Two and a Half Men: Ashton Kutcher Brings Series High Ratings

There’s no doubt a lot of happy campers over at the CBS network today. Not only did the ninth season premiere of Two and a Half Men bring record numbers for the sitcom but it also helped give a huge launch to 2 Broke Girls (best since 2001), a big season premiere for How I Met Your Mother (best in the show’s history), and a very healthy return for Hawaii Five-0.

Here’s the press release from CBS:

MEN DELIVERS 28 MIL VIEWERS, ALL TIME SERIES HIGH; 2 BROKE GIRLS BEST FALL COMEDY PREMIERE SINCE 2001; HIMYM SCORES BEST EVER PREMIERE
The Season Premiere of “Two and a Half Men” Scores the Largest Audience and Highest Adult 18-49 Rating in Series History

“Two and a Half Men” Posts TV’s Best Scripted Series Season Premiere Since 2005

“How I Met Your Mother” Posts Biggest Premiere in Series History in Viewers and Demos

The Series Premiere of “2 Broke Girls” is the Biggest Fall Comedy Premiere Since 2001

“Hawaii Five-0” Wins its Time Period in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54

CBS Wins Premiere Monday in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54

The highly-anticipated season premiere of TWO AND A HALF MEN, featuring the first episode with Ashton Kutcher, delivered the series’ largest audience and best adult 18-49 rating ever, leading CBS to a Monday win in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, according to Nielsen preliminary live plus same day ratings for Sept. 19.

Leading off the night, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (P) was first in adults 25-54 (5.3/13), adults 18-49 (4.7/13), adults 18-34 (4.3/13), second in households (6.9/11) and viewers (11.26m). HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER posted its best delivery ever with a season premiere in viewers, adults 25-54, adults 18-49 and adults 18-34.

At 8:30 PM, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER SPECIAL (S) was first in adults 25-54 (5.7/13), adults 18-49 (5.1/13), adults 18-34 (4.6/13) and second in both households (7.3/11) and viewers (12.24m).

At 9 PM, TWO AND A HALF MEN (P) was first in households (16.2/23), viewers (27.76m), adults 25-54 (12.2/26) and adults 18-49 (10.3/24) – all series highs. TWO AND A HALF MEN posted the best season premiere for a scripted program in viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 since “Desperate Housewives” in September 2005.

Following TWO AND A HALF MEN, the series premiere of 2 BROKE GIRLS (P) was first in households (11.4/16), viewers (19.15m), adults 25-54 (8.6/16) and adults 18-49 (7.0/16). The freshman comedy posted CBS’s best delivery in this time period with entertainment programming since May 16, 2005 in these measures. 2 BROKE GIRLS posted the largest audience for a fall comedy premiere since in September 2001 (“Inside Schwartz”).

At 10 PM, HAWAII FIVE-0 (P) won its time slot in adults 25-54 (4.5/10), adults 18-49 (3.4/08), second in both households (7.6/12) and viewers (12.00m).

For the night, CBS was first in adults 25-54 (6.8/15), adults 18-49 (5.7/14), adults 18-34 (4.3/12), second in both households (9.5/14) and viewers (15.73m).

Updated Monday ratings will be available this afternoon.

Note: DVR penetration is at 42%, up from 38% last year. Last Fall, Live+7 audiences for original entertainment series on CBS gained over 1.8 million viewers, on average, over Live+ Same Day ratings, more than any other network. This season, we expect DVR penetration to continue to increase and, as a result, we expect DVR playback audiences to grow to as well.

What do you think? Did you tune in to CBS last night? Will you be back next week?