Ratings: Broadcast Finals for August 8, 2013

I don't usually reference the overnight numbers when publishing the final ratings, but the gap between the two for the Thursday night ratings was huge. The reason for the huge swing was the first week of NFL preseason games being carried by local affiliates.

A total of six NFL games were played on Thursday night, affecting twelve major markets, including Washington DC, St. Louis, Baltimore, San Diego, Denver and Cleveland.

The effect on the ratings were enormous. THE BIG BANG THEORY numbers dropped by nearly 2 million viewers and over a 1/2 a ratings point in Adults 18-49. The networks saw their nightly average drop from 700,000,  and up to 1.3 million viewers. NBC was the hardest hit, losing 1.3 million viewers and a 1/2 a point in the demo ratings. The CW was the least, if at all, affected.

Expect major changes to Friday's ratings as another eight games were played on the night, affecting the markets of NY, Boston, Chicago and Houston, just to name a few.

Tuesday Night Network Averages:

ABC - 4.0 million viewers, 0.8 rating in Adults 18-49

CBS - 5.6 million viewers, 1.6 rating in Adults 18-49

CW - 0.7 million viewers, 0.3 rating in Adults 18-49

FOX - 1.4 million viewers, 0.5 rating in Adults 18-49

NBC - 3.6 million viewers, 0.9 rating in Adults 18-49

Time	Net	Program	Viewers*	A18-49	+/-
8:00	ABC	Wipeout	3.50	0.9
9:00	ABC	Motive	3.95	0.7	13%
10:00	ABC	Rookie Blue	4.50	0.9	14%
8:00	CBS	The Big Bang Theory [R]	6.58	1.6
8:30	CBS	Two and a Half Men [R]	5.51	1.5	-16%
9:00	CBS	Big Brother	6.61	2.4	20%
10:00	CBS	Elementary [R]	4.06	0.7	-39%
8:00	CW	The Vampire Diaries [R]	0.65	0.2
9:00	CW	America's Next Top Model [R]	0.71	0.3
8:00	FOX	Glee [R]	1.50	0.5
9:00	FOX	New Girl [R]	1.23	0.5	-18%
9:30	FOX	The Mindy Project [R]	1.21	0.5	-2%
8:00	NBC	America's Got Talent [R]	3.40	0.8
9:00	NBC	The Winner Is…	3.83	0.9	13%
10:00	NBC	Hollywood Game Night	3.58	1.1	-7%

* - in millions