With just one time period in repeat on the night -- an early-evening ABC "Grey's Anatomy" -- all the networks came to play. ABC earned the win with a Nielsen preliminary 3.3 rating/9 share among 18-49 viewers.
But every network showcased hit shows --"Grey's Anatomy," "Survivor: Tocantins" and "CSI" -- yet they either matched or had their lowest 18-49 numbers ever. News shows also bit the bullet, as NBC's "Parks and Recreation" and "Southland" and CBS' "Harper's Island" all moved to lower viewership totals.
Looking at the key 9 p.m. hour, the best-rated show of the night was an original "Grey's" with a 4.9/12. NBC's "The Office" was in second place at 3.7/10. CBS' "CSI" earned a 3.6/9. Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" was at a 3.0/8. At 9:30 p.m., NBC's "30 Rock" pulled in a 3.1/8.
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Earlier in the night, at 8 p.m. "Survivor" won with a 3.6/11. NBC's "Parks" came in at a 2.3/7 for its half-hour episode. Fox's "Bones" was also lower this Thursday, sitting at a 2.1/7.
ABC took care of the 10 p.m. hour as well -- winning with an original episode of "Private Practice" earning a 3.6/10. Down the list during that time period was "Southland" at a 2.5/7 and "Harper's Island" at a 2.2/6. Univision's new show "Mujeres Asesinas" may have had something to do with these lower totals, earning a respectable 1.6/5.
CW pulled in its usual rating performance with "Smallville" and "Supernatural" reaching a 1.3/5 and a 1.2/3 among 18-49 viewers, and a 1.3/5 and 1.2/3 among its more core 18-34 viewers.
CBS ended the night two ticks behind ABC at a 3.1/9 among the big 18-49 demographic. NBC was next at a 2.7/8. Fox was right behind NBC at a 2.6/7. Univision earned a 1.6/4 and CW finished with a 1.2/3.