TV ratings: NFL dominates Thanksgiving night while 'X Factor' and 'Glee' do OK

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012

The New England Patriots' blowout of the New York Jets dominated the Thanksgiving prime-time ratings for NBC. FOX's afternoon NFL game also bled into primetime, which helped "The X Factor" to decent numbers as well.

A new "Glee," which started at 9:17 p.m. ET, dropped off some, but considering the overall low level of viewing Thursday, it did OK. Elsewhere, ABC's "Michael Jackson: Bad25" special turned in smaller ratings than a Lady Gaga special on Thanksgiving night last year.

NBC easily led the night with 15.9 million viewers and an 8.5 rating/16 share in households. FOX (9.4 million, 4.9/9) came in second, topping CBS' 6.8 million viewers and 4.3/8. (ABC 4.2 million, 2.4/5) finished fourth, and The CW (819,000, 0.5/1) trailed.

The adults 18-49 crown also went to NBC, which scored a 5.8 rating in the demographic. FOX took second with a 3.1. CBS came in third with a 1.7, followed by ABC, 1.2, and The CW, 0.2.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

NBC: NFL special - Patriots/Jets (14.7 million viewers, 7.6/15 households)
FOX: NFL runover/"The X Factor" results (13.1 million, 6.7/13)
CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" rerun (7.1 million, 4.4/9)/"Two and a Half Men" rerun (6.8 million, 4.1/8)
ABC: "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (4.05 million, 2.1/4)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" rerun (794,000, 0.5/1)

18-49 leader: NFL special (5.0)

9 p.m.

NBC: NFL special - Patriots/Jets (18.4 million, 9.8/18)
CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" rerun (7.3 million, 4.6/9)/"2 Broke Girls" rerun (6.1 million, 3.8/7)
FOX: "The X Factor" results"/"Glee" (5.7 million, 3.1/6)
ABC: "Modern Family" rerun (3.4 million, 1.9/4)/"Michael Jackson: Bad25" (4.3 million, 2.5/5)
The CW: "Beauty and the Beast" rerun (845,000, 0.6/1)

18-49 leader: NFL special (6.6)

10 p.m.

NBC: NFL special - Patriots/Jets (14.7 million, 8.2/16)
CBS: "Person of Interest" rerun (6.8 million, 4.4/9)
ABC: "Michael Jackson: Bad25" (4.7 million, 2.8/5)

18-49 leader: NFL special (5.7)

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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