TV ratings: 'NCIS,' State of the Union coverage dominate Tuesday

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011

The big four networks devoted most of primetime to the State of the Union address Tuesday night. CBS and NBC finished in a virtual tie in their coverage of the president's address to Congress, but an "NCIS" rerun helped boost CBS to the lead for the evening.

Ratings for all of the big four will change because of their live news coverage, but as things stand now, CBS led the evening with 9.3 million viewers and a 5.9 rating/9 share in households. NBC (7.8 million, 4.8/8) came in second. ABC took third with 5.2 million viewers and a 3.3/5, topping FOX's 4.05 million and 2.6/4. The CW aired regular programming and delivered 2 million viewers and a 1.3/2.

NBC led the adults 18-49 demographic with a 2.4 rating and was the only network to score higher than a 2.0. CBS, 1.7, finished second in the demo, followed by FOX, 1.4, and ABC, 1.2. The CW drew a 0.9.

Tuesday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "NCIS" rerun (13.2 million viewers, 8.1/13 households)
NBC: "The Biggest Loser" (8.7 million, 5.3/8)
FOX: "Glee" rerun (4.7 million, 3.0/5)
ABC: "No Ordinary Family" rerun (4.4 million, 2.8/4)
The CW: "One Tree Hill" (1.9 million, 1.2/2)

18-49 leader: "The Biggest Loser" (3.0)

9 p.m.

CBS: State of the Union (8.5 million, 5.7/9)
NBC: State of the Union (8.4 million, 5.2/8)
ABC: State of the Union (6.7 million, 4.0/6)
FOX: State of the Union (3.4 million, 2.2/3)
The CW: "Hellcats" (2.2 million, 1.4/2)

18-49 leader: NBC (2.3)

10 p.m.

NBC: State of the Union/continuing news coverage (6.3 million, 4.0/7)
CBS: State of the Union (7.2 million, 4.8/8)/"The Big Bang Theory" rerun (5.1 million, 3.4/6)
ABC: State of the Union (6.2 million, 3.9/6)/"Cougar Town" rerun (2.95 million, 2.0/4)

18-49 leader: NBC (1.7)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change, especially in the case of live telecasts. Source: The Nielsen Company.

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