"American Idol" dipped to another low Thursday night, while "The Big Bang Theory" inched up to grab the night's best ratings and helped propel CBS to the top of the heap, according to preliminary numbers.
CBS took first place in both the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic with a 2.7/8 and in total viewers with 12 million. "The Big Bang Theory" at 8 p.m. inched up to a 4.6/16, the night's best performance in the demo, and was the night's most-watched show with 15.7 million total viewers.
"Two and a Half Men" at 8:30 was also up, climbing 11 percent to a 3.1/10 and taking 11.9 million total viewers. "Person of Interest" at 9 remained even, tying a series low of 2.4/7 and drawing 12.8 million total viewers, while "Elementary" the following hour was also flat, tying its own series low of 2.0/6 with 9.5 million total viewers.
Fox tied ABC for second place in ratings with a 2.2/7 and took second in total viewers outright with 8.1 million. "American Idol" at 8 dipped 7 percent to a 2.5/8, its lowest rating on record for a regularly scheduled episode, and drew 11 million total viewers. "Glee" the following hour ran even with last week for a 1.8/5 and 5.2 million total viewers.
ABC, third in total viewers with 6.8 million, aired the season finale of "Wife Swap" at 8, which was flat with last week, tying a season low of 1.1/4 and drawing 3.6 million total viewers. "Grey's Anatomy" the following hour was up 7 percent to a 2.9/8 and had 8.5 million total viewers, while "Scandal" at 10 was down 7 percent, drawing a 2.6/8 and taking 8.1 million total viewers.
NBC tied Univision for fourth place in ratings with a 1.4/4 and was fifth in total viewers with 2.9 million, compared to Univision's 3.6 million. "Community" climbed 20 percent from last week, drawing a 1.2/4 with 2.8 million total viewers, while a one-hour episode of "The Office" at 8:30 inched up to a 1.8/6 and took 3.5 million total viewers.
The season finale of "Parks and Recreation" at 9:30 ticked up to a 1.5/4 with 2.9 million total viewers. The new drama "Hannibal" at 10 remained even with last week for a 1.0/3 and took 2.5 million total viewers.
