A repeat of CBS' "Two and a Half Men" drew the night's top ratings Monday, but Fox took an overall win with the combination of "House" and the new J.J. Abrams drama "Alcatraz," despite both series being slightly down, according to preliminary numbers.
Fox drew the night's highest average rating with a 2.8 rating/7 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, and was the most-watched network for the night with an average 8.4 million total viewers. "House" at 8 was the second-highest rated program of the night, slipping 10 percent versus last week with a 2.8/8 in the demo and 8.6 million total viewers, while "Alcatraz" the following hour was also down 10 percent from last week for a 2.7/7 in the demo and 8.3 million total viewers.
One bright spot for "Alcatraz," which has experienced minor declines since its Jan. 16 premiere: The series has been picking up significant gains in the Live+3 ratings, with last week's episode enjoying a 37 percent increase after three days of playback.
CBS was the night's second-highest rated network and scored the night's second-highest total viewership, despite running repeats throughout the night. A "Two and a Half Men" rerun at 9 drew the highest numbers in the demo with a 3.0/7, and drew the night's highest individual viewership, with 10 million total viewers.
"The Bachelor," on ABC from 8 to 10, was down slightly from last week, taking a 2.6/7 in the demo and 8 million total viewers. A "Castle" repeat followed at 10.
NBC's night consisted of "Who's Still Standing" at 8, which was flat with last week for a 1.7/5 in the demo and 6.6 million total viewers, followed by a repeat of "Fear Factor" at 9 and "Rock Center With Brian Williams" at 10. Monday night's episode drew a 0.8/.2 in the demo and 3.2 million total viewers.
At the CW, the 100th episode of "Gossip Girl" at 8 gave the series a boost, yielding the second-best numbers of the season. "Gossip Girl" was up 17 percent in the demo with a 0.7/2 and grew 25 percent in total viewers, with 1.3 million. "Hart of Dixie" the following hour also enjoyed a boost, climbing 20 percent in the demo for a 0.6/1 and rising 21 percent in total viewers, with 1.4 million.
