Facing stiffer competition, the American Country Music Awards slipped from last year's numbers as CBS's primetime slate grew across the board to give the network an overall win Monday.
Going up against "The Voice" and a highly anticipated "Monday Night Football" game between Houston and New England on ESPN, the American Country Music Awards dropped off 30 percent from last year in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic, posting a 1.4 rating/4 share, and had 5.1 million total viewers, giving Fox a third-place tie with ABC in the ratings and placing it fourth in total viewers.
CBS, meanwhile, took a solid first place in ratings and total viewers with a 3.3/8 and 10.6 million. While NFL preemptions in local markets render CBS's numbers approximate, early numbers show an overall increase from last week, with a 22 percent boost in the demo over last week. "How I Met Your Mother" at 8 inched up 6 percent for a 3.3/9 and took 9 million total viewers. Following a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" at 8:30, "2 Broke Girls" at 9 grew 14 percent and grabbed the night's best ratings with a 4.0/10, with 11.8 million total viewers. A second episode of "2 Broke Girls" followed at 9:30, posting a 3.9/9 -- an 11 percent climb over last week -- and taking 11.5 million total viewers. "Hawaii Five-0" climbed 17 percent to a 2.7/7 and had 10.4 million total viewers.
NBC grabbed second place in ratings and total viewers with a 2.5/6 and 8.4 million. "The Voice" at 8 received a 3.8/10 and had 12.2 million total viewers, making it the night's most-watched program. "Howie Mandel's Take It All" the following hour posted a 2.2/5 and took 7.2 million total viewers. "Michael Buble Christmas: Home for the Holidays" at 10 drew a 1.4/4 and drew 5.8 million total viewers.
ABC took third place in total viewers with 5.6 million. While its numbers are skewed by NFL preemptions in local markets, preliminary numbers show the network's back-to-back episodes of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" up from last week. The 8 p.m. airing posted a 1.3/3 -- up 44 percent from last week -- with 5.2 million total viewers, while a second episode the following hour grew 50 percent over last week with a 1.5/4 and had 5.9 million total viewers. A "Castle" repeat followed.
On the CW, "Gossip Girl" at 9 hit a season high with a 0.5/1 -- its highest demo performance since last season's finale -- and drew 1 million total viewers. "90210," which aired at 8, was also up, posting a 0.6/2 with 1.2 million total viewers.