Fox's new comedies "Ben & Kate" and "The Mindy Project" had so-so debuts Tuesday, and CBS's new "Vegas" couldn't hold on to big lead-ins from the returning "NCIS" and "NCIS:LA," according to preliminary ratings. But "Vegas" fared much better in total viewers than it did in the key demographic as CBS won the night overall.
CBS took first place in ratings with a 3.3 rating/9 share in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with 17.2 million. The season premiere of "NCIS" at 8 p.m. was down marginally from last season's premiere but was still the highest-rated and most-watched program of the night with a 4.1/12 and 20.2 million. The "NCIS: LA" premiere the following hour was also down slightly versus last year, scoring a 3.4/9 with 16.7 million total viewers. The series premiere of "Vegas" at 10 was off 14 percent from last fall's premiere of "Unforgettable," taking a 2.5/7, but drew an impressive 20.2 million total viewers — the network's highest premiere numbers in 10 years. The discrepancy in ratings and total viewers can largely be attributed to CBS's older-skewing audience, much of which falls outside of the 18-49 demo.
NBC drew second place in ratings and third in total viewers with a 2.7/8 and 7.4 million. The network saw slips across the board, starting with "The Voice" at 8, which was down 15 percent for a 4.0/12 and drew 11.3 million total viewers. The new Matthew Perry comedy "Go On" the following hour posted a 21 percent drop from last week for a 2.7/7 and took 7.3 million total viewers. Ryan Murphy's latest effort, "The New Normal," felt a more modest drop at 9:30 for a 2.0/5 and grabbed 5.2 million total viewers, while "Parenthood" at 10 held steady with a 1.8/5 and drew 4.8 million total viewers.
Fox took third place in ratings and fourth in total viewers with a 2.5/7 and 4.9 million. A special airing of "New Girl" at 8 was down considerably from its series premiere last September, drawing a 2.7/9 versus last year's 4.8/12, and attracted 5.3 million total viewers compared to the series premiere's 10 million. (The episode was, however, on a par with the first-season finale in May.) "Ben & Kate" at 8:30 took a lukewarm 2.0/6 and attracted 4.2 million total viewers. The proper season premiere of "New Girl" at 9 took a 2.7/7 with 5.2 million total viewers, while the series premiere of "The Mindy Project" at 9:30 was up marginally from "Raising Hope"'s season average in the time period last year, drawing a 2.4/6 and taking 4.7 million total viewers.
ABC came in fourth in ratings and second in total viewers with a 2.0/6 and 9.9 million. "Dancing With the Stars" took a 31 percent tumble from last season's Tuesday premiere, hitting a 2.0/6 and drawing 11.6 million total viewers. The season premiere of "Private Practice" at 10 fell off 32 percent from last fall's premiere with a 1.9/5 and drew just 6.6 million total viewers — slightly more than half of what its lead-in "Dancing With the Stars" received.
