NBC Ratings for Sunday, February 26, 2012

Though last night’s Celebrity Apprentice hit a series low in the ratings and dropped more than 30% in week two, the peacock network has still found a reason to crow about the reality show’s numbers. NBC also aired a repeat of Dateline and a recap of last week’s Celebrity Apprentice premiere.

You can check out our ratings pages for Dateline and Celebrity Apprentice to see the week-to-week ratings trends, averages, rankings, and more.

Here’s a press release from NBC with their spin on last night’s numbers:

‘The Celebrity Apprentice’ Comes in Second to ABC’s Oscar Coverage

From 9-11:08 p.m. ET, “The Celebrity Apprentice” (apprx. 1.8/4 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall) currently ranks #2 in the time period among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and other key demos, behind ABC’s coverage of the Academy Awards. From its first half-hour to its fourth, “Celebrity Apprentice” grew by 27 percent in 18-49 rating from its first half-hour to its fourth (to a 1.9 from a 1.5) and by 15 percent in total viewers (5.2 million vs. 4.5 million). “Celebrity Apprentice” built on NBC’s results in the prior hour from 8-9 p.m. ET by 125 percent in 18-49 rating (1.8 vs. 0.8) and 96 percent in total viewers (5.0 million vs. 2.5 million).

For its second hour from 10-11 p.m. ET, “The Celebrity Apprentice” ranked #2 among ABC, CBS and NBC in every key ratings category — adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers — behind ABC’s coverage of the Academy Awards.

From 8-9 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast “The Celebrity Apprentice” averaged a 0.8/2 in 18-49 and 2.5 million viewers overall.

From 7-8 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of “Dateline Classic” delivered a 1.1/3 in 18-49 and 5.0 million viewers overall.

What do you think?