Primetime Ratings: 'Big Bang' Ties 'Idol', But Fox Leads Thursday

NBC lineup hits lows across the board

By Lindsay Rubino -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/17/2012 11:58:03 AM

American Idol again led Fox to the Thursday night win with a 5.0 rating/13 share in the 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. The two-hour show, down 14% from last week's one-hour episode, was again bested by the CBS' The Big Bang Theory head-to-head.

Big Bang was down from last week to a 5.0 (Idol posted a 4.6 from 8-8:30 p.m.), followed by iRob!, which was down just a tenth to a 3.2. Person of Interest was down 12% to a 2.9, while The Mentalist slipped 7% to a 2.8. CBS held second with an overall 3.3/9.

ABC, in third with an overall 2.4/6, aired its special Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice crossover; Grey's fell 23% to a series-low 3.1, but Private Practice, was up 18% to a 2.6. Earlier, Wipeout was steady at its season-low 1.5.

NBC's Parks and Recreation returned from its last new episode Feb. 2 steady at its series-low 1.7. 30 Rock was down 14% to its series low at a 1.4, compared to last week's one-hour episode. The Office, hitting its series low, and Up All Night both slipped 12% to a 2.2 and 1.5, respectively. With a repeat of Grimm at 10 p.m., NBC placed fourth with an overall 1.4/4.

Both CW's The Vampire Diaries, at a 1.3, and The Secret Circle, at a 0.8, were steady. The CW earned an overall 1.0/3.