Last night was a sweeps night which was once again dominated by CBS and the season finale of House

Dancing with the Stars continued its impressive numbers this week, posting an average 4.2 rating and just over 19 million viewers to win the night for ABC. At 10, Castle was second behind CSI: Miami with a 2.4 rating and just over 10 million viewers.

Over on CBS, How I Met Your Mother was up slightly vs last week to a 3.1 (18-49) rating. At 8.30, Rules of Engagement held steady, pulling a 2.9 rating. Two and a Half  Men posted  a strong 4.4 rating at 9, paired with the season finale of The Big Bang Theory which posted a 5.4 rating. Both shows saw gains  of around 10%. At 10, CSI: Miami fell, posting just a 3.0(18-49 rating), down 10%vs last week.

House pulled just a 4.2 (18-49 rating) at 8pm, growing around 20% from last weeks season low. 24 benefitted from this and saw an increase to a 3.0 (18-49 rating) .

NBC went with Chuck at 8pm posting a 1.9 rating and just over 5.2million viewers. A new Law & Order posted a 1.7 rating at 9, followed by another new Law and Order, which averaged a solid 1.8 rating and just over 6.4 million viewers.

The CW went with One Tree Hill at 8, which continued to dominate with a 1.0 rating and just over 2.0 million viewers. At 9, the season finale of Gossip Girl  drew 2 million viewers and a 1.1 (18-49 rating) up 20% vs. last week.

This is a hard one (and in the words of Michael Scott: “that’s what she said”). The show has performed well this season, having its best year since season 4. The ratings are up, it’s the most watched comedy on TV. It’s second in the 18-49 category only to the show that it leads in to – The Big Bang Theory.

On a sweeps night that included a visit from Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) himself, it was The Big Bang Theory which took the win for CBS.

Dancing with the Stars continued its impressive numbers this week, posting an average 4.0 rating and just over 19 million viewers to win the night for ABC. At 10, Castle was second behind CSI: Miami with a 2.5 rating and just over 11.4 million viewers.

Over on CBS, How I Met Your Mother was up slightly vs last week to a 3.3 (18-49) rating. At 8.30, Rules of Engagement held steady, pulling a 3.2 rating. Two and a Half  Men was back with a 4.6 rating at 9, paired with a new The Big Bang Theory which posted a 5.2 rating. Both shows saw gains  of around 10%. At 10, CSI: Miami continued its freefall, posting just a 3.3(18-49 rating), up vs last week.

House pulled just a 3.6 (18-49 rating), the lowest demo rating since 2004. 24 saw an increase to a 2.7 (18-49 rating) .

NBC went with Chuck at 8pm posting a 1.9 rating and just over 5.3 million viewers. A Law & Order rerun posted a 1.2 rating at 9, followed by a brand new Law and Order, which averaged a solid 1.7 rating and just over 6 million viewers.

The CW went with One Tree Hill at 8, which continued to dominate with a 1.1 rating and just over 2.1 million viewers. At 9, a new Gossip Girl  drew 1.8 million viewers and just a 0.9 (18-49 rating). Remember that Gossip Girl is the show that has been picked up for a fourth season.

On a night with the return of CBS’ comedy lineup, it was ABC who continued to dominate Monday night.

Dancing with the Stars continued its impressive numbers this week, posting an average 4.7 rating and just over 20 million viewers to win the night for ABC. At 10, Castle won the hour – beating CSI: Miami and posting the second best numbers of the series to date.

The return of  CBS comedy lineup yielded surprisingly low results – around 12% down overall vs. the last batch of original episodes. How I Met Your Mother was significantly down, dropping almost 20% in adults 18-49 to just a 2.8. At 8.30, Rules of Engagement held steady, pulling a 2.8 rating. Two and a Half  Men was back with a 4.6 rating at 9, paired with a new The Big Bang Theory which posted a 5.0. Both shows saw drops of around 10%. At 10, CSI: Miami continued its freefall, posting just a 3.1 (18-49 rating).

House returned for FOX last night, pulling a 4.0 (18-49 rating), a season low. The return did help 24 though, which saw an increase to a 2.6 (18-49 rating) .

NBC was mostly in reruns last night, with Chuck posting a 0.9 rating at 8, a new Trauma posting a 1.3 rating at 9 and a Law & Order rerun posting a 1.1 rating at 10.

