FOX's "New Girl" suffered a good-sized ratings decline when it returned from a baseball-induced hiatus on Nov. 1.
Nielsen's Live +7 ratings for that episode didn't bring the show all the way back to its pre-hiatus levels -- but its numbers are still pretty positive.
The Nov. 1 episode grew by 2.8 million viewers thanks to delayed viewing, climbing from 7.42 million to 10.22 million. Among adults 18-49, it improved from a 3.5 rating to a 5.1. By comparison, its first three episodes averaged 12.2 million viewers and a 6.0 demo rating (including DVR use).
"New Girl" was hardly in a danger zone even with the post-baseball ratings slide -- it's been the No. 2 show on Tuesday nights in adults 18-49 (behind "NCIS") each of the past three weeks, and it's among FOX's better performers so far this season. (And on the flip side, Live +7 performance isn't necessarily a huge help for a show's renewal chances. It doesn't hurt, but a show's overnight ratings tend to track better with Nielsen's "C+3" commercial ratings, which are a big part of setting ad rates.)
Among other notables in the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6, the season premiere of "Bones" got a good boost, adding a 2.94 million viewers and 1.1 points in the demo to finish with 12.94 million viewers and a 4.4. "Modern Family's" Nov. 2 episode set a new record for delayed viewing, adding close to 5 million viewers and 2.6 points in the 18-49 demographic.
Also, "Terra Nova" and "House" made up for below-average overnight ratings on Halloween by posting better-than-usual gains in the Live +7 numbers. "Terra Nova" ended up with 9.5 million viewers (for the season it's averaging just over 10 million) and "House" with 10 million (vs. 9.3 million for the season so far).
The most DVR'd shows for Oct. 31-Nov. 6:
Total Viewers
01. "Modern Family," +4,923,000 (13,371,000 to 18,294,000)
02. "Hawaii Five-0," +3,503,000 (10,598,000 to 14,101,000)
03. "House," +3,331,000 (6,648,000 to 9,979,000)
04. "Grey's Anatomy," +3,218,000 (9,523,000 to 12,741,000)
05. "The Mentalist," +3,212,000 (13,660,000 to 16,872,000)
06. "Two and a Half Men," +3,199,000 (13,903,000 to 17,102,000)
07. "NCIS," +2,970,000 (19,712,000 to 22,682,000)
08. "Bones," +2,939,000 (10,002,000 to 12,941,000)
09. "The Big Bang Theory," +2,927,000 (15,979,000 to 18,906,000)
10. "Criminal Minds," +2,906,000 (12,937,000 to 15,843,000)
