TV Ratings: Pre-season football tops 'Big Brother,' wins Thursday for FOX

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011FOX suffered no loss its first summer Thursday without "So You Think You Can Dance." The network's broadcast of the pre-season match-up between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers bested all other programming Thursday night.The NFL pushed FOX to an average 8.9 million viewers and a 5.4 rating/9 share for the night. CBS, down from last week, claimed second with 6.95 million and a 4.4/7. ABC (5.3 million, 3.1/5) took third, with NBC (2.5 million, 1.7/3) in fourth and the CW (1.0 million, 0.7/1) in last. FOX also took a decided victory in the adults 18-49 demographic, bringing in a 3.2 rating. Its closest competition, CBS, pulled in a 2.0, followed by ABC (1.5), NBC (0.8) and the CW (0.3)....