TV ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' and 'Big Brother' give CBS a Thursday win

Fast National ratings for Thursday, July 19, 2012

An elimination on "Big Brother" and repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men" scored Thursday's best ratings and carried CBS to an across-the-board win.

Elsewhere, the "Duets" finale scored its lowest adults 18-49 rating of the summer on ABC, but "Rookie Blue" improved a bit on last week's performance.

CBS brought in 6.5 million viewers and a 4.1 rating/7 share in households for the night to finish comfortably ahead of ABC (4.8 million, 3.1/5). NBC (2.7 million, 2.0/3) and FOX (2.7 million, 1.7/3) tied for third place in viewers. The CW averaged 637,000 people and a 0.4/1.

CBS also led the adults 18-49 demographic with a 1.8 rating; for the second straight night no network broke the 2.0 mark. ABC took second with a 1.3, followed by FOX at 1.1. NBC posted a 0.6 and The CW a 0.2.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" rerun (8.9 million viewers, 5.6/10)/"Two and a Half Men" rerun (7.4 million, 4.7/8)
ABC: "Duets" finale (4.5 million, 3.1/6)
FOX: "Take Me Out" (3.1 million, 1.9/3)
NBC: "The Office" rerun (2 million, 1.5/3)/"Parks and Recreation" rerun (1.6 million, 1.2/2)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" rerun (740,000, 0.5/1)

18-49 leader: "The Big Bang Theory" (2.4)

9 p.m.

CBS: "Big Brother" (6.3 million, 3.8/6)
ABC: "Wipeout" (5 million, 3.0/5)
NBC: "Saving Hope" (3 million, 2.1/4)
FOX: "New Girl" reruns - two episodes (2.3 million, 1.5/2)
The CW: "The L.A. Complex" rerun (533,000, 0.4/1)

18-49 leader: "Big Brother" (2.2)

10 p.m.

CBS: "Person of Interest" rerun (5.2 million, 3.4/6)
ABC: "Rookie Blue" (5 million, 3.2/6)
NBC: "Rock Center with Brian Williams" (3.4 million, 2.5/4)

18-49 leader: "Rookie Blue" (1.4)

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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