News The Big Bang Theory Hits All-Time High Ratings

[Pomita]

Thanks!

[Tensor]

The Live + 7 numbers were released today for the Feb 7 episode (The Spoiler Alert Segmentation). TBBT 18-49 demo increased 1.8 to climb to a 8.0. TBBT was the only show to be over a 7.0 and in reality, there was only one other show at 6.0 or higher (Modern Family right at 6.0). TBBT's live demo number, 6.2, was higher than any other show's Live + 7 number.

As far as total viewers TBBT didn't quite add four million, "only" adding 3.96 million to it's live total viewers at 18.98 million. That brought total viewership to 22.94 million, trailing only NCIS, which brought in 25.07 million. However, NCIS only had a 3.7 live demo and a 4.7 Live + 7 demo.

[phantagrae]

WIth thanks to my friend alfornos at The Haven:

 

 

02.26.2013

CBS WINS FEBRUARY SWEEP IN ADULTS 18-49 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1998

CBS Also Dominates in Viewers, Topping its Nearest Competitor By More Than 8 Million Viewers – The Largest Advantage By a Network in a February Sweep Since 2008

Super Bowl, Grammys, "The Big Bang Theory," "NCIS" and Depth of Scripted Hits Lead CBS to Decisive February Win

Network Currently Has the Month's Top 31 Scripted Broadcasts in Viewers

CBS will win the February sweep in adults 18-49 for the first time since 1998 (when CBS had the Winter Olympics) while dominating its nearest competitor in viewers by more than 8 million, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings through the week ending Feb. 24, Week 22 of the 2012-2013 television season.

CBS's margin of victory in viewers (more than +8.00m over second-place ABC) marks the largest advantage in a February sweep by a network since 2008 (FOX).

Among viewers, CBS had the top 31 scripted broadcasts including every episode of THE BIG BANG THEORY, PERSON OF INTEREST, BLUE BLOODS, ELEMENTARY and two episodes each of NCIS and NCIS: LOS ANGELES.

With three days remaining, CBS has eight of the top 10 broadcasts for the month in both adults 18-49 and viewers, paced by the Super Bowl, the Grammy Awards, THE BIG BANG THEORY and NCIS.



Top 10 Broadcasts in February Among Adults 18-49

SUPER BOWL XLVII 39.7/77
SUPER BOWL XLVII-DELAY 38.9/73
SUPER BOWL XLVII PST-GAME 25.1 /55
The Oscars 13.0/31
GRAMMY AWARDS 10.1/25
Oscars Red Carpet Live 7.3/20
THE BIG BANG THEORY 6.2/18
THE BIG BANG THEORY 5.6/17
THE BIG BANG THEORY 5.5/18
THE BIG BANG THEORY 5.4/16
 

Top 10 Broadcasts in February Among Viewers (in millions)

SUPER BOWL XLVII 108.69
SUPER BOWLXLVII-DELAY 106.56
SUPER BOWL XLVII-PST GAME 63.26
The Oscars 40.38
GRAMMY AWARDS 28.38
Oscars Red Carpet 25.53
NCIS 21.79
NCIS 21.08
THE BIG BANG THEORY 18.98
THE BIG BANG THEORY 17.89

In adults 18-49, CBS also had eight of the top 10 scripted broadcasts, including all four broadcasts of THE BIG BANG THEORY, three broadcasts of TWO AND A HALF MEN and an episode of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

PRIMETIME

FEBRUARY 2013 SWEEP-TD: 25 DAYS

(1/31/13-2/24/13 vs. 2/2/12-2/26/12)

2013 2012 Chg

PERSONS 2+ (Millions)

CBS 15.46 #1 11.42 #1 +35%

NBC 3.96 #4 10.26 #2 -61%

ABC 7.32 #2 7.39 #3 -1%

FOX 6.10 #3 7.05 #4 -13%



ADULTS 18-49

CBS 4.3/12 #1 2.8/07 #2 +54%

NBC 1.2/03 #4 3.6/10 #1 -67%

ABC 2.2/06 #2 2.3/06 #4 -4%

FOX 2.0/06 #3 2.4/07 #3 -17%



ADULTS 25-54

CBS 5.2/13 #1 3.7/09 #2 +41%

NBC 1.5/04 #4 4.0/10 #1 -63%

ABC 2.7/06 #2 2.8/07 #4 -4%

FOX 2.4/06 #3 2.9/07 #3 -17%



ADULTS 18-34

CBS 3.4/11 #1 1.7/05 #3T +100%

NBC 0.8/03 #4 3.0/09 #1 -73%

ABC 1.7/05 #3 1.7/05 #3T n.c.

