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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Feb. 12) -- ABC nearly sweeps while NBC weeps

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC added the last building block to its rebuilt Thursday night lineup with the premiere of The Slap.

It was slapped silly in the D-FW ratings before The Blacklist and NBC’s second episode of Allegiance likewise met with viewer resistance.

ABC’s Shonda Rhimes-produced trio of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder were the prime beneficiaries, although Fox’s American Idol also made some noise at 7 p.m.

Idol won prime-time’s opening hour with 299,882 viewers, besting CBS’ competing comedy combo of a Big Bang Theory rerun (265,012 viewers) and a new episode of Mom (also 265,012 viewers). Grey’s Anatomy ran close behind with 244,090 viewers while The Slap placed fifth with 76,714 viewers. The CW’s Vampire Diaries took the No. 4 spot with 83,688 viewers.

At 8 p.m., Scandal edged The Blacklist in total viewers by a score of 230,142 to 223,168. How to Get Away with Murder then comfortably won the 9 p.m. hour with 237,116 viewers, besting Fox4’s runner-up local newscast (174,350).

ABC won across the board among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, with Grey’s Anatomy making the night’s biggest haul (119,844). The Slap likewise finished fifth in this key demographic, virtually dooming it from the start. It wasn’t much better for the Peacock’s Allegiance, which ran fourth in total viewers at 9 p.m. and moved up to third among 18-to-49-year-olds ahead of CBS’ Elementary.

Fox’s new Backstrom likewise had a tough night in the 8 p.m. hour, placing fourth in total viewers and beating only a second repeat of Big Bang among 18-to-49-year-olds. Still, it slightly increased its audience in both measurements compared to last week’s episode.

Even with all these would-be heavy hitters in prime-time, Thursday’s most watched TV attraction was CBS11’s 6:30 p.m. edition of Wheel of Fortune with 320,804 total viewers. That equalled the total audience for competing rag mags Access Hollywood, Extra and Entertainment Tonight.

In the dinner hour network newscast ratings, NBC’s Nightly News without Brian Williams and with Lester Holt won in both total viewers and among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Here are the local news derby results for the 11th weekday of the February “sweeps.”

Gannett8 scored big at 10 p.m. with wins in both the total viewers and 25-to-54-year-old measurements.

Fox4 had twin wins at 6 a.m. with Gannett8 continuing to make a strong push for second place in total viewers while still striving to hold off CBS11 to finish third with 25-to-54-year-olds.

For whatever reason, Gannett8’s 25-to-54 ratings continue to take a big hit. The X-factor in all of this is Karen Borta’s presence on CBS11’s waker-upper after nearly two decades as a P.M. anchor. Could she be making that big a difference in her station’s historically pitiful 25-to-54 performance in the early morns?

On Thursday, Gannett8 bludgeoned CBS11 at 6 a.m. in the total viewers measurement -- 97,636 to 45,331. But among 25-to-54-year-olds, Gannett8 inched by with 24,003 to CBS11’s 21,929. The two stations continue to run neck-and-neck in the 25-to-54 demographic after CBS11 won three of the previous five face-offs.

The early evening newscast ratings were dominated by two stations. NBC5 ran the table at 5 p.m. and Gannett8 swept the 6 p.m. competitions.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net