The CW went with the season (and possibly series) finale of Life UneXpected at 8 which posted a solid 0.9 18-49 rating and 1.8 million viewers. At 9, a new Gossip Girl also drew 1.8 million viewers but was up a tick in the key demo to a 1.0 (18-49 rating).

Full Breakdown: 

8:00 – ABC – Dancing With The Stars – 4.3 (18-49 rating) – 19.1 million viewers
FOX – House - 4.0 - 10.6 million
CBS – How I Met Your Mother – 2.8 – 6.9 million
NBC – Chuck (repeat) - 0.9 – 2.7 million
CW – Life Unexpected - 0.9 - 1.8 million

8:30 – CBS – Rules of Engagement – 2.8 (18-49 rating) – 7.4 million viewers

9:00 – ABC – Dancing With The Stars – 5.2 (18-49 rating) - 21.4 million viewers
CBS – Two And A Half Men – 4.6 - 13.5 million
FOX – 24 – 2.6 - 8.4 million
NBC – Trauma 1.3 - 4.3 million
CW – Gossip Girl – 1.0 - 1.8 million

9:30 – CBS – The Big Bang Theory – 5.0 (18-49 rating) - 13.1 million viewers

10:00 – ABC – Castle – 3.3 (18-49 rating) – 13.1 million
CBS – CSI: Miami – 3.2 - 10.8 million
NBC – Law & Order (repeat) - 1.2 – 4.1 million

On a night with no new House but the return of 24 to Monday nights, it was How I Met Your Mother that took advantage – hitting season highs in the process.

CBS had a solid Monday night (as usual) with How I Met Your Mother (4.0, 10.5 million) and Accidentally on Purpose (3.5, 9.6 million) hitting season and series highs in their respective timeslots. At 9, Two and a Half Men (5.3, 16.2 million) beat The Big Bang Theory (5.2, 15 million) for the first time in quite a while. CSI: Miami was steady with last week with a 3.6 (18-49) rating and 13.2 million viewers.

ABC came second with two episodes of The Bachelor, posting an average 3.8 and 10.6 million viewers – down slightly vs. last weeks premiere. At 10, Castle continued to improve, posting a 2.8 (18-49) rating and 9.4 million viewers.

24 had its timeslot premiere last night, posting a 3.5 (18-49) rating between 8-10 – good enough for third place for FOX.

NBC went with a brand new Chuck at 8, posting a 2.5 rating and 6.7 million viewers – down .2 in the key demos and over half a million viewers from last week. At 9, Heroes continued with their rapid decline, posting just a 1.8 (18-49) rating and just 3.9 million viewers. At 10 – in what’s rumoured to be one of the very last – Jay Leno Show posted just a 1.3 rating and 4.6 million viewers.

The CW was back in originals last night, with One Tree Hill posting a 1.1 (18-49) rating and 2.2 million viewers leading into the premiere of Life UneXpected, which posted a solid 1.2 (18-49) rating and 2.7 million viewers in its first outing.

Full Breakdown:

8:00 – CBS – How I Met Your Mother – 4.0 (18-49) rating - 10.5 million viewers
ABC – The Bachelor: On The Wings of Love – 3.6 - 10.1 million
FOX – 24 – 3.3 - 10.6 million
NBC – Chuck – 2.5 - 6.7 million
CW – One Tree Hill – 1.1 - 2.2 million

8:30 – CBS – Accidentally on Purpose – 3.5 (18-49) rating - 9.6 million

9:00 – CBS – Two and a Half Men – 5.3 (18-49) rating - 16.2 million viewers
ABC – The Bachelor: On The Wings of Love – 4.1 - 11.1 million
FOX – 24 – 3.6 - 11.5 million
NBC – Heroes – 1.8 - 3.9 million
CW – Life Unexpected – 1.2 - 2.7 million

9:30 – CBS – The Big Bang Theory – 5.2 (18-49) rating - 15.0 million viewers

10:00 – CBS – CSI: Miami – 3.6 (18-49) rating - 13.2 million viewers
ABC – Castle – 2.8 - 9.4 million
NBC - The Jay Leno Show – 1.3 - 4.6 million

The 100th Episode of “How I Met Your Mother” Delivers Largest Audience and Highest Adult 18-49 Rating of the Season

“Mother” Posts CBS’s Best Time Period Performance in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34 Since March 2002

“The Big Bang Theory” Posts Series Highs in Viewers and Adults 18-49

“Two and a Half Men” Delivers Largest Audience and Best Adult 18-49 Rating of the Season

CBS Sweeps Monday in all Key Ratings Measures

Season-high ratings for the 100th episode of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and TWO AND A HALF MEN and series highs for THE BIG BANG THEORY led CBS to a Monday win in all ratings measures, according to Nielsen preliminary live plus same day ratings for Jan. 11.