FOX 1.8/06 #2 2.0/06 #2 -10%

 

[Tensor]

For syndicated programs, TBBT was again #1 in viewers and households during the week of 10-17 Feb. TBBT had a 7.7 Household rating with 12.1 million viewers for the week. This led the second place show in households, Judge Judy, with a 7.3 household rating and second place show in total viewers, Wheel of Fortune, with 11.5 million viewers.

On Monday, a first run Rules of Engagement only managed a 2.7 demo and 7.89 million viewers. This was again below the lowest ratings achieved by TBBT repeats in the 8:30 PM time slot: 3.0 in the demo and 10.5 million viewers. Ratings wise, CBS would have been better off this year running a repeat of the previous week's TBBT.

[Pomita]

Thanks for all the details, Tensor and Phanta. The numbers sound remarkable.  

[Tensor]

Ok, the Live + 7 numbers are out for the week of Feb 14th.  TBBT increased their demo by 2.0 to a total of 7.5 and increased their viewers by 4.4 million to finish with a total of 22.2 million for the week.    The demo was the high for the week, beating out Modern Family with a 6.1.   These were the only two shows over 6.0 for the week.  

 

As for total viewers, second place was Person of Interest, with 18.3 million (there were no new NCIS or NCIS :LA this week).   POI was the only show to beat TBBT Live total viewers (17.9 million) as there were no other shows over 16 million total viewers.    American Idol finished fourth (Wed) and fifth (Thur) this week behind TBBT, POI, and Two and a Half Men in total viewers. 

[Pomita]

Thanks! So we're more or less consistently in the 22 - 23 million range, with Live + 7? Whee.

 

I'm guessing that the ratings and numbers will go down after this - they always do, in March, with the advent of spring and people staying out more - but the flags for the season have already been set.

[Ar Diem]

I could probably find this out if I read the whole thread but I am lazy... is the +7 to take into account time shifting or does it mean something else?  If it does do they track beyond +7 at all?

 

I am usually at least a month behind on most of my shows.  A show like Psych I will routinely save an entire season before watching. I hardly ever watch a new show until I have at least 3 of them and I never watch a 2 parter of anything unless I have both parts.

 

I usually watch TBBT by the end of the weekend but there have still been times where I had 3 or 4 of them to watch.  I stay on top of it more now because I post here.

 

Pretty much +7 misses me on easily 80 percent of what I watch. 

[Tensor]

Yes, the +7 is the number that have watched for the seven days after the show aired.  Currently, the numbers that are most publicized are the Live + same day , which tracks DVR viewing up to three hours after the show airs.  Then, the numbers currently used to set ad rates, the Live + 3, which captures viewers up to three days after the live show, the numbers for which can be hard to find.   The ad rates were switched to Live + 3 in 2007, but networks are currently pushing to use the Live + 7, as research has shown the the current Live + 7 is more similar to viewing prior to time shifting than the Live + 3.

 

 Another reason the networks are pushing for the Live + 7 is for the very reason you mention.  There are many people that simply record three, four, five or six episodes before watching them and there are those who may not get to them for four or five days.  The networks feel, and research supports them, that the Live + 7 captures the most while missing the least.  

 

Remember, Live + 7 is considered the same as Live viewing prior to 2007.  Friends averaged just over 20 million for it's last season, TBBT is averaging over 20 million per show for the year if Live + 7 is counted.  Just for a point of reference, the first season Johnny Galecki was on Rosanne (1991-1992), one of their broadcasts pulled in over 39 million viewers, about twice what TBBT is now pulling in.  And that was the #2 scripted show for the year, much as TBBT is the #2 scripted show.  That should give you an idea of how fragmentation of subjects and increase in the number of channels has changed viewing habits.

[Ar Diem]

So does the desired shift from +3 to +7 indicate that people with habits like mine are growing or do you think +3 was never really good enough?

 

For me the biggest change was nearly 5 years ago when I started streaming Netflix.   Having supplemental entertainment allowed me to give my DVR a break.  I didn't even realize what I was doing until I hit my first Christmas holiday and all of the sudden I had all of these new shows to watch during a time when I have the most time off and most shows are on hiatus.

[Tensor]

Sorry, somehow, I missed this.  

