Nielsen Ratings for the Week of September 23, 2013: "The Big Bang Theory" Returns Strong

CBS won the first week of the new television season in total viewers, but NBC is (surprisingly) close behind, thanks to football, The Voice and new entry The Blacklist, starring James Spader. NBC also received a boost from the aging Law and Order: SVU, which attracted more than nine million viewers and landed in the top thirty in a highly competitive week. The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles and new entry The Crazy Ones (pictured above) captured five of the top ten spots. The Eye network is still going strong, but Monday night is not what it used to be and new series Hostages landed in third place in its 10:00 pm time slot, after the aforementioned The Blacklist and ABC's Castle.

Speaking of ABC, Dancing with the Stars was its sole entry in the top ten, but Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D pulled in over twelve million viewers in its debut and looks like a solid anchor for Tuesday night. The return of Modern Family and Grey's Anatomy also helped ABC to land in third place for the week and ahead of fourth place FOX by nearly two million viewers. FOX had little to smile about with only one program (The OT) in the top thirty. However, new series Sleepy Hollow continues to do well in the highly competitive 9:00 pm Monday night time slot. In its second outing, the series attracted over eight million viewers and was FOX's second highest rated program of the week. Finally, The CW was in repeats and came in last, as usual.


Ratings for the week of September 23, 2013 (courtesy of Nielsen Media Research)

Total Average Viewers (in millions) by Network:
CBS - 10.38
NBC - 9.71
ABC - 7.99
FOX - 6.01
The CW - .78

Top 30 Shows (viewers in millions):

1. NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC) - 20.49
2. The Big Bang Theory (CBS) (s) - 20.44
3. NCIS (CBS) (p) - 20.02
4. The Big Bang Theory (CBS) (p) - 18.99
5. NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) (p) - 16.35
6. The Crazy Ones (CBS) (p) - 15.52
7. Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick (NBC) - 15.26
8. The Voice (NBC-Monday) (p) - 14.98
9. The Voice (NBC-Tuesday) (p) - 14.35
10. Dancing with the Stars (ABC) - 13.57
11. The OT (FOX) - 12.89
12. The Blacklist (NBC) (p) - 12.58
13. Person of Interest (CBS) (p) - 12.44
14. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (ABC) (p) - 12.12
15. Modern Family (ABC) (s) - 11.71
16. Blue Bloods (CBS) (p) - 11.70
17. Modern Family (ABC) (p) - 11.66
18. Two and a Half Men (CBS) (p) - 11.59
19. Castle (ABC) (p) - 11.46
20. Football Night in America Part 3 (NBC) - 11.36
21. Criminal Minds (CBS) (p) - 11.27
22. 60 Minutes (CBS) (p) - 10.67
23. Elementary (CBS) (p) - 10.18
24. The Mentalist (CBS) (p) - 9.70
25. Law and Order: SVU (NBC) (p) - 9.58
26. Survivor (CBS) (p) - 9.54
27. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) (p) - 9.46
28. How I Met Your Mother (CBS) (p) - 9.40
29. Grey's Anatomy (ABC) (p) - 9.28
30. The Good Wife (CBS) (p) - 9.15


(r) = Repeat
(s) = Special
(p) = Premiere