Going against CBS’s “Thursday Night Football,” NBC’s “Bad Judge” and “A to Z,” along with Fox’s “Gracepoint,” drew lukewarm ratings with their premieres on Thursday night, according to preliminary numbers.
The new Kate Walsh series “Bad Judge,” premiering at 9 p.m., drew a soft 1.3 rating/4 share in the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers and notched 5.9 million total viewers. The freshman romantic comedy “A to Z” followed at 9:30 and fared similarly, posting a 1.2/3 in the demo with 4.8 million total viewers.
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Versus last September’s premiere of the short-lived “The Michael J. Fox Show,” “Bad Judge” was down 41 percent in the demo, while “A to Z” was down 43 percent.
Combined with “The Biggest Loser” at 8, which drew a 1.3/4 with 4.7 million total viewers, and “Parenthood” at 10 (1.3/4, 4.4 million total viewers), that put NBC in a tie for third place with Fox, with both networks averaging a 1.3/4 for the night. In total viewers, Fox took third place outright with an average 5.6 million.
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The premiere of “Gracepoint” on Fox at 9 p.m. posted a 1.2/3 which was down from the 1.7 that “Glee” averaged in the time period last fall. “Gracepoint” did, however, draw 4.8 million total viewers, which was an improvement over the 4.6 million that “Glee” averaged in the spot last year.
Prior to “Gracepoint,” Fox aired “Bones” at 8, which was down marginally in the demo versus last week with a 1.5/5 but held even in total viewers with 6.3 million.
The big — and predictable — winner of the night was “Thursday Night Football” on CBS. While the network’s numbers are approximate due to the nature of live sports, CBS currently holds a handy first place in the demo and total viewers with a 4.2/13 and 12.4 million. “NFL Kick-Off” at 8 posted a 2.8/10 with 10 million total viewers, while the game itself between Minnesota and Green Bay drew a 4.4/13 with 12.9 million total viewers, making it the most-watched program of the night.
ABC took second place in ratings and total viewers with a 3.0/9 and 10.4 million. Its lineup took demo hits across the board, starting with “Grey’s Anatomy” at 8, which slid 16 percent from last week’s premiere for a series low of 2.6/8 with 9 million total viewers. “Scandal” the following hour dipped 15 percent for a 3.3/10 and had 10.4 million total viewers, while the freshman offering “How to Get Away With Murder” dropped off 18 percent for a 3.2/10 and took 11.8 million total viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.1/3 and 39 million.
At The CW, the season premiere of “The Vampire Diaries” at 8 posted a 0.9/3, down 25 percent from last fall’s premiere, and had 1.8 million total viewers. The season premiere of “Reign” the following hour, meanwhile, fell off 50 percent from last fall’s premiere, posting a 0.4/1 with 1.1 million total viewers. Combined, the shows gave the network a 0.6/2 for the night, putting it in a tie for sixth with Telemundo, and 1.4 million total viewers.
Telemundo averaged 1.3 million total viewers for the evening.