 

So does the desired shift from +3 to +7 indicate that people with habits like mine are growing or do you think +3 was never really good enough?

 

I think that the habits are changing and that the +7 is better capturing the viewing habits now.    DVR viewing, when it first came out (TIVO was the original), was more about being able to view a program that was on at the same time as another you wanted to view, or to record something that was on while you were not home.  In this, it pretty much matched videoTAPE recording and viewing (if you could get past the blinking 12:00).  As a point of knowledge, Nielsen ratings don't just use automated data collection devices attached to uses cable boxes or DVRs.  They also use manually recorded logs or diaries that the uses must actually write down what times and what channels they are watching at those times, much as they did years ago.  While slower to get the data, in some ways, it's more accurate as far as when something is viewed, if it is viewed past the seven day period.  

 

What Nielsen found, was that the +7 was possibly closer to the actual viewing habits back in 2007, but the advertisers were reluctant to go to the +7, because the evidence wasn't overwhelming enough to show that it was better than the Live + 3.  It would have cost the advertisers more (based on more viewers), so you can understand the reluctance. The Live + 3 back then was known to be fairly accurate, so the networks backed off and went with the +3.  Since that time, more studies and more data analysis by Nielsen has shown that the Live + 7 is now closer, but the advertisers are still balking at paying for the higher Live + 7 numbers.  While I really think it is the changing habits (you mention your viewing on netflix) that are causing the Live + 7 to better represent viewing, there is also better data and better analysis, than was available back in 2007.   I can see the networks going to the +7 sometime within the next couple of years.

 

For me the biggest change was nearly 5 years ago when I started streaming Netflix.   Having supplemental entertainment allowed me to give my DVR a break.  I didn't even realize what I was doing until I hit my first Christmas holiday and all of the sudden I had all of these new shows to watch during a time when I have the most time off and most shows are on hiatus.

 

Yeah, a lot of younger people are simply giving up some sort of cable (and by cable I mean satellite, fibre optic, cable, or whatever else is used to connect to some sort of centralized local connection that is not part of the World Wide Web) and getting their television through a streaming site or over the internet on network sites (for instance TBBT on the CBS site).  I say younger, as most people my age or a bit younger have become used to having a cable type connection as those of my parents age are used to having an over the air antenna.  This does not mean there aren't exceptions.  I've always been an early adopter for my age (all my friends that are my age still have a land line phone(I haven't had one for almost 10 years) and most still have phone hookup or minimum cable connection for the internet (I have an almost T1 connection (speed wise) for my home).  I plan on getting rid of the Television part of my cable here in a few months when my contract expires.  And I'll go with internet and over the air connections for my television needs, connection my televisions to the internet through my computers over my home network.  

 

Of course, the interpretation of the studies is all my own.  

[Ar Diem]

Giving up cable or cutting the cord is not really just for the young.  I post on another board with a number of cord cutters and the only thing they really have in common is hating to pay for channels they don't use and saving money.

 

It doesn't really interest me because Netflix is still at war and their business plan going forward is to start producing more of their own shows and have less network and cable content.  Now maybe it won't end up like SyFy with 12 shows about ghost hunting per season or the Discovery channel with 16 shows watching people work but who knows. 

 

Another problem is that streaming is still unreliable.  It doesn't bother me to have a 2 week spell where Netflix is sluggish or unreliable because I have other options.  CBS, Hulu, Amazon, Vudu, and others have intermittent problems as well.  Hulu Plus has been a joke for over 2 years.  The infrastructure is barely keeping up with the adoption rate.  Over holidays almost all of them crack in some region of the country. 

 

You are a very smart guy and I am sure you have done your research and have a good idea of how to make it work for you.  All of the posts I have ever read require more compromise than we are willing to do.  My post here was primarily a counterpoint to anyone who read your post and might think about doing the same.  Most cord cutters run into at least a couple of shows they have to wait and rent the following summer because they can't view them in any other way.

 

Getting back on topic...

 

I really hope that I am in the inconsequential minority because I would hate to think that some of my favorite shows get cancelled because I and others like are almost always outside the +7 window.   I can't help it.  I love marathons of my shows.  Obviously a show that is doing as well as TBBT is in no danger.

