'30 Rock' records six-week high with live special

Published Apr 27 2012, 17:59 BST  |  By Paul Millar

30 Rock's live special gave the show a ratings boost last night (Thursday), preliminary Nielsen data reveals.

The NBC comedy took 3.5m and a demo rating of 1.6 with 18-49 adults, a far cry from the sitcom's 2010 special which had 3.1.

However, 30 Rock scored its biggest audience since mid-March.

Elsewhere on the Peacock Network, Community climbed to 3.3m (1.4) at 8pm, while The Office (4.1m/1.2), Parks and Recreation (3.2m/1.6) and Awake (2.2m/1.8) all recorded all-time lows later on.

Despite dropping to a season low, The Big Bang Theory was the night's most-watched show with 12.5m (2.0) in the demos, pipping American Idol between 8pm and 8.30pm.

Over the hour, Idol entertained 14.4m (3.9), then Touch logged 6.5m (1.9).

For CBS, Rules of Engagement jumped to 8.3m (2.5) at 8.30pm, then Person of Interest (12.5m/2.4) and The Mentalist (11.9m/2.1) returned with series lows.

Meanwhile, Scandal rose to 7m (2.1) for ABC at 10pm, prior to which Grey's Anatomy drew 9.3m (2.8), and 6.9m (1.3) watched 8pm's Missing.

The Vampire Diaries (2.2m/1.0) and The Secret Circle (1.2m/0.5) were flat week-on-week.