Update: The overnight household ratings correctly signposted a “Two and a Half Men” victory in total viewership, but they did not accurately speak to the adults 18-49 race.
That race, instead, fell in favor of “Scandal.” ABC’s flagship drama bested the final “Two and a Half Men” episode in their head-to-head match-up at 9PM.
Per final broadcast data, “Scandal” drew a 3.3 adults 18-49 rating. “Men” drew a 3.2.
The latter nonetheless drew a considerably larger total audience. Its viewership count of 13.52 million comfortably topped the 9.62 million drawn by “Scandal.”
Both shows bested their previous installments. Last week’s “Scandal” scored a 3.1 with 9.32 million viewers, while the February 11 “Men” was good for a 2.1 rating with 9.33 million audience members.
Other ABC programs: “Grey’s Anatomy” (2.5 rating, 8.13 million viewers) and “How to Get Away with Murder” (2.9 rating, 8.86 million)
Other CBS programs: “The Big Bang Theory” (4.5 rating, 17.49 million viewers), “The Odd Couple” (3.1 rating, 13.57 million viewers) and “Elementary” (1.5 rating, 8.21 million viewers)
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While ABC’s “Scandal” lost the overnight household ratings battle (and likely suffered the same fate in adults 18-49), it still performed very well against the series finale of CBS’ “Two and a Half Men.”
The flagship ABC drama delivered a 7.2 overnight household rating in the 9PM hour Thursday. That trailed the 8.6 posted by “Men” but actually bested the 7.1 scored by last Thursday’s episode.
There is no guarantee that “Scandal” enjoyed a similar uptick (or even stability) in the adults 18-49 and total viewership data, but the overnight hold strongly suggests “Scandal” avoided a notable decline in either column. Given the increase in competition, that is good news for the fourth season drama.
None of the other 9PM dramas held up this week; all, in fact, slipped to series lows. NBC’s “The Blacklist” fell to a 5.1 overnight household rating, FOX’s “Backstrom” drew a 2.5 and “Reign” settled for a 0.7.
Adults 18-49 and total viewership data will be released at 11:15AM ET.
— Other ABC programs: Grey’s Anatomy (6.0 overnight household rating), How to Get Away with Murder (6.5 overnight household rating)
