CBS Set to Win February Sweeps Ratings Period - East Idaho News
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CBS Set to Win February Sweeps Ratings Period

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GETTY E 061212 TVRemote?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1361961865808Hemera/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) — CBS will soon be able to claim not one, but two February sweeps victories.

Through Feb. 24, CBS has averaged the most primetime viewers of any major network, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  That’s not a surprise, since CBS typically wins the ratings race each week on the strength of scripted hits such as NCIS and The Big Bang Theory.

But more importantly, CBS is also poised to win the advertiser-friendly 18-to-49-year-old demographic for the first time in 15 years.  It helps that CBS aired two high-rated live events this month in the Super Bowl and the Grammy Awards.

Of note: NBC will finish last in the 18-49 demo to the other major networks, plus the Spanish-language channel Univision.

The February sweeps period ends Thursday.  The other three sweeps periods occur in May, July and November.

CBS did not win the ratings race for the week ending Sunday — that honor belongs to ABC, courtesy of its Oscars coverage.  The awards show was seen by 40.4 million people.

CBS finished second, followed by Fox, Univision, NBC, the CW, Telemundo and ION Television.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of Feb. 18-24, according to the Nielsen Company:

1. The Oscars, ABC, 40.38 million
2. Oscars Red Carpet Live (Sunday, 8 p.m.), ABC, 25.53 million
3. NCIS, CBS, 21.08 million
4. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 17.62 million
5. Oscars Red Carpet Live (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), ABC, 16.5 million
6. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 16.27 million
7. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 14.37 million
8. Person of Interest, CBS, 14.23 million
9. American Idol (Thursday), Fox, 13.66 million
10. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 13.41 million

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