RATINGS RECAP: 1/16/12

ABC
8:00 The Bachelor
Viewers: 7.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4
10:00 Castle
Viewers: 9.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2

CBS
8:00 How I Met Your Mother
Viewers: 10.1 million, 18-49 demo: 4.4
8:30 2 Broke Girls
Viewers: 11.4 million, 18-49 demo: 4.6
9:00 Two and a Half Men
Viewers: 13.0 million, 18-49 demo: 4.6
9:30 Mike & Molly
Viewers: 11.1 million, 18-49 demo: 3.8
10:00 Hawaii Five-0
Viewers: 10.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8

NBC
8:00 Betty White's 90th Birthday Celebration
Viewers: 13.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7
9:30 Betty White's Off Their Rockers
Viewers: 12.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.6
10:00 Rock Center with Brian Williams
Viewers: 5.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3

FOX
8:00 Alcatraz
Viewers: 10.1 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3

Despite a strong debut for a new series on FOX and better than usual numbers for NBC, CBS still ruled the roost on Monday night. How I Met Your Mother was the biggest mover as it was even in viewers but up a big half a demo point. At 8:30pm, 2 Broke Girls was down seven tenths in viewers but up two tenths in the demo. It's odd with mixed directions like that but the big news is that it tied Two and a Half Men for best demo of the night. While Men is sliding a bit, Girls is just such a breakout hit. At 9pm, Men was down nine tenths in viewers for a series low but up a tenth in the demo. Mike & Molly was down eight tenths in viewers and even in the demo. The comedies all skewed younger this week. At 10pm, Hawaii Five-0 was down 1.2 million viewers and a tenth in the demo.

FOX aired the two hour premiere (two episodes) of Alcatraz which got off to a great start. It eclipsed the premiere of Terra Nova back in September and held up really well over the two hours. Critical reception has been strong for Alcatraz so FOX has to be hoping that this can be a hit considering there's a lot up in the air with their current slate of dramas. It will be interesting to see how it holds up next week in its regular timeslot - at 9pm following the relocated House.

NBC got great mileage from "Betty White Night" as her birthday celebration and a sneak preview of Off Their Rockers easily topped anything NBC has done on Mondays and this was against strong competition. It even helped Rock Center with Brian Williams which was up 2.6 million viewers and six tenths in the demo for a series high. NBC should find a spot for Off Their Rockers quickly as there is clearly viewer interest and Betty White is fresh on the mind of viewers. Over on ABC, The Bachelor was up a tenth in viewers and two tenths in the demo showing a little bit of growth, which is good after last week's series lows. At 10pm, Castle was down four tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo.