RATINGS RECAP: 2/20/12

ABC
8:00 The Bachelor
Viewers: 8.2 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5
10:00 Castle
Viewers: 9.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1

CBS
8:00 How I Met Your Mother
Viewers: 9.7 million, 18-49 demo: 3.8
8:30 2 Broke Girls
Viewers: 11.4 million, 18-49 demo: 4.0
9:00 Two and a Half Men
Viewers: 13.3 million, 18-49 demo: 4.2
9:30 Mike & Molly
Viewers: 11.3 million, 18-49 demo: 3.4
10:00 Hawaii Five-0
Viewers: 10.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.9

NBC
8:00 The Voice
Viewers: 16.0 million, 18-49 demo: 6.0
10:00 Smash
Viewers: 6.5 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3

FOX
8:00 House
Viewers: 7.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4
9:00 Alcatraz
Viewers: 6.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8

On Monday night, the news was mixed for NBC. The great news is that it looks like The Voice is for real as it slid just three tenths in viewers and was even in the demo from last week. If this is where its leveling off, that is incredible news for NBC. At 10pm, though, the news was not nearly as good for Smash which was down another 1.6 million viewers and half a demo point. It has dropped a stunning 4.9 million viewers and 1.5 demo points in just three episodes. If it stopped here, that would be acceptable to NBC but there's no indication that it's done dropping yet. This is looking more and more like a big budget flop for NBC. 

CBS's lineup mostly rebounded from last week's down week but it's not as strong as it was in the fall, perhaps due to The Voice. At 8pm, How I Met Your Mother was up seven tenths in viewers and four tenths in the demo. 2 Broke Girls was up nine tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo. At 9pm, Two and a Half Men was up eight tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo. Mike & Molly was up four tenths in viewers and even in the demo. Mike & Molly seems to stay steady in the demo when the others fluctuate indicating it may have a different audience. At 10pm, Hawaii Five-0 was up seven tenths in viewers and two tenths in the demo. It didn't take long for Hawaii to re-assert its time period dominance. 

Over on ABC, The Bachelor started off the night up a tenth in viewers and even in the demo while Castle was up eight tenths in viewers and a tenth of the demo. Will next week be the week it overtakes Smash for second in the demo? Over on FOX, House was down a tenth in viewers but even in the demo. It has been right around these levels for several weeks. At 9pm, Alcatraz was down two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo for more series lows. This once promising drama continues to wilt against the competition.