TV ratings: 'Big Brother' premiere carries CBS to victory Thursday

Fast National ratings for Thursday, July 12, 2012

The season premiere of "Big Brother" was down slightly from its debut last year, but it still won its time period Thursday night by a good margin and helped give CBS an across-the-board win for the night.

CBS averaged 7.1 million viewers and a 4.5 rating/8 share in households for the night, easily topping second-place ABC (5.05 million, 3.2/6). NBC came in third with 3.4 million viewers and a 2.4/4, a little ahead of FOX (3 million, 1.8/3). The CW delivered 788,000 viewers and a 0.5/1.

"Big Brother" also helped CBS to a win among adults 18-49; the network drew a 2.1 rating in the demographic. ABC finished second at 1.3, followed by FOX at 1.2. Neither NBC (0.8) nor The CW (0.3) got over the 1.0 mark.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" reruns - two episodes (8.5 million viewers, 5.3/10 households)
ABC: "Duets" (4.75 million, 3.2/6)
FOX: "Take Me Out" (3 million, 1.8/3)
NBC: "The Office" rerun (2.1 million, 1.4/3)/"Parks and Recreation" rerun (1.7 million, 1.2/2)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" (857,000, 0.6/1)

18-49 leader: "The Big Bang Theory" (2.5)

9 p.m.

CBS: "Big Brother 14" season premiere (7.1 million, 4.4/8)
ABC: "Wipeout" (5.6 million, 3.2/5)
NBC: "Saving Hope" (3.2 million, 2.2/4)
FOX: "The Choice" (3 million, 1.9/3)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" rerun (720,000, 0.5/1)

18-49 leader: "Big Brother 14" (2.6)

10 p.m.

CBS: "Person of Interest" rerun (5.6 million, 3.7/7)
NBC: "Rock Center with Brian Williams" (5.2 million, 3.6/6)
ABC: "Rookie Blue" (4.8 million, 3.2/6)

18-49 leader: "Rookie Blue" (1.3)

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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