TV Blog

More than 39 million people watched the Oscars Sunday night on ABC, an increase of 1.4 million over the Oscar numbers a year earlier.

“A Gifted Man” moved into the 9 p.m. Friday slot (8c) and gained about 800,000 viewers, according to Nielsen overnights.

On a Valentine’s Day Tuesday that saw overall viewership down across the board, the season premiere of ABC’s “Cougar Town” took a particularly hard hit, dropping 47 percent versus its last season premiere.

NBC’s “The Voice” powered the network to a Monday night win for the second straight week over a slate of CBS sitcoms that routinely dominated the night in the fall, according to preliminary numbers.

“American Idol,” which stabilized last week after a period of declining ratings, stayed on an even keel Wednesday night and pushed Fox to an overall win for the night, according to preliminary numbers.

ABC’s new thriller “The River” got off to a so-so start with its series premiere Tuesday, while CBS took the night with the 200th episode of “NCIS,” which drew top numbers both in ratings and viewership, according to preliminary numbers.

NBC smashed its way to victory in the ratings Monday night — a huge turnaround for the network on a night where it suffered mightily all season.

The overnight rating for the New York Giants’ Super Bowl win over New England was less than 1 percent shy of the record tied last year.

“Big Bang Theory” and “American Idol” were essentially tied in the ratings on Thursday night.

A repeat of CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” drew the night’s top ratings Monday, but Fox took an overall win with the combination of “House” and the new J.J. Abrams drama “Alcatraz.”