[Tensor]

After a week's hiatus, TBBT stayed pretty much level vs the previous first run episode.   Both had a 17 share in demo, both had 17.6 million viewers.  The only difference was this weeks show (The Contractual Obligation Implementation)  was down a tenth (5.5) from the show on Feb 22 (The Monster Isolation, 5.6).     Idol was down in both demo 3.9-3.6 and total viewers 13.6-13.1 million from last week (TBBT had a repeat last week).    Two and a Half Men was closest to TBBT in the demo (3.9) and Person of Interest closest in viewers for the night (14.6 million).  Yes, Two and a Half Men also beat Idol last night, during their common half hour.

 

As for the rest of the week, NCIS again leads in total viewers with 20.8 million.  NCIS:LA had 16.2 for third place.   There was no other show over a 4.0 demo this week.  Two and a Half Men at 3.9 was second to TBBT.  Interestingly (at least to me) NCIS beat Idol in both total viewers AND the 18-49 demo for their common hour.  That's huge.  NCIS has always had a large number of viewers, but they trended older.  But, this week, for the first time, the coveted 18-49 group was led by NCIS, not Idol.    

 

In syndication news, TBBT again was number one in both total viewers and households for the week (18-24 Feb).  TBBT pulled in 12.2 Million viewers with a 7.8 household share.  Second in both viewers and households was Wheel of Fortune with 12.0 and 7.7, so it was close.  TBBT also held the number five and six positions for syndication.     

 

The Rules of Engagement watch saw the series drop even further this week to a 2.2 demo and only 6.9 million viewers.   This isn't anywhere close to the numbers TBBT repeats were pulling in.  In RoE's defense, CBS was broadcasting all repeats for the rest of their lineup, which undoubtably hurt RoE's numbers.

 

It's that time of year, and Daylight Savings Time will start in the United States this coming Sunday (March 10).  If history is any indication, there will be an effect on the ratings numbers starting for Sunday's shows.    For instance, last year, TBBT was pulling in 15.-16.5 million a week from October to March(except for The Speckerman Reoccurrence, which only hit 14.3 million).  Daylight Savings Time started on March 11th and total viewers were under 14 million from the next new episode (March 29th) until the end of the year.  

[Pomita]

Thanks for the details as always, Tensor. I was a little surprised to see the ratings holding steady this week, since they usually drop starting spring. But I guess that may happen from next week after DST, as you say. 

[Tensor]

Ok, I'm a couple of days late with this.  The Live + 7 come out on Mondays.  But I mentioned that I could be scarce due to being in a show.  Well, it got worse in a good way.  I got roped into doing another show.  Well, roped isn't the right word.  I'm actually getting paid for this one.  It's only a 10 minute play for a festival and we'll be performing it four times.  I have to go right into the first dress rehearsal of the other production the night of the last show of the 10 minute festival in the afternoon.   So, trying to learn two scripts is going to take a lot of my time.  If you don't see some numbers right on time or a lot of background to with it, I humbly bet your forgiveness.   Once the shows start at the end of the month, I'll have more time.  And, by the way, in the 10 minute show, I will be playing a homeless vet.  Look at my avatar.   In the other show, I will have to shave and cut my hair (which is about four inches below my collar in back).  I'll try to post before and after pictures for your amusement.  On to the numbers. 

 

For the Feb 21 episode, TBBT rose 2.0 in the demo to a 7.6 (Modern Family was next closest with a 6.2).  It added 4.4 million to reach 22.1 million (second to NCIS 24.3 million) in total viewers.   These two were the only ones to reach 20 million.   This was the 13th straight week with an over 7.0 for the demo and the 11th straight week (12th overall) hitting 20 million total viewers. 

 

Rules of Engagement dropped again to a 2.1 in the demo and 7.05 million total viewers.  In their defense, CBS again only had repeats for the rest of their lineup and ROE was the high in both demo and total viewers for CBS for the night.

[Tensor]

     Only a day and a half late.  Yay.   As I mentioned last week, Daylight Savings Time started in the US, and ratings were down.   TBBT did a 4.8 in the demo with only 15.9 million total viewers.  The last time TBBT was under 16 million viewers was November 1, 2012, three days before daylight savings time ended in the fall.  However, this year's episode was up one tenth and 400,000 viewers over last years first episode during daylight savings time.   Network viewing was down by almost 4 million viewers from last week.  It will be interesting to see how this week turns out when the DVR numbers are factored in.  Those shows during the beginning of the season, during daylight savings time, were right around 4.0 million additional viewers and an average of between 19 and 19.5 million total viewers with DVR viewers.  We'll see how it goes.

