Averages a 3.2 in 18-49s, up 14 percent over last week
By Toni Fitzgerald May 14, 2010
The deadly "Private Practice" finale went out on a higher note than last week's penultimate episode, winning the 10 p.m. hour for ABC, which placed second to CBS on the third Thursday of May sweeps.
"Practice" averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, up 14 percent over last week's 2.8 and its best rating in three months.
It held a very slight lead over CBS's "The Mentalist" in the hour, with a 0.1 edge, in an episode where one of the third-year show's original cast members died.
ABC also won the 9 p.m. hour with "Grey's Anatomy," the show "Practice" spun off of, averaging a 3.8 rating, second behind "Survivor" (3.9) for the entire evening.
That still wasn't enough to lift ABC into first place for the night, however. The now-canceled "FlashForward" dragged down the network's average with a dismal sixth-place showing at 8 p.m., averaging a 1.3 rating.
Instead CBS won its third straight sweeps Thursday, taking the night among 18-49s with a 3.3 average overnight rating and a 10 share. ABC was second at 2.8/8, Fox third at 2.4/7, NBC fourth at 2.2/6, Univision fifth at 1.6/5 and CW sixth at 1.5/4.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-six percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. CBS was first with a 3.9 for “Survivor,” followed by Fox with a 2.6 for “Bones.” NBC was third with a 1.9 for “Community” (1.9) and “Parks and Recreation” (2.0). The CW and Univision tied for fourth at 1.7, CW for “The Vampire Diaries” and Univision for “Hasta que el Dinero Nos Separe,” and ABC was sixth with a 1.3 for “FlashForward.”
ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.8 for “Grey’s,” while NBC moved to second with a 3.0 for “The Office” (3.4) and “30 Rock” (2.5). CBS was third with a 2.9 for “CSI,” Fox fourth with a 2.3 for “Fringe,” Univision fifth with a 1.8 for more “Dinero” and CW sixth with a 1.3 for “Supernatural.”
At 10 p.m. ABC was first again with a 3.2 for “Practice,” with CBS second with a 3.1 for “Mentalist.” NBC was third with a 1.6 for “The Marriage Ref” and Univision fourth with a 1.2 for “Mujeres Asesinas.”
CBS also finished first for the night among households with an 8.3 average overnight rating and a 14 share. ABC was second at 5.6/9, Fox third at 4.6/8, NBC fourth at 2.9/5, and Univision and CW tied for fifth at 2.0/3.
As an interesting side note, metered-market ratings show that CBS's "The Late Show with David Letterman" beat NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" among households last night, with a 3.1 to a 2.8. That's a real rarity; check back with Media Life on Monday for more coverage.
