Ratings: ‘Big Bang Theory,’ ‘Two and a Half Men’ Top ‘Idol,’ But Fox Wins Night

"Glee" and "Community" jump in key demo

CBS's "Big Bang Theory" won top honors Thursday night, while "American Idol" dipped slightly but along with a surging "Glee," it still propelled Fox to a ratings win for the night. Meanwhile, NBC's struggling cult favorite "Community" enjoyed a ratings boost, according to preliminary numbers.

Fox took first place in ratings with a 3.1 rating/9 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second place in total viewers with 10.6 million.

A 90-minute "American Idol" results show at 8 p.m. that named the top 10 finalists was down 5 percent from last week in the demo with a 3.5/10 but inched up 6 percent in total viewers for 12.9 million.

The 500th Song episode of "Glee" at 9:30 gave a boost to the series, which returned after three weeks with a 47 percent jump in the demo for a 2.5/7. The hour- long "Glee" episode drew 7 million total viewers.

CBS came in second in ratings but first in total viewers with a 3.0/9 and 12.9 million, scoring a couple of big victories along the way. "The Big Bang Theory" grabbed a decisive first place in ratings with a 5.4/16 and was the night's most-watched program with 17.4 million total viewers.

"Two and a Half Men" at 8:30 beat out "American Idol" for the first time ever, posting a 3.9/11 and drawing 13.6 million total viewers. "Person of Interest" at 9 inched down 3 percent from its last original airing two weeks ago to tie a season low of 2.8/8 with 14.4 million total viewers. An "Elementary" repeat followed.

Univision took third place in ratings and total viewers with a 1.8/5 and 4.3 million.

ABC, which aired repeats throughout the night, tied NBC for fourth in ratings and took fourth place outright in total viewers with a 1.1/3 and 3.9 million.

NBC, in fifth place in total viewers with 3 million, mostly aired repeats, with the exception of "Community," which jumped 25 percent for a 1.5/5 and drew 3.4 million total viewers, and "1600 Penn" at 9:30, which was even with last week to tie a series low of 0.9/2 and drew 2.2 million total viewers.

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