RATINGS RECAP: 12/2/10

ABC
8:00 Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
Viewers: 7.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
9:00 Grey's Anatomy
Viewers: 11.0 million, 18-49 demo: 4.0
10:00 Private Practice
Viewers: 7.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8

CBS
8:00 The Big Bang Theory (Repeat)
Viewers: 8.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4
8:30 $#*! My Dad Says (Repeat)
Viewers: 7.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9
9:00 CSI (Repeat)
Viewers: 9.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
10:00 The Mentalist (Repeat)
Viewers: 9.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7

NBC
8:00 Community
Viewers: 4.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9
8:30 30 Rock
Viewers: 5.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
9:00 The Office
Viewers: 7.3 million, 18-49 demo: 3.7
9:30 Outsourced
Viewers: 5.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5
10:00 The Apprentice
Viewers: 4.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4

FOX
8:00 Bones 
Viewers: 8.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
9:00 Fringe
Viewers: 5.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8

ABC kicked things off with the classic special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town which was down just slightly from last year's numbers and it delivered the best demo number of the year in this timeslot for ABC, which is good news. A new Grey's Anatomy followed and was down half a million viewers and three tenths in the demo from the last episode two weeks ago. That is somewhat disappointing as CBS was in repeats. Maybe the Lebron James vs. Cleveland game took viewers away? It doesn't seem like the same type of viewer. A new Private Practice followed and was down a tenth in viewers and the demo. CBS was in repeats but had solid numbers all night particularly in total viewers and The Big Bang Theory had an impressive 2.4 demo for a repeat.

NBC's lineup was all-new last night and fairly steady compared with two weeks ago. Community was up a tenth in the demo and even in viewers from the last new episode while 30 Rock was down a tenth in viewers but also up a tenth in the demo. How will this show perform at 10pm? The Office remained the standout and was even in viewers and down a tenth in demo from two weeks ago while Outsourced was down a tenth in viewers and the demo. While steady is good, these shows should have maybe gone up a bit with less competition on CBS. Finally, The Apprentice was up seven tenths in viewers and half a demo point from last week's low-rated Thanksgiving edition.

FOX did not have great news and was perhaps impacted the most by the LeBron game. Bones was down six tenths in viewers and four tenths in the demo from their last original episode, hitting season lows in both categories. It will be interesting to see how it fares at 9pm against powerful shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC but with an American Idol lead-in come January. Cult favorite Fringe was up two tenths in viewers but down a tenth in the demo and it will soon be heading to Fridays. If it can get anywhere close to these numbers on a low-rated night, it may survive.