RATINGS RECAP: 1/17/11

ABC
8:00 The Bachelor
Viewers: 8.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7
10:00 Castle (Repeat)
Viewers: 5.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4

CBS
8:00 How I Met Your Mother
Viewers: 10.5 million, 18-49 demo: 3.9
8:30 Rules of Engagement
Viewers: 9.9 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3
9:00 Two and a Half Men
Viewers: 15.6 million, 18-49 demo: 4.6
9:30 Mike & Molly
Viewers: 12.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.7
10:00 Hawaii Five-0
Viewers: 10.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.9

NBC
8:00 Chuck
Viewers: 6.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
9:00 The Cape
Viewers: 6.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
10:00 Harry's Law
Viewers: 11.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2

FOX
8:00 House
Viewers: 10.5 million, 18-49 demo: 3.5
9:00 Lie to Me
Viewers: 5.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8

ABC aired a new episode of The Bachelor on Monday night which was up three tenths in viewers but down a tenth in the demo from last week. So far, this isn't nearly as strong as it was last year. It seems to be like the spring version of last fall's The Biggest Loser - an edition of a longtime reality favorite that just isn't capturing viewers the way it usually does. It was followed by a Castle repeat which was adequate enough for a repeat.

CBS was all-new with its combo of sitcoms and Hawaii Five-0. At 8pm, How I Met Your Mother was up three tenths in viewers and even in the demo from its last new episode two weeks ago. The viewer total is another season high for this show which has been gaining strength as the season has gone on. At 8:30pm, Rules of Engagement was up a tenth in viewers but down a tenth in the demo. The positive news is that the viewer total was a season high for this show which will move to Thursdays later this season. At 9pm, Two and a Half Men was up two tenths in viewers but also down a tenth in the demo hitting, yes, a season high in total viewers. Mike & Molly followed and was up four tenths in viewers and even in the demo. Is this a success because of its timeslot or because its found its own audience? Finally at 10pm, Hawaii Five-0 was down two tenths in viewers and even in the demo. There was new competition on NBC but Castle was a repeat on ABC so it shouldn't have gone down when the rest of the lineup went up. It will get a much needed boost by airing after the AFC Championship Game for a special episode this weekend.

NBC had mixed results on Monday night. At 8pm, Chuck returned and was down two tenths in viewers but up a tenth in the demo from its last original episode which aired way back in November. At 9pm, the second week of The Cape lost a lot of its audience from its Sunday premiere. It seems to be deprecating faster than The Event which doesn't bode well for the superhero series as it was already down to a 1.8 demo. But the news was much better at 10pm where Harry's Law got a great sampling. Though it was very old-skewing, it easily delivered the best numbers NBC has had in this time period in awhile. As a result of this strong showing, NBC put more faith behind the show and will now air all 13 episodes instead of the planned 6. It will be interesting to see how this show fares next week.

FOX aired a new House for the first time since November and it was up a nice 1.3 million viewers and a tenth in the demo from its last original airing. Its not the powerhouse it once was but still a Monday night force. At 9pm, Lie to Me was new and up half a million viewers and three tenths in the demo from last week's 9pm episode. The viewer total ties a season high but it still needs some help to garner an unlikely renewal.