Ratings report: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ premiere comes back strong

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ABC can breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ returned for its fifth season with a big ratings win, even though it happened on a Thursday that was pretty unimpressive for the networks all around.

‘Grey’s’ struggled in last year’s strike-plagued season, so the night’s biggest question was whether fans would return. They did: The two-hour season premiere was the night’s most-watched show, hauling in 18.3 million viewers, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research. But the medical drama slipped 18% compared with last year’s opener among viewers ages 18 to 49 (to a 7.3 rating/18 share). And at 8 p.m., ‘Ugly Betty’ slumped to its lowest premiere numbers ever (9.8 million viewers, 3.3/9 in 18-49).

For the other networks, the news was similarly sobering. Entering its 17th season, CBS’ top reality franchise appears to be shuffling into its golden years. The two-hour premiere of ‘Survivor: Gabon’ drew a respectable 12.9 million viewers, but the series continues to trend down steadily in young-adult viewers.

NBC had another tough night. A one-hour ‘My Name Is Earl’ gathered an anemic 6.4 million viewers and delivered its lowest premiere rating ever in the key demographic of views ages 18 to 49 (2.7/8). The one-hour Season 5 launch of ‘The Office’ held up better (9.2 million, 4.8/11) but was still off compared with last year. And at 10 p.m., the once-mighty ‘ER’ started its final season with 7.9 million viewers and a record-low figure among 18-to-49-year-olds (3.3/8).

Airing back-to-back ‘Kitchen Nightmares,’ Fox sat on the ratings sidelines, averaging just 4.3 million viewers and placing a distant fourth in young adults.

-- Scott Collins