Remove the excitement for the debut of Ashton Kutcher on “Two and a Half Men,” throw critically-panned new series “Partners” into the mix, compete against “The Voice” for the first time in the fall…and watch the ratings decline.
Update: CBS’ shows were all down sharply in the fast nationals. “How I Met Your Mother” opened to a 3.4 adults 18-49 rating with 8.7 million viewers, down from last year’s 4.7. “2 Broke Girls” fell by nearly 50% to a 3.7 rating and 10.0 million, although it benefited from the monstrous “Two and a Half Men” premiere as a lead-in last year. “Mike & Molly” fell to a 3.0 and 9.3 million, while “Hawaii 5-0” was very notably down to a 1.9 and 8.0 million.
New series “Partners” registered a paltry 2.4 and 6.5 million at 8:30PM.
Granted, analysis of CBS’ first Monday of the season can take a few turns.
On the one hand, there was absolutely a year-over-year decline, with all four returning shows in its lineup down considerably from their premiere numbers.
On the other hand, when compared to how the shows were doing in the back half of last season–when “Two and a Half Men” was no longer a special draw and when “The Voice” had established itself as Monday competition–the numbers do not look bad at all.
CBS’ night opened with “How I Met Your Mother,” which, according to TV Media Insights, delivered a 6.2 overnight metered market rating. Though down from the 8.0 its hourlong premiere achieved ahead of Kutcher’s first “Men” episode in 2011, “Mother”‘s rating was up from its late-season marks last year.
On 4/30/12, “Mother,” for instance, drew a 5.2 overnight rating.
“Mother” led into “Partners,” which already looks likely to harm the Monday night dynamic. While “Mother” and “2 Broke Girls” made for a strong one-two punch in the 8PM hour last year, “Partners” stepped in with a meager 4.7 rating. In addition to being down sharply from what “2 Broke Girls” posted when it first aired in that slot last year, the show also lost 24% of its “How I Met” lead-in.
Clearly, “Partners” will struggle to keep the “Mother” viewers locked on CBS, and that could hurt the night’s overall momentum.
Though it is unlikely to function as effectively as “Men” did for years in the 9PM half hour, “2 Broke Girls” at least managed to recover from the “Partners” drop by opening with a 6.8 overnight.
“2BG”‘s season premiere rating was below what even late-season “Men” episodes averaged in the timeslot last year, but it was up from its own 5.9 for the 8:30PM telecast on 4/30/12.
“Mike & Molly” posted a 6.3 rating at 9:30PM, which was down sharply from its “Two and a Half Men”-driven 2011 premiere number but roughly in-line with the 6.5 it scored on April 30.
With a 5.8, 10PM drama “Hawaii 5-0” was down considerably from its season 2 premiere number (8.0) and from the 7.1 it posted on April 30, 2012.
