 In its original broadcast on September 21 , 2011 , " Scorched Earth " was watched by 7 @.@ 63 million viewers and acquired a 2 @.@ 4 rating / 6 % share in the 18 – 49 demographic , meaning that it was seen by 2 @.@ 4 % of all 18- to 49 @-@ year @-@ olds and 6 % of 18- to 49 @-@ year @-@ olds watching television at the time of the broadcast . This was a decrease in ratings compared to the season 12 premiere , which was watched by 9 @.@ 68 million viewers . Though Law & Order : Special Victims Unit came in third in its timeslot behind CSI : Crime Scene Investigation and Revenge , it was the most @-@ watched program on NBC that night . 
