Even TV’s top comedy is no replacement for NFL football, clearly.
ABC’s Shondaland Thursday edged CBS in the key demographic, when the latter hosted the time period premiere for “The Big Bang Theory,” season premieres for fellow comedies “Mom” and “Two and a Half Men,” the series debut of “The McCarthys” and the return of drama “Elementary.”
CBS, which had “Thursday Night Football” in primetime up until this week, still finished first in viewers last night. The network did have local preemptions for last night’s pro football game, so its numbers are likely inflated.
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ABC was first in ratings with a 2.5 rating/8 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo and second in viewers with an average of 8 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 8 p.m., the airing of “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” got a 1.7/6 — down 23 percent from last year — and 6.2 million viewers. At 9, “Scandal” earned a 3.0/9 and 9.1 million viewers. “How to Get Away With Murder” at 10 had a 2.7/8 and 8.5 million viewers.
CBS was second in ratings with a 2.4/7 and first in viewers with 10.7 million. At 8, “The Big Bang Theory” scored a primetime-best 4.1/14 and 16.2 million viewers. The 8:30 season premiere of “Mom” received a 2.7/9 — a series high — and 11.7 million viewers. At 9, the season opener of “Two and a Half Men” ticked down from last season’s premiere to a 2.7/8 and had 11 million viewers. At 9:30, “The McCarthys” series debut at 9:30 got a 1.9/6 and 8.8 million viewers. The season premiere of “Elementary” dropped 33 percent from last fall’s premiere to a 1.4/4 — tying a series low — and had 8.2 million viewers.
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Univision was third in ratings with a 1.1/3 but fifth in viewers with 2.7 million.
Fox and NBC tied for fourth in ratings, both with a 1.0/3. Fox was third in viewers with 4.4 million, NBC was fourth with 3.8 million viewers.
For Fox, “Bones” at 8 fell to a 1.3/4 and 5.5 million viewers. “Gracepoint” at 9 had a 0.8/2 and 3.3 million viewers.
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For NBC, “Biggest Loser” at 8 had a 1.1/4 — a low — and 4.4 million viewers. “Bad Judge” at 9 got a 0.9/3 and 4 million viewers. “A to Z” at 9:30 dipped 22 percent to a 0.7/2 and 2.6 million viewers. “Parenthood” at 10 had a 1.1/3 — tying a low — and 3.9 million viewers.
The CW was sixth in ratings with a 0.6/2 and in total viewers with 1.4 million. “Vampire Diaries” at 8 received a 0.7/2 and 1.6 million viewers. “Reign” at 9 got a 0.5/2 and 1.3 million viewers.
Telemundo was seventh in ratings with a 0.5/2 and in total viewers with 1.2 million.