TV Ratings: 'Hollywood Week' Boosts 'American Idol,' '30 Rock' Improves

Michael Becker / FOX

After viewers' inevitable cooling towards the audition shows, American Idol saw a boost with its tearful "Hollywood Week." Following a small gain on Wednesday, the Fox competition had a 4 percent demo bump on Thursday according to fast affiliate ratings.

Winning the night for the network, American Idol pulled a 5.7 in adults 18-49 and 17.9 million viewers. The Finder followed, down one tenth of a point at 2.3, giving the net a 4.0 18-49 rating and 12.2 million for the night.

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CBS placed second, once again driven by Big Bang Theory topping Idol in head-to-head half hour. The comedy banked a 5.5 rating in adults 18-49, and Rob pulled a 3.4. Person of Interest, on solid footing in the second half of its freshman season, tied its series high in 18-49 with a 3.3 rating. The Mentalist nabbed a 2.9 in adults with a season high of 14.4 million viewers. Altogether, the net had a 3.6 rating and a dominant 14.3 million viewers.

Grey's Anatomy was up, bringing in a 3.9 in adults 18-49, while Wipeout was down with a 1.5 and Private Practice stayed even with a 2.3 demo showing, respectively. The trio gave ABC a 2.6 in 18-49-ers for the night and 7.3 million viewers.

30 Rock, once again doubling up, showed improvement on NBC and grew 23 percent overall. The 8:00 and 8:30 episodes earned a 1.5 and a 1.6 in adults 18-49. The Office dropped from last week's 2.8 to a 2.5 in the demo, a season low, while Up All Night retained last week's 1.8.

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Making room for the impending premiere of Awake, and sacrificing The Firm to Saturdays, an encore of Sunday's post-Super Bowl The Voice gave timeslot highs for NBC. The 10:00 broadcast earned a 1.5, its strongest showing since December. Altogether, the peacock brought in a 1.7 showing in the demo and 3.93 million viewers.

Over at the CW, The Vampire Diaries stayed even with the previous 1.2 rating and The Secret Circle moved up a tenth for a 0.8 in adults 18-49. The net averaged a 1.0 with 2.4 million.
 

Thursday, Feb. 9, Overnight Ratings:

8 p.m.
Fox: American Idol (17.9 million viewers, 5.7 rating among adults 18-49)
CBS: The Big Bang Theory (16. million, 5.5)
ABC: Wipeout (5.2 million, 1.5)
NBC: 30 Rock (3.9 million, 1.5)
The CW: The Vampire Diaries (2.96 million, 1.2)

8:30 p.m.
CBS: Rob (11.0  million, 3.4)
ABC: Parks and Recreation (3.8 million, 1.6)

9 p.m.
ABC: Grey's Anatomy (10.1 million, 3.9)
CBS: Person of Interest (13.5 million, 3.3)
NBC: The Office (5.2 million, 2.5)
FOX: The Finder (6.5 million, 2.3)
The CW: The Secret Circle (1.8 million, 0.8)

9:30 p.m.
NBC: Up All Night (3.7 million, 1.8)

10 p.m.
CBS: The Mentalist (13.96 million, 2.8)
ABC: Private Practice (6.2 million, 2.1)
NBC: The Voice (R) (3.6 million, 1.5)