TV Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' Hits Record 19 Million Viewers, Matches Demo High

CBS

CBS towered over the rest of the broadcast networks Thursday night, airing originals of its entire lineup against a bevy of encores.

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The night started on a particularly strong note for The Big Bang Theory. According to fast affiliate returns, the comedy grew to a new series high in total viewers (18.98 million), topping the previous record by more than 1 million viewers. The series also matched a previous high of a 6.0 rating with adults 18-49

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Two and a Half Men (4.6 adults rating) was up to a season high. Person of Interest (3.4 adults) matched its previous series record and hit a new high among viewers (16.14 million). Elementary matched its highest returns since the premiere, a 2.5 adults rating. The network averaged a 3.7 adults rating and 14.9 million viewers for the night.

Two more episodes of Mobbed aired on Fox. The 8 p.m. broadcast was even with Wednesday's 1.0 adults rating, while the 9 p.m. was up a tenth from the previous night's to a 1.2 adults rating. The network averaged a 1.1 adults rating and 2.9 million viewers.

Elsewhere, an encore of Nashville and back-to-back Scandal repeats earned a 0.8 adults rating and 3.3 million viewers on ABC. Encores of NBC's usual Thursday lineup averaged a 0.8 adults rating as well and 2.5 million viewers.

Repeats of The Vampire Diaries and Beauty and the Beast pulled a 0.4 adults rating and 996,000 viewers.

Univision averaged a 1.7 adults rating and 4.2 million viewers for the night.