TV ratings: 'Glee' premiere down from last year while 'X Factor' stays low

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012

The Season 4 premiere of "Glee" opened lower than last year's debut, while "The X Factor" was basically flat from its mediocre opening on Wednesday. FOX scored a win in adults 18-49 for the night, but both of its shows trailed the finale of NBC's "America's Got Talent" in viewers.

Thanks to the "AGT" finale, NBC led the night in viewers with just over 9 million and a 5.6 rating/9 share in households. FOX (8.25 million, 5.1/8) came in second. CBS was third with 5.8 million viewers and a 3.8/6. ABC (2.9 million, 2.0/3) finished a pretty distant fourth, and The CW trailed with 870,000 viewers and a 0.6/1.

FOX scored a 3.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, beating NBC's 2.0 by a pretty good margin. CBS finished third with a 1.6, followed by ABC, 0.8, and The CW, 0.3.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

NBC: "America's Got Talent" season finale (9.2 million viewers, 5.7/9 households)
FOX: "The X Factor" (8.4 million, 5.2/9)
CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" rerun (6.8 million, 4.5/8)/"Two and a Half Men" rerun (5.4 million, 3.6/6)
ABC: "Wipeout" (3.6 million, 2.2/4)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" rerun (1 million, 0.7/1)

18-49 leader: "The X Factor" (3.1)

9 p.m.

NBC: "America's Got Talent" season finale (11.9 million, 7.2/11)
FOX: "Glee" season premiere (8.1 million, 5.0/8)
CBS: "Big Brother" (5.8 million, 3.6/6)
ABC: "Grey's Anatomy" rerun (2.6 million, 1.9/3)
The CW: "The Next" (706,000, 0.5/1)

18-49 leader: "Glee" (3.3)

10 p.m.

NBC: "Rock Center with Brian Williams" (6 million, 4.0/7)
CBS: "Person of Interest" rerun (5.5 million, 3.8/6)
ABC: "Scandal" rerun (2.45 million, 1.8/3)

18-49 leader: "Rock Center" (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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