The 100th episode of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (6.0/09, 9.82m) was first in adults 18-34 (3.9/10) and second in adults 25-54 (4.4/10) and adults 18-49 (3.9/10).  Compared to the last first-run episode (on Dec. 14, 2009), HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER was up +2% in both households (from 5.9/09) and adults 25-54 (from 4.3/11), +5% in adults 18-49 (from 3.7/11), +15% in adults 18-34 (from 3.4/11) and added +160,000 viewers (from 9.66m, +2%). This was HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’s best delivery in both households and viewers since March 2, 2009, its best in adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 since April 13, 2009, and in adults 18-34 since Jan. 12, 2009.

Among regularly scheduled programming, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER delivered the time period’s best performance with men 18-34 since March 25, 2002 (“King of Queens”), and with adults 18-34 and women 18-34 since March 31, 2003 (also “King of Queens”).

TWO AND A HALF MEN won its time slot in households (10.2/15), viewers (17.30m), adults 25-54 (6.9/15), adults 18-49 (5.4/13) and adults 18-34 (3.8/13).  Compared to the last first-run episode (on Dec. 14, 2009), TWO AND A HALF MEN was up +4% in both households (from 9.8/15) and adults 18-49 (from 5.2/13), +6% in adults 25-54 (from 6.5/15) and added +910,000 viewers (from 16.39m, +6%).  This was the best TWO AND A HALF MEN delivery in viewers since Dec. 15, 2008, the show’s best in both adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 since Feb. 2, 2009.

THE BIG BANG THEORY won its time slot in households (9.3/14), viewers (15.81m), adults 25-54 (7.0/15), adults 18-49 (5.7/14) and adults 18-34 (4.2/11).   THE BIG BANG THEORY posted series highs in viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49.  THE BIG BANG THEORY improved on its TWO AND A HALF MEN lead-in in adults 25-54 (+1%), adults 18-49 (+6%) and adults 18-34 (+11%).

At 8:30 PM, ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (5.2/08, 8.52m) averaged a 3.8/09 in adults 25-54 and 3.2/08 in adults 18-49.

CSI: MIAMI was first in households (8.7/15), viewers (13.65m), adults 25-54 (4.9/12), adults 18-49 (3.7/10) and adults 18-34 (2.5/07).

For the night, CBS was first in households (8.0/13), viewers (13.13m), adults 25-54 (5.3/12), adults 18-49 (4.2/11) and adults 18-34 (3.3/09).

On a night with competition all over the place, Chuck returned to Monday nights with very strong overnight numbers…

Lets take a look a CBS first: HIMYM posted its best numbers since last spring with a 3.9 A18-49 rating and 9.8 million viewers – a solid start to the night against House. Accidentally on Purpose was once again the weak link, pulling just a 3.2 (18-49) rating and 8.5 million viewers – which is why it’s moving to Wednesday nights. 9pm saw Two and a Half Men post its highest viewership for a while and a very good 5.4 (18-49) rating leading into a new Big Bang – which was again better in the key demos posting a 5.7 (18-49) rating. At 10, CSI Miami was level with its season average with a 3.7 (18-49) rating.

FOX took second for the night with a sold ep of House (4.6 rating, 12.2 million viewers) and an old new episode of Fringe (those who saw it know what i’m talking about), which posted a 2.8 rating and 7.8 million viewers – much better than how it’s performing on Thursdays.

ABC went with new episodes of the Bachelor between 8-10pm, averaging a sold 3.7 (18-49) rating and 10.5 million viewers. Castle was also good (by Castles standards) with a 2.6 (18-49) rating and 9.5 million viewers.

The biggest story of the night was Chuck returning to its 8pm timeslot where it outperformed Heroes’ season-to-date average by almost 20% and even its own average from last year by almost 15%. The show was also against a very solid 100th episode of HIMYM and grew .2 in its second half hour. It was again a bad night for Heroes though, with it dropping to a 2.1 rating in its old timeslot, good enough for fourth place. Leno posted his best Monday numbers in a while at 10pm, averaging a 1.6 rating and just under 4.8 million viewers.

