Ratings: ABC’s ‘Zero Hour’ Premieres Soft on Slow Valentine’s Night

"Community" drops to a series low

On a Valentine's night marked by lower TV viewing, ABC's new drama "Zero Hour" got off to a rough start, NBC's recently returned "Community" hit an all-time low, and CBS won the night overall with the top-rated "Big Bang Theory."

Valentine's Day is typically a bad one for ratings, as couples go out and do romantic things. That helps explain how "Zero Hour" hit an all-time ABC low for in-season scripted premieres.

The show, starring Anthony Edwards as the publisher of a conspiracy-theory magazine,  premiered at 8 p.m. with a 1.3 rating/4 share in the key 18-49 demographic — down 41 percent from last fall's premiere of the short-lived "Last Resort." "Zero Hour" drew 6.3 million total viewers.

Combined with "Grey's Anatomy" the following hour — which was down 13 percent for a 2.7/7 and had 8.4 million total viewers — and "Scandal" at 10, which had  a 2.8/8 with 8 million total viewers — the network drew third place in ratings with a 2.3/7 and third in total viewers with 7.6 million.

CBS took first place for the night with a 3.3/10 and 13.8 million. Though down 13 percent from last week, "The Big Bang Theory" at 8 posted the night's best performance in the demo with a 5.4/17. It also had the night's largest audience with 17.6 million total viewers. "Two and a Half Men" at 8:30 drew a 3.8/11 and took 13.7 million total viewers. "Person of Interest" at 9 posted  3.0/8 with 14.8 million total viewers, while "Elementary" the following hour had a 2.2/6 and 10.9 million total viewers.

Fox came in second in ratings and total viewers with a 2.7/8 and 8.7 million. "American Idol" at 8 dropped off 12 percent from last week for a 3.6/11 and had 12.3 million total viewers, while "Glee" the following hour took a more severe hit, falling 23 percent to a 1.7/5, and had 5.2 million total viewers.

NBC's original programming took hits across the board Thursday night. "Community" at 8 plunged 42 percent from last week's long-awaited season premiere for a series low of 1.1/4, and drew 2.7 million total viewers. "Parks and Recreation" was also down, falling 25 percent to a 1.5/5 and drawing 3.2 million total viewers, while "The Office" dipped to a 2.0/6 and drew 4 million total viewers. A "Law & Order: SVU" repeat ended the night at 10.

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