RATINGS RECAP: 1/6/11

ABC
8:00 Wipeout
Viewers: 11.7 million, 18-49 demo: 3.8
9:00 Grey's Anatomy
Viewers: 11.6 million, 18-49 demo: 4.2
10:00 Private Practice
Viewers: 7.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7

CBS
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
Viewers: 14.0 million, 18-49 demo: 4.4
8:30 $#*! My Dad Says
Viewers: 10.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.9
9:00 CSI
Viewers: 14.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3
10:00 The Mentalist
Viewers: 14.9 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1

NBC
8:00 Community (Repeat)
Viewers: 3.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0
8:30 30 Rock (Repeat)
Viewers: 3.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2
9:00 The Office (Repeat)
Viewers: 4.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7
9:30 Outsourced (Repeat)
Viewers: 3.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2
10:00 The Office (Repeat)
Viewers: 2.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0
10:30 The Office (Repeat)
Viewers: 2.3 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2

FOX
8:00 Million Dollar Money Drop
Viewers: 4.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4
9:00 Bones (Repeat)
Viewers: 3.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0

ABC had a solid Thursday night thanks in large part to a strong season premiere from Wipeout. Usually a successful summer series, a winter edition was added to the show's third season and it has given ABC its best numbers in this timeslot in quite awhile as recent dramas FlashForward, The Deep End, and My Generation have flopped here. This is a cheap way to get very solid ratings. Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice were new for the first time since December 2. Grey's was up six tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo while Practice was down two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo. The Private Practice numbers are a bit troubling as it went down when its lead-in went up.

CBS also had a strong night. The Big Bang Theory was up eight tenths in viewers and half a demo point from its last original airing despite stronger than usual competition on ABC. The viewership ties a season high as this is a powerful Thursday anchor. $#*! My Dad Says did not fare as well. It was up half a million viewers but even in the demo. This show will be airing new episodes after Big Bang repeats in coming weeks to finish off its season in February and that will probably be the end of this show, especially if Rules of Engagement outperforms it later on in the season. CSI was up a million viewers and three tenths in the demo which is good while The Mentalist was up a strong 1.5 million viewers and seven tenths in the demo. The viewership totals are the best since mid-October. NBC aired repeats of their comedies which were low as usual. New episodes premiere on January 20. FOX aired a new episode of Million Dollar Money Drop which was up a bit from Tuesday's episode but still very low. It will be a fill-in at best. A repeat of Bones in its new timeslot followed.