The CW was in repeats — and who cares?

Full Breakdown: 

8:00 – FOX – House – 4.6 (18-49) rating - 12.2 million viewers
CBS – How I Met Your Mother – 3.9 - 9.8 million viewers
ABC – The Bachelor: On The Wings of Love – 3.3 - 9.8 million
NBC – Chuck – 2.6 - 7.3 million
CW – One Tree Hill (R) – 0.4 - 1.2 million

8:30 – CBS – Accidentally on Purpose 3.2 - 8.5 million

9:00 – CBS – Two and a Half Men – 5.4 (18-49) rating - 17.3 million viewers
ABC – The Bachelor: On The Wings of Love - 4.0 - 11.2 million
FOX – Fringe – 2.8 - 7.8 million
NBC – Heroes – 2.1 - 4.7 million
CW – Gossip Girl (R) – 0.3 - 0.74

9:30 – CBS – The Big Bang Theory – 5.7 - 15.8 million

10:00 – CBS – CSI: Miami – 3.7 (18-49) rating - 13.7 million viewers
ABC – Castle – 2.6 - 9.45 million
NBC – The Jay Leno Show – 1.6 - 4.79

On a night with most networks in reruns, it was CBS which took the ratings crown. My best guess is that all of the broadcast networks were beaten out by the Giants/Redskins game on ESPN last night.

CBS won the night with reruns of How I Met Your Mother (1.8), Accidentally on Purpose (1.7), Two and a Half Men (3.1) and the nights highest rated show, The Big Bang Theory (3.3). CSI: Miami was 10pm’s #1 show with a 2.4 (18-49) rating, beating an original of The Jay Leno Show.

NBC was second for the night with 2 hours of The Sing Off, which averaged a solid 2.3 (18-49) rating. At 10, Leno was beaten by a rerun of CSI: Miami – posting just a 1.6 (18-49) rating.

FOX took third place with reruns of House (1.6) and Lie To Me (1.3) beating out ABC, which went with a rerun of I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown (1.8), a new Find My Family (1.2, season lows) and a Castle rerun (1.0).

The CW was last with reruns of One Tree Hill (0.3) and Gossip Girl (0.3).

Full Breakdown:

8:00 – NBC – The Sing Off – 2.2 (18-49) rating - 7.1 million viewers 
CBS – How I Met Your Mother (R) – 1.8 - 5.7 million
ABC – I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown (R) – 1.8 - 5.9 million
FOX – House (R) - 1.6 - 4.9 million
CW – One Tree Hill (R) - 0.3 - 0.9 million

8:30 – CBS – Accidentally on Purpose (R) – 1.7 - 5.4 million

9:00 – CBS – Two and a Half Men (R) – 3.1 (18-49) rating - 10.7 million viewers
NBC – The Sing Off – 2.3 - 7.4 million
FOX – Lie to Me (R) – 1.3 - 4.1 million
ABC – Find My Family – 1.2 - 4.8 million
CW – Gossip Girl (R) – 0.3 – 0.7 million

9:30 - CBS – The Big Bang Theory (R) – 3.3 (18-49) rating - 10 million viewers

10:00 – CBS – CSI: Miami (R) – 2.4 (18-49) rating - 8.6 million viewers
NBC – The Jay Leno Show 1.6 - 5.8 million
ABC – Castle (R) – 1.0 - 4.4 million

The Big Bang Theory continued its winning ways last night and How I Met Your Mother set season highs in both viewers and the key 18-49 demo.

At 8, How I Met Your Mother posted season highs with a 3.9 (18-49) rating and 10.2 million viewers leading into a new Accidentally on Purpose, which posted a solid 3.3 (18-49) rating and 9.3 million viewers. NBC came second with the premiere of The Sing Off which averaged a 2.3 rating and 6.9 million viewers between 8-10. A House rerun (2.1, 6.7 million) beat out ABC’s Jennifer Hudson special, which posted a 1.2 rating and 5.6 million viewers. The CW went with two eps of The Vampire Diaries, which averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.5 million viewers between 8-10.

