Primetime Ratings, Thursday, 11/15/12

As is usual for Thursday, CBS ran away with both the demo and total viewership races. What most definitely isn't usual is just how the well the network's lineup did, absolutely crushing the competition.

The Big Bang Theory started the night by hitting a season high in the demos, and drawing a whopping 17.4 million viewers to boot, the biggest total audience in the show's five-plus year history. This huge spike caused a sort of domino effect for the rest of the night. Lead out Two and a Half Men rose to a 4.1 demo, and 14 million strong audience. Person Of Interest climbed to a 3.1, and posted 14.5 million total viewers. Elementary was the lone ingredient that didn't change much, rising only one tenth of a point and drawing the usual total audience, but still easily winning 10pm.

Over on FOX, The X-Factor went up slightly, while Glee dropped 13%. ABC's Last Resort dropped 7% to a 1.3, continuing on the path to cancellation. Grey's Anatomy dropped a bit, but is still doing great. Scandal went up 11%, but is still doing only pretty good.

NBC's comedies continue to do awful demos, with 30 Rock posting a 1.2, Up All Night falling to a 1.3, The Office dipping 17% to a 2.0, and Parks & Rec (featuring Joe Biden cameo) matching last week's 1.7. Rock Center "climbed" to a 1.1. As for the CW, The Vampire Diaries took a big hit, but remains one of the highest rated shows on the network. After a few decent weeks, Beauty and the Beast fell back down to an 0.6.

Key: Broadcast Network - Show Name - 18-49 Rating - 18-49 Share - Total Viewers In Millions

8PM

CBS - The Big Bang Theory (N) - 5.5 - 17 - 17.39

FOX - The X-Factor (N) - 2.4 - 7 - 7.29

ABC - Last Resort (N) - 1.3 - 4 - 5.82

NBC - 30 Rock (N) - 1.2 - 4 - 3.41

CW - The Vampire Diaries (N) - 1.2 - 4 - 2.80

8:30PM

CBS - Two and a Half Men (N) - 4.1 - 12 - 13.90

NBC - Up All Night (N) - 1.3 - 4 - 3.12

9PM

CBS - Person Of Interest (N) - 3.1 - 8 - 14.51

ABC - Grey's Anatomy (N) - 3.1 - 8 - 8.66

FOX - Glee (N) - 2.1 - 5 - 5.28

NBC - The Office (N) - 2.0 - 5 - 4.15

CW - Beauty and the Beast (N) - 0.6 - 2 - 1.62

9:30PM

NBC - Parks & Recreation (N) - 1.7 - 4 - 3.57

10PM

CBS - Elementary (N) - 2.3 - 7 - 10.72

ABC - Scandal (N) - 2.1 - 6 - 6.14

NBC - Rock Center (N) - 1.1 - 3 - 3.99

Source: Nielsen Media Research