BIG BANG THEORY REMAINS NO. 1

CBS’s The Big Bang Theory held on to the No. 1 spot in the Nielsen ratings last week as some 15.90 million viewers tuned in.Person of Interest, which also airs on CBS on Thursdays, finished second with 14 .3 million. A repeat of CBS’s omnipotent NCIS captured third place with 13.2 million. As is typical for the first week of Daylight Saving Time, ratings for most shows were down a small percentage from the previous week. The time change appeared to affect the evening newscasts more severely than the primetime lineups. Despite the networks’ massive coverage of Vatican City as the Roman Catholic Church selected a new pope, NBC Nightly News, which usually draws nearly 10 million viewers, fell to 8.1 million. ABC World News with Diane Sawyer was down to 7.2 million, and the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley landed 6.4 million.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 9.8/17; 2. Person of Interest, CBS, 8.9/14; 3. NCIS, CBS, 8.3/14; 4. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 8.2/13; 5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 7.7/12; 6. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 7.5/12; 7. American Idol (Thursday), Fox, 7.2/12 ; 8. Elementary, CBS, 7.1/12; 9. Bachelor:After Final Rose(S), ABC, 7.0/11; 10. The Bachelor, ABC, 6.7/10 ; 10. Blue Bloods, CBS, 6.7/12.