On a Monday night of small declines almost across the board, "Two and a Half Men" eked out a ratings victory over "The Voice," while NBC took an overall ratings win for the night, according to preliminary numbers. Despite NBC's win in the key demographic, ABC won the night in total viewers.
CBS's Monday-night comedy block, anchored by "Men," dominated in the fall ratings. But "The Voice" has won almost every Monday for NBC since its second-season premiere in February. Monday's win was the first time "Men" has beaten "The Voice" in head-to-head competition.
NBC had an 3.1 rating/8 share in the advertiser-friendly 18-49 demographic and 8.6 million total viewers, making it the second-most-watched network overall. "The Voice" at 8 fell slightly from last week, but it still had the second-highest ratings for the night with a 3.7/10 in the demo, and 9.9 million total viewers. "Smash" at 10 also ticked down, hitting a ratings low with a 1.9/5 and 6 million total viewers.
CBS took second place in ratings and third in total viewers with an average 2.7/7 in the demo and 8 million. "How I Met Your Mother" at 8 was down 14 percent in the demo with a 3.0/9 and 7.3 million total viewers. "2 Broke Girls" at 8:30 took a slight dip in the demo for a series low of 3.3/9, with 8.4 million total viewers. "Two and a Half Men" at 9 was one of the few shows to improve Monday night, inching up from last week for a 3.8/9. It was the night's best-rated show, and had 11 million total viewers. "Mike & Molly" at 9:30 took a 3.1/8 with 9.5 million total viewers. A "Hawaii 5-0" repeat followed at 10.
ABC was third in the demo and first in total viewers with an average 2.6/7 and 14.7 million. The most-watched win was largely due to "Dancing With the Stars" at 8, which was the most-watched program of the night with 16.3 million total viewers. In the key demo, the show dropped slightly for a 2.8/7, tying its season low for performance shows. "Castle" at 10 was up slightly, taking a 2.2/5 in the demo with 11.5 million total viewers.
Fox took fourth place in ratings and total viewers with an average 2.0/5 and 6.3 million. "Bones" at 8 drew a 2.1/6 in the demo and 7 million total viewers, while "House" at 9 posted a 2.0/5 in the demo and 5.6 million total viewers.
