Weekly Ratings Scorecard

CBS AND FOX DOMINATE, BUT FOX DOWN YEAR-TO-YEAR

CBS and Fox dominated the week of May 14, with CBS tops in total viewers and adults 25-54, and Fox No. 1 in adults 18-49 and adults 18-34, according to Nielsen. But a softer American Idol resulted in continued double-digit percent losses for Fox. CBS was on par from one year earlier. Elsewhere, NBC finished fourth in three of the four categories (excluding a third-place finish among adults 18-34) at levels close to the year-ago week, while ABC and The CW were on the noticeable decline.

In season-premiere news, two nights (and four hours) of America’s Got Talent on NBC, featuring new host Howard Stern, was certainly sampled. But ratings are down year-to-year, with the suddenly kind and gentle shock jock not exactly the ingredient the reality-competition needs. Here are the initial results:

America’s Got Talent (NBC) – 8-10 p.m.
Monday – Viewers: 10.48 million (#15 overall), A18-49: 3.7/10 (#6 overall)
Tuesday – Viewers: 10.58 million (#16), A18-49: 3.4/10 (#10t)

Also returning was a 90-minute edition of summer favorite The Bachelorette on ABC, which led out of Dancing With the Stars on Monday with a respectable 8.05 million viewers (#22) and a 2.6/ 7 among adults 18-49 (#15t) from 9:30-11 p.m.

In the movies/specials department were two very different Sunday night entries: The Billboard Music Awards on ABC and the latest Jesse Stone entry, Benefit of a Doubt. Tom Selleck reprising his role as Jesse Stone scored an ample 12.93 million viewers (#10) from 9-11 p.m., but the adult 18-49 rating was only a 1.2 (#53t). The Billboard Music Awards averaged only 7.40 million viewers (#23) in the 8-11 p.m. block, but its demo rating was significantly higher at a 2.7/ 7 (#13t).

Here are the overall results by network for the week of May 14 (with change versus the comparable year-ago period in parentheses), followed by the freshman midseason series report card and the Top 30 rated programs of the week in total viewers and adults 18-49.

Total Viewers:
CBS: 7.36 million (no change), ABC: 5.27 (-16), Fox: 4.87 (-18), NBC: 4.05 (+ 5), CW: 830,000 (-27)

Adults 18-49:
Fox: 2.2 rating/ share (-27), CBS: 2.1/ 6 (+ 5), ABC: 2.0/ 6 (-17), NBC: 1.7/ 5 (- 6), CW: 0.4/ 1 (-43)

Adults 25-54:
CBS: 2.8/ 7 (no change), Fox: 2.7/ 7 (-23), ABC: 2.5/ 7 (-14), NBC: 2.1/ 6 (no change), CW: 0.5/ 1 (-29)

Adults 18-34:
Fox: 1.9/ 7 (-27), ABC: 1.5/ 5 (-17), NBC: 1.3/ 4 (-13), CBS: 1.2/ 4 (no change), CW: 0.5/ 2 (-29)

———–

Freshman Midseason Series Report Card

Grades take into account the following factors:

1. Competition
2. Lead-in (if available)
3. Prior time period average
4. Target demographic
5. Lead-out (if available)
6. Quality of the content
7. The buzz factor (if any)
8. Promotion

Scandal (ABC) – Thursday 10 p.m. (season finale)
Viewers: 7.33 million (#24), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#23)
-Grade: C

Missing (ABC) – Thursday 8 p.m. (series finale)
Viewers: 6.53 million (#31), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#48t)
-Grade: C

Touch (Fox) – Thursday 9 p.m.
Viewers: 6.02 million (#36), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#36t)
-Grade: C-

Smash (NBC) – Monday 10 p.m. (season finale)
Viewers: 5.96 million (#37), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#33t)
-Grade: C

Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (NBC) – Wednesday 8:30 p.m.
Viewers: 5.52 million (#41), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#39t)
-Grade: C

Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (NBC) – Wednesday 8 p.m.
Viewers: 5.18 million (#46), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#45t)
-Grade: C

Fashion Star (NBC) – Tuesday 10 p.m. (season finale)
Viewers: 4.81 million (#50), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#39t)
-Grade: D

Awake (NBC) – Thursday 10 p.m.
Viewers: 2.10 million (#74), A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (#74t)
-Grade: F

Here are the top 30 rated programs of the week in total viewers and adults 18-49:

Total Viewers:
NCIS (CBS, season finale): 19.05 million, American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 17.68, American Idol – Thursday (Fox): 16.40, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 15.79, Criminal Minds (CBS, season finale): 15.19, Person of Interest (CBS, season finale): 13.47, The Mentalist (CBS, season finale): 13.09, Movie – Jesse Stone – Benefit of a Doubt (CBS): 12.93, Mike & Molly (CBS, season finale): 11.79, Two and a Half Men (CBS, season finale): 11.55, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, season finale): 11.44, Hawaii Five-O (CBS, season finale): 11.42, America’s Got Talent – Tuesday (NBC): 10.58, America’s Got Talent – Monday (NBC, season premiere): 10.48, 60 Minutes (CBS, Sun. 8 p.m.): 10.13, 60 Minutes (CBS, Sun. 7 p.m.): 9.80, Modern Family R (ABC): 9.36, How I Met Your Mother (CBS, season finale): 8.58, The Big Bang Theory R (CBS): 8.49, The Bachelorette (ABC, season premiere): 8.05, The Billboard Music Awards (ABC): 7.40, Scandal (ABC, season finale): 7.33, Bones (Fox, season finale): 7.21, Rules of Engagement (CBS, season finale): 7.17, Revenge (ABC, season finale): 6.90, Celebrity Apprentice (NBC, season finale): 6.86, Private Practice (ABC, season finale): 6.81, Blue Bloods R (CBS): 6.66

Adults 18-49:
American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 4.9/14, American Idol – Thursday (Fox): 4.4/15, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, season finale): 4.1/11, Modern Family (ABC): 3.9/11, Two and a Half Men (CBS, season finale): 3.9/10, How I Met Your Mother (CBS, season finale): 3.7/11, America’s Got Talent – Monday (NBC, season premiere): 3.7/10, NCIS (CBS, season finale): 3.6/11, America’s Got Talent – Tuesday (NBC): 3.4/10, Mike & Molly (CBS, season finale): 3.4/ 9, NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS, season finale): 3.0/ 8, Hawaii Five-O (CBS, season finale) and The Billboard Music Awards (ABC): 2.7/ 7 each, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC) and The Bachelorette (ABC, season premiere) and Family Guy (Fox, season finale): 2.6/ 7 each, The Big Bang Theory R (CBS): 2.5/ 9, Glee (Fox, Tuesday 8 p.m.): 2.5/ 8, Glee (Fox, Tuesday 9 p.m.) and Person of Interest (CBS, season finale) and The Mentalist (CBS, season finale): 2.5/ 7 each, Scandal (ABC): 2.3/ 7, House (Fox), Dancing With the Stars (ABC) and Celebrity Apprentice (NBC, season finale): 2.2/ 6 each, Rules of Engagement (CBS, season finale) and The Simpsons (Fox, season finale): 2.1/ 7 each, Revenge (ABC, season finale): 2.0/ 6, Bones (Fox, season finale) and The Middle (ABC, season finale): 1.9/ 6 each, Don’t Trust the B____ in Apartment 23 (ABC): 1.9/ 4