Preliminary Ratings: Thursday 07/24/14

It was the season finale of HELL'S KITCHEN and the conclusion of the competition went out with a bit of a whimper, and not a bang. Compared to last week's numbers viewership only rose slightly and the A18-49 ratings were completely flat. Not the usual rise in the numbers you would expect for the crowning of a new champion of the cooking competition. It may have kept FOX in the #2 spot, in the A18-49 ratings, instead of topping CBS.

Speaking of CBS, it not only swept the night, but it had both the most watched program of the night (THE BIG BANG THEORY) and the #1 show in the A18-49 demographic, BIG BROTHER. The reality series collected a 2.1 rating in the demo, topping both BIG BANG and the finale of HELL'S KITCHEN. BB16 has been on a role, drawing a 2.0, or better, in the demo ratings, for the last couple of weeks.

NBC's all original night didn't do much in the ratings. HOLLYWOOD GAME NIGHT and LAST COMIC STANDING both drew 1.1's in the demo ratings, but the sitcoms were well below that.

ABC, fourth on the night, failed to do much of anything, despite three full hours of originals. The good news is that BLACK BOX is done, with the two hour burn-off of the last two episodes.

Preliminary Network Averages:

ABC - 4.2 million viewers, 0.8 rating in A18-49

CBS - 5.4 million viewers, 1.4 rating in A18-49

CW - 0.5 million viewers, 0.1 rating in A18-49

FOX - 3.8 million viewers, 1.2 rating in A18-49

NBC - 3.3 million viewers, 1.0 rating in A18-49

Time	Net	Program	Viewers*	A18-49	+/-
8:00	ABC	Black Box	3.80	0.7
10:00	ABC	NY Med	4.90	0.9	29%
8:00	CBS	The Big Bang Theory [R]	7.10	1.8
8:30	CBS	The Millers [R]	5.40	1.3	-24%
9:00	CBS	Big Brother	6.40	2.1	19%
10:00	CBS	Elementary [R]	3.70	0.7	-42%
8:00	CW	The Vampire Diaries [R]	0.50	0.1
9:00	CW	The Originals [R]	0.50	0.1	0%
8:00	FOX	Hell's Kitchen	5.00	1.7
9:00	FOX	Gang Related	2.60	0.8	-48%
8:00	NBC	Hollywood Game night	4.00	1.1
9:00	NBC	Welcome to Sweden	2.90	0.8	-28%
9:30	NBC	Working the Engels	2.20	0.6	-24%
10:00	NBC	Last Comic Standing	3.40	1.1	55%

* - in millions