TV ratings: 'The Mentalist' scores for CBS Thursday

Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 29, 2010

The first night of May sweeps belonged to CBS, which had no trouble scoring an across-the-board ratings win on Thursday. Even so, none of the networks put up particularly strong numbers for the night.

The Eye averaged 13.6 million viewers and an 8.4 rating/14 share in households for the night, beating second-place ABC (7.75 million, 5.3/9) by nearly 6 million viewers. FOX (7.35 million, 4.6/8) came in third. NBC's 5.1 million viewers and 3.2/5 was good enough for fourth, while The CW trailed the pack with 2.9 million viewers and a 1.9/3.

The adults 18-49 race was closer, but CBS still finished first with a 3.4 rating. ABC took second in the demographic with a 2.8. NBC's 2.4 edged FOX's 2.3 for third, while The CW drew a 1.3.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (12.6 million viewers, 7.5/13 households)
FOX: "Bones" (9.1 million, 5.8/10)
ABC: "FlashForward" (5.1 million, 3.5/6)
NBC: "Community" (4.6 million, 2.9/5)/"Parks and Recreation" (4.3 million, 2.7/5)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" (3.4 million, 2.1/4)

18-49 leader: "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" (4.0)

9 p.m.

CBS: "CSI" (13.5 million, 8.5/14)
ABC: "Grey's Anatomy" (10.3 million, 7.0/11)
NBC: "The Office" (7.1 million, 4.2/7)/"30 Rock" (5.7 million, 3.4/6)
FOX: "Fringe" (5.6 million, 3.4/5)
The CW: "Supernatural" (2.4 million, 1.7/3)

18-49 leader: "Grey's Anatomy" (3.8)

10 p.m.

CBS: "The Mentalist" (14.7 million, 9.2/16)
ABC: "Private Practice" (7.8 million, 5.4/9)
NBC: "The Marriage Ref" (4.4 million, 2.8/5)

18-49 leader: "The Mentalist" (3.2)

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