, much larger audiences.

The Debmar-Mercury talker finished the most recent ratings week with series-best numbers and is showing strength in the women 25-54 demo.