Nellie Andreeva

Betty White’s Off Their Walkers had its official premiere on NBC last night, drawing 7.2 million viewers and a 1.8/6 in adults 18-49. That was down 31% in the demo from the hidden-camera series’ preview in January when it followed NBC’s Betty White birthday celebration special, but posted the network’s best 18-49 number in the Wednesday 8 PM half-hour since Jan. 11, the time-slot premiere of Whitney (2.1/5), and the largest audience in four months. Off Their Rockers also was the highest-rated and most-watched program on NBC last night by a mile, a remarkable feat in 18-49 for the 90-year-old White. It led into the series premiere of NBC’s new comedy Best Friends Forever, which dropped to a 1.2/3 and 3.6 million viewers, about half of what the slot’s previous occupant, Are You There, Chelsea? delivered in its debut (2.3/6) and even with Chelsea‘s season finale last week. At 9 PM, Bent (0.9/2, 2.4 million) was flat with last week’s episode. The romantic comedy ended its run on a low note, with the season finale at 9:30 PM dropping a tenth from last week’s episode to a series-low 0.7/2 in 18-49 and 2 million viewers. At 10 PM, Rock Center With Brian Williams (0.8/2,3 million) was flat with last week. The low-rated newzmagazine is on the move again, shifting to 9 PM next week for its fourth time-slot change.

Fox’s American Idol (4.7/13, 16.7 million) was down 6% in the demo from last week. It still won the night for Fox among 18-49 and total viewers. CBS’ Survivor (2.7/8) was down 7% from last week for a series low. Criminal Minds (3.0/8, 11.2 million) was down 6% from its last original 2 weeks ago, while CSI (2.9/8, 11.9 million) perked up by 12%. ABC’s only original, the season finale of Happy Endings (1.6/4) was down 16% to a season low from last week when the sophomore comedy also aired among repeats. The CW’s One Tree Hill ended its nine-season run with a two-hour series finale (1.4 million viewers, 0.8/2 in 18-49, 0.9/3 in 18-34), which was up slightly from last week, a tenth in both 18-49 and total viewers. Overall, this was the CW’s highest-rated Wednesday night in 18-34 since premiere week.

Wednesday notched another strong showing for Univision (1.5/4, 3.7 million), which logged a second consecutive third-place finish in 18-49, beating both NBC (1.0/3, 3.6 million), which aired all-originals, and ABC (1.3/4, 3.8 million), which aired mostly repeats. Univision also edged NBC in total viewers after doing the same with another Big 4 network, Fox, the night before.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.