TV ratings: 'Bachelor' premiere down a little as CBS easily wins Monday

Fast National ratings for Monday, Jan. 3, 2011

The latest edition of "The Bachelor" debuted Monday to ratings that were down some from last year's premiere. The Orange Bowl on ESPN could well end up as the No. 1 show for Monday night, but among the broadcast networks, CBS was the clear leader, sweeping all three hours of primetime.

CBS' comedy block delivered some of its best numbers of the season, helping the network average 11.65 million viewers and a 7.0 rating/11 share in households for the night. ABC finished second with 9.2 million viewers and a 6.0/9. None of the other networks put up much of a fight: FOX (4.3 million, 2.8/4) came in third with a night of reruns, followed by NBC (2.7 million, 1.7/3) and The CW (934,000, 0.6/1).

CBS also led among adults 18-49 by a comfortable margin, scoring a 3.6 rating in the demo. ABC took second with a 2.7. FOX's meager 1.3 was good enough for third place. Neither NBC (0.9) nor The CW (0.4) broke the 1.0 barrier.

Monday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "How I Met Your Mother" (10.4 million viewers, 6.3/10 households)/"Rules of Engagement" (9.9 million, 5.9/9)
ABC: "The Bachelor" premiere (8.9 million, 5.9/9)
FOX: "House" rerun (4.8 million, 3.0/5)
NBC: "Chuck" rerun (2.5 million, 1.6/2)
The CW: "90210" rerun (1.1 million, 0.7/1)

18-49 leader: "How I Met Your Mother" (3.9)

9 p.m.

CBS: "Two and a Half Men" (15.3 million, 9.2/14)/"Mike & Molly" (12.6 million, 7.6/12)
ABC: "The Bachelor" premiere (9.1 million, 6.0/9)
FOX: "Lie to Me" rerun (3.9 million, 2.5/4)
NBC: Special - "The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?" (2.7 million, 1.7/3)
The CW: "Gossip Girl" rerun (757,000, 0.5/1)

18-49 leader: "Two and a Half Men" (4.6)

10 p.m.

CBS: "Hawaii Five-0" (10.8 million, 6.7/11)
ABC: "Castle" (9.6 million, 6.1/10)
NBC: "The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?" (2.8 million, 1.8/3)

18-49 leader: "Hawaii Five-0" (2.9)

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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