The season finales for NBC's "30 Rock" and CBS' "Rules of Engagement" took ratings hits Thursday night, while Fox took an overall win in the key demo with "American Idol," according to preliminary numbers.
Fox came in first in the advertiser-friendly 18-49 demographic with an average 3.0 rating/9 share and took a close second in total viewers with an average 11 million. "American Idol" at 8 saw a small increase in the demo from last week, taking a 4.2/14 -- the night's best performance in the demo. It had 15.8 million total viewers, the highest viewership of the night. "Touch" the following hour was down slightly in the demo for a 1.8/5 and took 6.3 million total viewers.
ABC was second in the demo with an average 2.5/7 and third in total viewers with an average 8.4 million. Its season finales got a boost, starting with "Missing" at 8, which climbed 18 percent for a 1.3/4. It had 6.5 million total viewers. "Grey's Anatomy" the following hour jumped 11 percent to a 3.9/11 and attracted 11.2 million total viewers, while "Scandal" at 10 leaped 26 percent for a 2.4/7 and grabbed 7.5 million total viewers.
CBS took third place in ratings with an average 2.4/7 and first in total viewers with an average 11.4 million. Following a "Big Bang Theory" repeat, the season finale of "Rules of Engagement" at 8:30 dropped 22 percent to a three-year low of 2.1/7. It drew 7.3 million total viewers. The "Person of Interest" finale at 9 was on a par with last week for a 2.5/7 and 13.3 million total viewers, while "The Mentalist" the following hour was also essentially even with last week with a 2.5/7 and 13 million total viewers.
Univision came in fourth in ratings and total viewers with an average 1.5/4 in the demo and 3.7 million total viewers. "Una Familia Con Suerte" at 8 received a 1.4/5 in the demo and 3.4 million total viewers, while "Abismo de Pasion" the following hour took a 1.5/4 and 3.6 million total viewers. "La Que no Podia Amar" at 10 posted a 1.7/5 in the demo and 4.1 million total viewers.
NBC drew fifth in ratings and total viewers with an average 1.1/3 and 2.5 million. The three-part "Community" season finale at 8, 9 and 9:30 essentially tied in the ratings with a 1.3/5, 1.3/4 and 1.3/4, respectively, and took 3 million, 2.9 million and 2.5 million total viewers. Sandwiched between "Community" episodes at 8:30, the "30 Rock" season premiere was down 13 percent from last week with a 1.3/4 and drew 2.9 million total viewers. The cancelled "Awake" at 10 dropped 22 percent to match its season low of 0.7/2 and drew 2.1 million total viewers.