     What was interesting this week was that TBBT was delayed or pre-empted this week due to conference basketball championship games.   In the case of delays, the demo rose by three tenths and the total viewers by 300,000 from the fast overnights.  In the case of pre-emptions, this probably cost the show another three tenths and about another 300,000 (Please note, that the numbers for the pre-emptions are estimates based on the areas of the country where the pre-emptions occurred).  If we include the estimates, the ratings would have been over 5 in the demo (5.1) and over 16 million in total viewers(16.2).  This would have been been some rather nice numbers considering the drop in total network viewers.

    As for the rest of the shows.  Person of Interest was at 14.3 million and Two and a Half Men at 12.1 million.  Both, along with TBBT beat Idol, which had only 11.9 million viewers.  As far as the demo, Two and a Half Men was at 3.3, Idol scored a 3.1 and Person of Interest had a 2.9.  Interesting point is that both the demo and total viewers were all time lows for a regularly scheduled first run Idol. 

 

CBS has announced that the season finale of The Big Bang Theory will air opposite of the season finale of the American Idol, where they announce the winner for the season.  CBS has a lot of confidence in TBBT to put the finale opposite the finale of Idol.    

[rachelshamyfan]

is there anymore news of further audience figures since the last episode

[Tensor]

Yes, but I've been rehearsing two shows and haven't had the time to properly dig into the data, do some analysis and write the posts. I have one show opening Thursday and closing Sunday, look for catch up post starting Sunday night.

[AdorkablyMe]

Yes, but I've been rehearsing two shows and haven't had the time to properly dig into the data, do some analysis and write the posts. I have one show opening Thursday and closing Sunday, look for catch up post starting Sunday night.

Break a leg.

[Tensor]

Ok, I know I'm way behind on ratings news (like four weeks), so to catch up, I'm going to put each week into a separate post. The Live + 7 ratings, the syndication rankings, the Thursday ratings, and the comparison for the week.

Just for your information, the demo is the percentage of 18-49 viewers out of all of those who are watching TV. Households are the Percentage of households tune in of those that are watching TV, and total viewers is simply the total number of viewers for a program.

Week of March 17:

There were no Live + 7 this week for TBBT as there was no new episode the week of Feb 25th (the Live + 7 are two weeks behind.

For the week ending March 17th, TBBT was the #1 show in both Demo and total viewers. It led the second place show 4.8 - 3.8 in demo and 15.9 million to 14.3 million.

TBBT tied with Wheel of Fortune for number 1 in Households with a 7.5 share. TBBT was ahead in total viewers 11.9 million to 11.6 million. The two weekend showings of TBBT place 5th and 6th for the week, giving TBBT three of the top six syndicated shows. As a interesting note, TBBT had 14 of the top 15 broadcasts in both the demo and total viewers, on basic cable

There was no TBBT this week due to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

I'll get to next the next week later tonight.

[Tensor]

OK, here are the numbers for the week of 24-31 March

Live + 7 numbers were outstanding. TBBT led in demo gains (2.0) and total viewer gains(4.3 million) during the +7 period. The show ended with a 7.5 demo and 21.9 million viewers. There was no other show that was above a 5.0 demo with their live + 7 (TBBT had a 5.5 demo on the live numbers). The 21.9 million viewers were more than all but NCIS (24.1 million). The only other shows above 15 million total viewers were Two and A Half Men (15+ million) and NCIS:LA and Person of Interest (both over 18 million). Two and a Half Men and Person of interest follow TBBT on Thursday, and NCIS:LA follows NCIS on Tuesday.

There was no TBBT for the week ending March 24th due to the NCAA Tournament, so it didn't place in the top 25 for the week.

TBBT was again #1 for syndication for both Households (6.9) and viewers (10.8 Million). It lead the second place show (Wheel of Fortune) which had a 6.7 household rating with 10.3 million viewers. As a note (since I missed it in my last post), the syndication ratings, like the Live + 7, are delayed for two weeks, due to the method of recording the numbers. TBBT had 16 of the top 20 broadcasts on basic cable.

Again, this week, there was no TBBT on Thursday due to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

I should get to the last two weeks I'm missing tomorrow. Then on Wednesday or Thursday I'll get this week. Thanks for your patience.

[Pomita]

Thanks for the details as always, Tensor! Good to know it's still doing so remarkably well with +7 even if the live numbers are slightly down because of spring.

