With the NFL draft airing on ESPN and the NFL Network, most network offerings suffered big drops Thursday night, with "American Idol," "Two and a Half Men," "Elementary," "Parks and Recreation," "The Office" and "Hannibal" hitting series lows. However, ABC's "Scandal" managed to eke out a ratings increase, and CBS took the night on the strength of the top-rated "Big Bang Theory."
CBS took first place in the advertiser-cherished 18-49 demographic with a 2.6 rating/8 share and in total viewers with 11.9 million, despite ratings declines across the board for the network's primetime slate. "The Big Bang Theory" slid 19 percent to a season low, but was still the night's best-rated show with a 4.2/14 and also the most watched with 14.4 million total viewers. "Two and a Half Men" at 8:30 dropped 28 percent to a series low of 2.8/8 and had 11 million total viewers. "Person of Interest" at 9 dropped 11 percent for a 2.4/7 and had 13 million total viewers, while "Elementary" the following hour dipped to a series low of 2.0/6 and had 9.9 million total viewers.
ABC and Fox essentially tied for second place in ratings, with Fox drawing a 2.2/7 compared to ABC's 2.2/6. Fox took second place in total viewers after CBS with 8.2 million.
"American Idol" on Fox at 8 hit a series low for regularly scheduled broadcasts with a 2.7/9 and also dropped off slightly in total viewers with 11.1 million. "Glee" the following hour dropped 14 percent to a 1.8/5 and took 5.2 million.
ABC was third in total viewers with 6.4 million. "Wife Swap" at 8 dropped 27 percent for a season low of 1.1/3 and had 3.4 million, while "Grey's Anatomy" the following hour dipped to a 2.7/7 with 8.1 million total viewers. "Scandal" at 8 was the only network offering to grow Thursday night, inching up 8 percent to a 2.8/8 and taking 7.8 million total viewers.
Univision was fourth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.4/4 and 3.3 million.
NBC came in fifth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.1/3 and 2.5 million. "Community" at 8 slid 23 percent to tie a series low of 1.0/3 and took 2.4 million total viewers. Following a repeat of "The Office," a new episode of the series at 9 dropped 11 percent to a series low of 1.7/5 and had 3.1 million total viewers. "Parks and Recreation" at 9:30 also hit a series low, sliding 24 percent for a 1.3/4 and drawing 2.5 million total viewers. The freshman drama "Hannibal" at 10 hit its own series low, sliding 29 percent for a 1.0/3 and drawing 2.4 million total viewers.
At the CW, which averaged a 0.7/2 and 1.7 million total viewers for the night, the "Originals" episode of "The Vampire Diaries" — which was the set-up for a possible spinoff of the series — drew the same rating as last week in the demo and grew marginally in total viewers. It had a 0.9/3 and 2.2 million. "Beauty and the Beast" at 9 had a 0.5/1 and took 1.3 million total viewers.
