TV ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Big Bang Theory,' 'Awake' down, 'Scandal' premieres well

Fast National ratings for Thursday, April 5, 2012

FOX's "American Idol" results show was down this week -- 13.79 million viewers compared to last week's 15.27 million viewers -- as was CBS' "The Big Bang Theory," which still came out on top in the 18-49 demographic. But the comedy, along with other CBS shining stars like "Person of Interest" and "The Mentalist," won the night for the network with most viewers.

A new episode of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" gave the network a bump, and its premiere of "Scandal" drew some viewers away from CBS and NBC's "Awake," which dropped once again this week, dipping down to 2.5 million viewers. ABC's "Missing," FOX's "Touch" and NBC's "Community" were also down.

CBS averaged 12.28 million viewers for the night and a 7.5 rating/13 share in households. FOX was second with 10.6 million (6.5/11). ABC (7.56 million, 5.1/9) came in third ahead of NBC (2.69 million, 1.8/3) and The CW (964,000, 0.6/1).

In the adults 18-49 demographic, FOX won with a 3.0 rating. CBS had a 2.9, ABC had a 2.1, NBC 1.1 and The CW 0.4.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

FOX: "American Idol" results (13.79 million viewers, 8.5/15 households)
CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" (13.01 million, 7.8/14)/"Rules of Engagement" (8.79 million, 5.2/9)
ABC: "Missing" (7.16 million, 4.8/8)
NBC: "Community" (3.1 million, 2.0/4)/"30 Rock" (2.8 million, 1.8/3)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" rerun (1.1 million, 0.7/1)

18-49 leader: "The Big Bang Theory" (4.2)

9 p.m.

CBS: "Person of Interest" (13.47 million, 8.2/13)
ABC: "Grey's Anatomy" (8.08 million, 5.5/9)
FOX: "Touch" (7.45 million, 4.5/7)
NBC: "The Office" rerun (2.55 million, 1.7/3)/"Up All Night" (2.62 million, 1.7/3)
The CW: "The Secret Circle" rerun (823,000 million, 0.5/1)

18-49 leader: "Person of Interest" (2.9)

10 p.m.

CBS: "The Mentalist" (12.48 million, 7.8/13)
ABC: "Scandal" (7.45 million, 5.1/9)
NBC: "Awake" (2.5 million, 1.8/3)

18-49 leader: "The Mentalist" (2.4)

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