RATINGS RECAP: 2/7/11

ABC
8:00 The Bachelor
Viewers: 9.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.2
10:00 Castle
Viewers: 9.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5

CBS
8:00 How I Met Your Mother
Viewers: 10.0 million, 18-49 demo: 3.8
8:30 Rules of Engagement
Viewers: 9.4 million, 18-49 demo: 3.2
9:00 Two and a Half Men
Viewers: 15.2 million, 18-49 demo: 4.4
9:30 Mike & Molly
Viewers: 12.6 million, 18-49 demo: 3.5
10:00 Hawaii Five-0
Viewers: 11.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8

NBC
8:00 Chuck
Viewers: 5.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7
9:00 The Cape
Viewers: 4.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3
10:00 Harry's Law
Viewers: 9.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7

FOX
8:00 House
Viewers: 12.3 million, 18-49 demo: 4.3
9:00 The Chicago Code
Viewers: 9.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4

ABC had its usual Monday night lineup. The Bachelor was up a tenth in viewers and even in the demo despite increased competition from CBS and FOX. It should continue to rise as it gets closer to the finale. At 10pm, Castle was up two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo from its last original episode two weeks ago. It managed to snag second in viewers and the demo against successful rival dramas on NBC and CBS, which is solid news for this show even if its below the numbers it was getting in the fall airing out of Dancing with the Stars.

CBS also had its usual lineup. At 8pm, How I Met Your Mother was down half a million viewers and a tenth in the demo from its last airing three weeks ago. Remember when people thought it wouldn't be able to lead-off a night? It has become a reliable CBS hit. At 8:30pm, Rules of Engagement was also down half a million viewers and a tenth in the demo, posting the exact same retention. CBS ordered two more episodes of this show when the Charlie Sheen drama happened even though the show is moving to Thursdays later this month. Speaking of Sheen, his Two and a Half Men was down four tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo from three weeks ago but remained powerful even with the latest Sheen scandal. At 9:30pm, Mike & Molly was down two tenths in viewers and the demo, posting better viewer retention. Finally at 10pm, Hawaii Five-0 was up two tenths in viewers but down a tenth in the demo and it managed to win the hour in both categories which must be a relief to CBS.

NBC had a poor night, especially from 8-10pm. First off, Chuck was down two tenths in viewers and even in the demo with last week. The general hold against more competition is good but its still way too low for a veteran series. At 9pm, The Cape was down another seven tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo for more series lows. This show's fate is all but assured as it has not stopped dropping so the question now is, will NBC let it finish off its last three scheduled weeks? Maybe not if it keeps dropping. At 10pm, Harry's Law faced new dramas on both ABC and CBS for the first time and was down 1.8 million viewers and four tenths in the demo. After three steady weeks, this is by far the biggest drop but if it can level off here against first-run competition, NBC should be satisfied even with the old-skew. They should find a more compatible 9pm lead-in. 

FOX had an all-new night starting with House which was up a nice 1.8 million viewers and six tenths in the demo from its last new airing two weeks ago. Those are season highs in both categories and the show clearly got a bump from its Super Bowl promotions. Will that continue beyond this week? Either way, it was a strong performance for the veteran drama. That led into the series premiere of The Chicago Code which had solid sampling but skewed old and did not have good retention from FOX. Right now, it's well ahead of former timeslot occupants Lie to Me and Lone Star but an inevitable drop is coming, it's just a question of how much.