'Big Brother,' 'Mentalist' put up solid numbers

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" got the biggest audience of its 10th anniversary run on Thursday, but that wasn't enough to move CBS off the top of the ratings mountain.

Thanks to consistent performances across the night, CBS led the Nielsens with 7.7 million viewers and a 5.1 rating/9 share in households. ABC finished second with 5.5 million viewers and a 3.6/6. FOX (4.5 million, 2.9/5) came in third. NBC (4 million, 2.6/5) took fourth, and The CW trailed with 1.8 million viewers and a 1.2/2.

In the adults 18-49 demographic, CBS' 2.0 rating led the way. There was a three-way tie for second -- ABC, FOX and NBC all averaged 1.4. The CW drew a 0.8.

The hour-by-hour results:

8 p.m.

ABC: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (8.4 million viewers, 5.4/10 households)
CBS: "Big Brother 11" (7.6 million, 4.8/9)
FOX: "Bones" rerun (4.7 million, 2.9/5)
NBC: "30 Rock" rerun (4 million, 2.6/5)/"Parks and Recreation" rerun (3.3 million, 2.2/4)
The CW: "Supernatural" rerun (2 million, 1.3/2)

18-49 leader: "Big Brother 11" (2.6)

9 p.m.

CBS: "CSI" rerun (7.3 million, 4.9/9)
ABC: "Grey's Anatomy" rerun (4.8 million, 3.2/6)
FOX: "House" rerun (4.3 million, 2.8/5)
NBC: "The Office" rerun (4.1 million, 2.6/5)/"30 Rock" rerun (3.9 million, 2.5/4)
The CW: "Supernatural" rerun (1.7 million, 1.1/2)

18-49 leader: "The Office"/"30 Rock" (each 1.6)

10 p.m.

CBS: "The Mentalist" rerun (8.2 million, 5.5/10)
NBC: "Law & Order" rerun (4.3 million, 2.9/5)
ABC: "Private Practice" rerun (3.3 million, 2.2/4)

18-49 leader: "The Mentalist" (1.9)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.