At 9, Two and a Half Men took over with a season high in viewers (16.3 million) and A18-49 (5.2 rating). The Big Bang Theory was again the nights top rated show at 9.30, posting a 5.6 rating and 15.6 million viewers. Lie to Me is clearly missing original House lead-ins, averaging just a 2.2 rating and 6.6 million viewers for FOX. On ABC, Find My Family continued to drop, this week posting just a 1.4 rating and 5.4 million viewers.

At 10pm, CSI Miami was again up vs. its season average, posting a 4.1 rating and 14 million viewers to win the hour. The Jay Leno Show was solid, posting a 1.5 rating and 4.8 million viewers beating out a rerun of Castle on ABC (1.1 (18-49) rating, 4.3 million)

Full Breakdown:

8:00 CBS How I Met Your Mother - 3.9 (18-49) rating - 10.2 million viewers
NBC - The Sing Off (premiere) - 2.4 - 7.4 milion
FOX – House (R) – 2.1 - 6.7 million
ABC - Jennifer Hudson: I’ll Be Home For Christmas - 1.2 - 5.6 million
CW – Vampire Diaries (R) – 0.7 - 1.6 million

8:30 – CBS – Accidentally on Purpose – 3.3 (18-49) rating - 9.3 million viewers

9:00 – CBS – Two and a Half Men – 5.2 (18-49) rating - 16.3 million viewers
FOX – Lie to Me – 2.2 - 6.6 million
ABC – Find My Family – 1.4 - 5.4 million
NBC – The Sing Off (premiere) – 2.2 - 6.4 million
CW – Vampire Diaries (R) - 0.6 - 1.4 million

9:30 – CBS – The Big Bang Theory – 5.6 (18-49) rating - 15.6 million viewers

10:00 – CBS – CSI: Miami – 4.1 - 14 million viewers
NBC – The Jay Leno Show – 1.5 - 4.8 million
ABC – Castle (R) - 1.1 – 4.3 million

Last night saw stellar performances from The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, leading to a CBS victory.

At 8, CBS won the hour with a solid performance from How I Met Your Mother (3.5 rating) and Accidentally on Purpose (2.9). Two and a Half Men then almost doubled its lead in with a season high 5.1 demo rating and over 15 million viewers. The Big Bang Theory then improved on its lead in to hit series highs in the key demo (5.7 rating) and viewers (14.7 million) CSI: Miami wasn’t helped much though, pulling a 3.8 rating, a slight improvement over last week.

FOX was second for the night with Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special which managed an average 2.4 rating and 8.6 million viewers, which is well down from what House and Lie To Me normally do on Mondays.

Third was ABC, which went with a Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town rerun at 8, pulling a 2.7 rating and 8 million viewers. Find My Family continued dropping this week pulling just a 1.8 rating and under 6 million viewers at 9pm. Castle was impacted by the low lead in, drawing just a 2.3 rating and 8.4 million viewers, its lowest in a while.

NBC went with two Law & Order SVU’s last night in place of Heroes and Trauma. They averaged a 1.6 rating and 6.2 million viewers, which is still pretty solid for reruns. At 10, Leno fell to a 1.3 rating and just 4.7 million viewers.

The CW was last (as usual) with One Tree Hill (1.2, 2.6 million) and Gossip Girl (1.2, 2.2 million) both having a solid evening.

Full Breakdown:

8:00 – CBS – How I Met Your Mother – 3.5 (18-49 rating) - 9.2 million viewers
ABC – Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (R) - 2.7 - 8 million
FOX – Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special – 2.4 - 8.9 million
NBC – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (R) - 1.5 - 6.6 million
CW One Tree Hill 1.2/3 2.59

8:30 – CBS – Accidentally on Purpose – 2.9 (18-49 rating) - 8.3 million viewers

9:00 – CBS – Two and a Half Men – 5.1 (18-49 rating) - 15.2 million
FOX – Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special – 2.3 - 8.2 million
ABC – Find My Family – 1.8 – 5.9 million
NBC – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (R) – 1.6 - 5.8 million
CW – Gossip Girl – 1.2 - 2.2 million

9:30 – CBS – The Big Bang Theory – 5.7 (18-49 rating) - 14.7 million viewers

10:00 – CBS – CSI: Miami – 3.8 (18-49 rating) - 12.9 million viewers
ABC – Castle – 2.3 - 8.4 million
NBC – The Jay Leno Show – 1.3 - 4.7 million