‘The Big Bang Theory’ on CBS Tops Thursday with a New Arrival

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016

Household Rating/Share
NBC: 7.4/12, CBS: 5.4/ 9, ABC: 2.2/ 4, Fox: 1.4/ 2, CW: 0.7/ 1

-Percent Change From the Comparable Year-Ago Evening:
NBC: +252, Fox: – 7, CBS: – 8, CW: -12, ABC: -37

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-Winners:
NFL Football (NBC), “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
“The iHeart Radio Jingle Ball” (CW), “Great American Baking Show” (ABC), “Pure Genius” (CBS), “What Would You Do?” (ABC)

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Ratings Breakdown:
NBC was the network to beat last night care of the Seattle Seahawk’s 24 to 3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on the NFL at an estimated 7.9 rating/13 share in the metered market households from 8:30-11:30 p.m. ET. Combined with coverage on the NFLN, that household rating increased to a 10.1. Keep in mind that results for any live sporting event are estimated.

In a night of all sitcom fall finale episodes on CBS, “The Big Bang Theory,” featuring the birth of Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette’s (Melissa Rauch) baby girl Halley, stood well above the others with an above-average 10.1/17 at 8 p.m. Note to CBS: Keep working on that renewal, and make it multi-year again. Next was painfully generic “The Great Indoors” at a not-so-great 5.0/ 8 at 8:30 p.m., which slipped by 50 percent. “Mom” followed with a 5.3/ 7 (#2), and it led into a 4.4/ 7 for sophomore “Life in Pieces” at 9:30 p.m., which from a creative standpoint is vastly improved this season.

At 10 p.m., freshman CBS drama “Pure Genius” earned its cancellation stripes with a 3.7/ 7, which finished a distant second in the hour above an installment of “What Would You Do?” on ABC (2.1/ 4).

Earlier in the evening on ABC were encore telecasts of animated holiday specials “Disney’s Prep & Landing” (#3: 2.4/ 4) and “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” (#3: 2.0/ 3) from 8-9 p.m., followed by “The Great American Baking Show” at a sluggish 2.4/ 4 (#3) from 9-10 p.m.

Elsewhere, 90-minute CW special “The iHeart Radio Jingle Ball” (#5: 0.8/ 1 from 8-9:30 p.m.) led into an encore telecast of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” at 9:30 p.m. (#5: 0.6/ 1). And Fox populated the evening with repeats of “Hell’s Kitchen” (#4: 1.5/ 3) and “Rosewood” (#4: 1.3/ 2). Effective on Jan. 6, “Rosewood” moves to Fridays at 8 p.m. into the new season of “Sleepy Hollow.”

What follows is the breakdown by half-hour for Thursday, Dec. 15:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Disney: Prep & Landing” (R): 2.4/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory” (fall finale): 10.1/17 (#1)
NBC – Football Night in Seattle: 4.4/ 8 (#2)
Fox – “Hell’s Kitchen” (R): 1.5/ 3 (#4)
CW – “The iHeart Radio Jingle Ball”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” (R): 2.0/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “The Great Indoors” (fall finale): 5.0/ 8 (#2)
NBC – Thursday Night Football (Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks): 2.0/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Hell’s Kitchen” (R): 1.5/ 2 (#4)
CW – “The iHeart Radio Jingle Ball”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Great American Baking Show”: 2.4/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Mom” (fall finale): 5.3/ 9 (#2)
NBC – Thursday Night Football (Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks): 8.4/14 (1)
Fox – “Rosewood” (R): 1.3/ 2 (#4)
CW – “The iHeart Radio Jingle Ball”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Great American Baking Show”: 2.5/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Life in Pieces” (fall finale): 4.4/ 7 (#2)
NBC – Thursday Night Football (Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks): 8.6/14 (1)
Fox – “Rosewood” (R): 1.3/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Whose Line is It Anyway” (R): 0.6/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Primetime: What Would You Do?”: 2.1/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Pure Genius”: 3.8/ 6 (#2)
NBC – Thursday Night Football (Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks): 7.5/12 (#1)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Primetime: What Would You Do?”: 2.1/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Pure Genius”: 3.6/ 7 (#2)
NBC – Thursday Night Football (Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks): 7.9/14 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research