[Tensor]

OK, here are the numbers for the week of 1-7 April

Live + 7 numbers (for the week of 11-17 March) were down a bit, but still the highest of all shows. TBBT led in demo gains (1. and total viewer gains(4.0 million) during the +7 period. The show ended with a 6.6 demo and 20.1 million viewers. While this was down over the previous week, TBBT was the only show with a demo above 4.5 with their live + 7 (TBBT had a 4.8 demo on the live numbers). Two shows tied with a 4.4 demo, The Following and Wednesday's American Idol. The 20.1 million viewers were the most network viewers for the week. The only other shows above 15 million total viewers were Person of Interest (17.6 million), Elementary and Wednesday's AI were both just over 15 million. TBBT was also the only series above 4 million for added viewers for the Live +7 period.

There was no TBBT for the week ending March 31th due to the NCAA Tournament, so it didn't place in the top 25 for the week.

TBBT was again #1 for syndication for both Households (7.4) and viewers (11.6 Million). It lead the second place show (Wheel of Fortune) which had a 7.3 household rating with 11.4 million viewers. TBBT was in the top 10 for syndication three times (M-F, Saturday and Sunday on TBS)

For the show on April 4(6.20, The Tenure Turbulence), TBBT had a 5.2 in the demo and 17.2 million viewers. This lead Two and a Half Men in demo (3.9) and Person of Interest (14.6 million) in total viewers.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Tensor

[Tensor]

OK, here are the numbers for the week of 8-14 April

 

There were no Live + 7 numbers for TBBT for the week of 18-24 (NCAA Basketball).

For the week ending April 7th TBBT was the #1 show in total viewers with 17.2 million. Second was the two Final Four game of the NCAA Basketball Tournament with 17.1 Million. The American Country Music Awards was the only other program over 15 Million. NCAA Basketball was the leader in the demo with a 5.7 and TBBT was second with a 5.2.

TBBT was again #1 for syndication for both Households (7.4) and viewers (11.7 Million). It lead the second place show (Wheel of Fortune) which had a 7.2 household rating with 11.3 million viewers. TBBT on TBS was in the top 10 for syndication three times (M-F #1, Saturday #9 and Sunday #6.


There was no new show on for the 11th of April, but TBBT was #2 in both demo (3.0) and total viewers (11.4). Number one in both categories was American Idol with a 3.2 demo and 13.2 million viewers. There were no other show above Glee,at a distant 2.4 in the demo was third. Person of Interest was the only other show with over 10 million viewers (10.1.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Tensor

[Tensor]

OK, here are the numbers for the week of 15-21 April

 

There were no Live + 7 numbers for TBBT for the week of 25-31 (NCAA Basketball).

For the week ending April 14th there was no new TBBT , so the show was not ranked in the top 25.  I do know there were some non-US posters here who questioned why CBS televises the basketball tournament.  Well here's the answer.  The basketball championship game pulled a 8.4 demo, with a total of 23 million Live + SD.  Remember, TBBT is a huge hit (the #1 comedy and #2 scripted)  and they've pretty much averaged a 5.5 demo with 16 million Live + SD this year.  The #1 scripted show is NCIS and they don't even average 23 million with the Live + 7, so you can see why CBS broadcasts the preliminaries (Something the NCAA requires if a network wants the championship game.

TBBT was again #1 for syndication for both Households (7.1) and viewers (11.1 Million). It again leads the second place show (Wheel of Fortune) which had a 6.9 household rating with 10.6 million viewers.  TBBT on TBS was in the top 10 for syndication three times (M-F #1, Saturday #9 and Sunday #6.  What's funny is that the syndicated ratings has been pretty much the same for last four or so weeks, with minor changes in the viewer numbers.

Again, there was no new show on for the 18th of April, but there was an extra episode at 9:00 PM which led to some interesting rating numbers this week.  First off, at 8:00 PM TBBT drew a 3.1 demo with 11.4 million  viewers for a repeat.  American Idol had a 3.0 with 12.4 million.  So while AI had more viewers, TBBT had a higher demo.  Remember this was done with a REPEAT.   As I said, there was an extra episode at 9:00 PM.   Interestingly, at that time, there was also an episode running on TBS, so the show was competing with itself.   The CBS episode had a 3.3 demo with 10.9 million viewers.  The 9 PM show had the highest demo of the night.  But the TBS episode drew a 0.8 demo with 1.9 million viewers.  So, total TBBT numbers for 9 PM were 12.8 million with a 4.1 demo.  Both the most viewers and highest demo of the night.