"American Idol" slid to an all-time low for regularly scheduled episodes on Thursday night, while "Two and a Half Men," "Community" and "Grey's Anatomy" also hit ratings nadirs. Meanwhile, CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" dropped to a season low but grabbed the night's top numbers to help propel the network to an overall win for the night, according to preliminary numbers.
"American Idol" on Fox at 8 slipped 6 percent from last Thursday in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. That was a seemingly minor drop, but it was enough to drop "Idol" to a series low for regularly scheduled airings. The low was significant because "Idol" spent eight seasons as television's top show. On Thursday it posted a 3.0 rating/10 share in the demo, and fell off five percent in total viewers to 11.6 million.
"Glee" at 9 dropped 17 percent from last week to a 2.0/6 and had 5.5 million total viewers. Overall, Fox came in second in ratings and total viewers with a 2.5/7 and 8.5 million.
CBS took first place in ratings and total viewers with a 3.1/9 and 13.4 million, though the network took its lumps, too. "The Big Bang Theory" at 8 was the highest-rated and most-watched show of the night with a 4.5/15 and 15.7 million total viewers. But it was still down 18 percent in the demo for a season low. "Two and a Half Men" at 8:30 dropped off 15 percent for a 3.3/10 — a series low — and drew 12.4 million total viewers. "Person of Interest" at 9 inched up, grabbing a 2.9/8 and taking 14.6 million total viewers. "Elementary" the following hour ran even with its last original three weeks ago for a 2.4/7, and had 11.5 million total viewers.
ABC came in third in ratings and total viewers with a 1.7/5 and 5.6 million. The network aired mostly repeats, with the exception of "Grey's Anatomy" at 9, which dropped 16 percent from its last original two weeks ago to hit a series low of 2.6/7 with 8 million total viewers.
Univision took fourth place in ratings and total viewers with a 1.5/4 and 3.5 million.
NBC came in fifth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.2/4 and 3.2 million. "Community" at 8 dropped 33 percent from last week, hitting a series low of 1.0/4 and taking 2.6 million total viewers. "Parks and Recreation" at 8:30 jumped 14 percent from its last original three weeks ago for a 1.6/5 with 3 million total viewers. "The Office" returned after a month off at 9 to a 5 percent decline, tying a series low of 1.9/5 and drawing 3.6 million total viewers. "1600 Penn" climbed 11 percent from last week to a 1.0/3 and had 2.3 million total viewers. A "Law & Order: SVU" repeat closed the night.
