[ UPDATE: Fox reached out to us and provided updated Nielsen ratings where it shows that NCIS & Glee actually tied each other in the 18-49 demo.]
CBS won Tuesday night’s ratings race as usual, but the long-running NCIS beat tied Glee in the all-important 18-49 demographic – something that hasn’t happened in quite some time. Additionally, science fiction shows No Ordinary Family and V are floundering on ABC.
The NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service and NCIS: Los Angeles lineup is a hard one to beat in overall numbers. The original show has averaged 20 million viewers a week for its eighth season, while its western cousin has averaged 16.5 in its second.
But the most impressive number from Tuesday isn’t the totals, it’s the 18-49 demographic. The Navy-themed cop show and Fox’s Glee pulled in 4.4 million viewers in the target market. Glee received 10.5 million views overall, but considering that the show has been garnering a higher ad-rate than NCIS (almost twice as much per 30 second post) because of their dedicated adolescent following , the executives at CBS will most certainly be happy to see these new numbers.
Fans of ABC’s science fiction block have reason to worry: No Ordinary Family and V showed depressing viewership for their latest episodes. No Ordinary Family scored 4.7 million overall viewers with just 1.4 in the key demo, its lowest-rated episode yet. The reboot of V, now in its second season, was flat at 5.1 million and 1.9 million viewers respectively. ABC finished in fifth place for the night, behind CBS, Fox, NBC… and the Spanish-language channel Univision.
Fox’s comedies showed solid gains. Raising Hope, recently renewed for a second season, gained 14% for a total viewership of 6.2 million. Newcomer Traffic Light (Fox’s midseason replacement for Running Wilde) showed a 20% increase to an even four million. The sitcoms scored 2.7 and 2.1 in the key demographic.
NBC finished in the money with a reality-focused lineup. A plus-sized two-hour episode of The Biggest Loser: Couples scored 7.5 million viewers while the 1-hour drama Parenthood gained 11% for 5.4 million.
![TV Ratings: ‘NCIS’ Ties ‘Glee’; ‘No Ordinary Family’ & ‘V’ In Trouble [Updated]](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/no-ordinary-family-series-premiere.jpg)
The news of No Ordinary Family and V‘s uninspiring viewership won’t sit well with sci-fi fans – though airing the series opposite the blockbuster NCIS franchise and periodic American Idol episodes was bound to result in this outcome eventually.
No Ordinary Family is in particular trouble, since it’s now drawing less than half the viewers it had for its pilot episode in September. V is holding steady, but a boost in its final episodes couldn’t hurt its chances for renewal. The season finale for No Ordinary Family should air on March 8th (though the schedule is not set), with V‘s finale following a week later on the 15th.
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NCIS airs Tuesday nights at 8 PM on CBS.
Glee airs at 8 PM on Fox, and will return Tuesday, March 8th.
ABC’s Tuesday lineup stars with No Ordinary Family at 8 PM, followed by V at 9.