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NBC Sinks Further Into Fifth Place

May 18, 2012  •  Post A Comment

Thursday was another rough ratings night for NBC, according to Nielsen overnights, with lifeless results for a pair of season finales. The network was also trounced by Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, both in total viewers and in the key 18-49 demo, finishing a distant fifth on the night in both measures, TVbytheNumbers.com reports.

Univision did a little gloating this week at the upfronts about recent ratings gains against NBC, as previously reported, and now it appears that Univision may have even more ratings momentum in its battle with the Peacock Network.

NBC tried a triple run of “Community,” wrapped around the season finale of “30 Rock” at 8:30 p.m. All four programs — including the season finale of “Community” at 9:30 p.m. — came in with feeble 1.3 ratings in viewers 18-49, a series low for “Community,” and none of the shows cracked the 3 million mark in total viewers.

By the time “Awake” came on at 10 p.m., NBC was off the radar of most viewers, with “Awake” pulling in a mere 0.7 average in 18-49 and 2.1 million total viewers.

NBC’s shocking 1.1 average rating for prime time in 18-49 placed it a distant fifth behind Univision’s 1.5. At the other end of the rankings, Fox won the night with a 3.0, ahead of ABC’s 2.5 and CBS’s 2.4.

In total viewers, CBS squeaked out a win for the night, averaging 11.4 million to Fox’s 11.1 million, ABC’s 8.4 million, Univision’s 3.7 million and NBC’s 2.5 million.

Fox’s “American Idol” continued to show strength, rising 8% from last week to a 4.2 average in the 18-49 demo to come in as the top show of the night. The season finale of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” surged 11% from a week ago to a 3.9 to place second on the night, while the season finale of ABC’s “Scandal” turned in its best-ever number, soaring 26% from last week to a 2.4.

CBS’s pairing of a repeat of “The Big Bang Theory” at 8 p.m. with the season finale of “Rules of Engagement” didn’t work. “Rules” managed only a 2.1 in 18-49, off 22% from last week’s 2.7, when a fresh “Big Bang” was the lead-in. “Person of Interest,” airing its season finale at 9 p.m., may have been dragged down a bit too, settling for a 2.5, down 4% from last week. But the season finale of “The Mentalist” at 10 p.m. offered some hope, rising 4% from last week to a 2.5.

2 Comments

  1. Good luck NBC next fall. They just canceled “Harry’s Law” (with 7 million viewers), for “Community” (for its 2-3 million viewers).
    I wonder what record lows “Community” will do on Friday nights this fall.

  2. If NBC was smart they would have renewed “Harry’s Law” (a drama)– and scheduled it Friday nights at 8 pm ET, before “Grimm” (another drama).
    Although “Harry’s Law” only has approx. 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo, “Harry’s Law” was able to attract 7 million household viewers on Wednesday (opposite “American Idol”, and on Sunday nights).
    If NBC wants viewers to tune in Friday nights, they might want to schedule a show that has a large following (espically by NBC standards). More older viewers tend to watch TV on Fridays anyway, because the 18-49 audience is doing oyher things on Friday nights.
    What has NBC scheduled on Fridays at that time—the low-rated “Community”, and the low-rated “Whitney.” Are two-low rated sitcoms going to help the drama “Grimm”. I seriously doubt it.
    Way to go NBC with your brillant scheduling.

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