TV ratings: 'The Mentalist,' CBS lead a soft Thursday

Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 1, 2010

Perhaps the nation's TV viewers were still out playing pranks Thursday night, because the April Fool's Day ratings were pretty modest across the board.

CBS, which swapped timeslots for its dramas "The Mentalist" and "CSI," came out on top with 12.7 million viewers and a 7.8 rating/14 share, but that was well below the network's usual numbers for Thursday. Ditto ABC, which came in second with 7.55 million viewers and a 5.0/9. FOX (7.2 million, 4.5/8) finished third. NBC (4.4 million, 2.9/5) came in fourth, beating out The CW (2.6 million, 1.6/3).

CBS also led the adults 18-49 ratings with a 3.0, which is also below its usual average. ABC's 2.5 was good enough for second place, edging FOX's 2.3. NBC averaged 1.9 in the demo and The CW 1.2.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (11.1 million viewers, 6.6/12)
FOX: "Bones" (8.4 million, 5.4/10)
ABC: "FlashForward" (5.1 million, 3.3/6)
NBC: "The Office" rerun - hour-long episode (4 million, 2.7/5)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" (2.8 million, 1.7/3)

18-49 leader: "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (3.5)

9 p.m.

CBS: "The Mentalist" (13.9 million, 8.6/14)
ABC: "Grey's Anatomy" (9.75 million, 6.4/11)
FOX: "Fringe" (6 million, 3.7/6)
NBC: "The Office" rerun - hour-long episode (4 million, 2.6/4)
The CW: "Supernatural" (2.4 million, 1.6/3)

18-49 leader: "Grey's Anatomy" (3.5)

10 p.m.

CBS: "CSI" (13.2 million, 8.4/15)
ABC: "Private Practice" (7.8 million, 5.3/9)
NBC: "The Marriage Ref" (5.3 million, 3.3/6)

18-49 leader: "CSI" (2.8)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change. Source: The Nielsen Company.

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Photo credit: CBS