The excess of hype for “How I Met Your Mother”‘s special 100th episode paid off, as the show improved to a strong 3.9 adults 18-49 rating with 9.8 million viewers.
The surge of interest in “How I Met” nonetheless failed to significantly boost “Accidentally on Purpose,” and all original competition on network television saw its demo ratings grow when the buzzworthy CBS comedy concluded.
Among that competition was “Chuck,” which made its seasonal time period debut for NBC. Down from Sunday to a 2.6 rating with 7.3 million viewers on average Monday, the show jumped 8% in the demo when CBS’ broadcast switched to 8:30’s “Accidentally on Purpose” (8.5 million, 3.2).
FOX’s “House” also surged during its second half hour, climbing from 11.6 million viewers with a 4.3 to 12.9 million viewers with a 4.9; its average was thus a 4.6 rating with 12.2 million watching.
9PM belonged to CBS, which saw dominant viewership for “Two and a Half Men” (17.3 million, 5.4) and “The Big Bang Theory” (15.8 million, 5.7). NBC’s “Heroes” continued its struggle; it posted a disappointing 2.1 rating with an even more disappointing viewership total of just 4.7 million. FOX’s “Fringe,” which bled some of its “House” lead-in over the course of the episode, did a 2.8 rating with 7.8 million.
From 8-10PM, ABC aired “The Bachelor” (10.5 million, 3.7), which showed consistent audience growth from start to finish.
At 10PM, “CSI: Miami” dominated with 13.6 million viewers and a 3.7. ABC’s “Castle” was second with 9.5 million viewers and a 2.7; “The Jay Leno Show” (4.8 million, 1.6) was back in third.
Ratings Sources: Nielsen, MediaWeek