NBC walked away from Week 2 of premiere season with its second straight weekly ratings victory, taking first place in the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers.
NBC topped CBS, ABC and Fox in the key demo, averaging a 2.76 rating in the demo for the week of Sept. 30, compared to second-place CBS, which averaged a 2.14. (ABC was a close third for the week with a 2.13, while Fox drew up the rear with a 1.7.)
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In total viewers, CBS held a commanding first place with an average 10 million total viewers, with NBC (8.6 million), ABC (7.4 million) and Fox (4.7 million) trailing behind.
NBC’s key demo victory for the week came despite the fact that its three premieres for the week — “Ironside,” “Welcome to the Family” and “Sean Saves the World,” premiered to tepid numbers, scoring a 1.4, 1.2 and 1.6, respectively.
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So far this premiere season, NBC leads with a 2.94 in the demo, ahead of second-place CBS, which has averaged a 2.19. CBS maintains the lead with 10.2 million.
Overall for the 2013 premiere season, total viewership is up slightly over last year, with 8.21 million versus 2012’s 8.16 million, while the ratings in the demo are down slightly, with 2.32 this year compared to 2.38 last year. The disparity might be due to the fact that the median viewer age for the networks has risen this year at 53.6, compared to 53 years old last year.