Fast National ratings for Friday, October 24, 2014.
Game 3 of the World Series, a low-scoring pitching duel between the Royals and Giants, did the 2014 Fall Classic's lowest numbers to date, but still helped FOX lead Friday night in all measures.
In Friday's other big news, NBC's “Constantine” premiere came in far below last October's “Dracula” launch, though the return of “Grimm” was also well below last season's premiered.
There were a couple good news/bad news situations for other networks.
Over on CBS, after last week's big and inexplicably rise, “The Amazing Race” took a large drop against baseball, though “Blue Bloods” had one of its best overnight performances of the season.
And over on ABC, both “Last Man Standing” and “Cristela” were down, though that can be attributable to the World Series and the network can be pleased that no gap is growing between the two comedies.
Remember, again, that the baseball numbers are inexact and time period data.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 2.5 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. There was a big drop to ABC's 1.4 key demo rating and to the 1.3 key demo rating for NBC. CBS averaged a 1.1 key demo rating, while The CW did a 0.3 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, things were a little bit closer with FOX averaged 9.915 million viewers and a 5.9 rating/11 share for Friday primetime to top the 8.51 million viewers and 5.5/10 for CBS. ABC was third for the night with 6.15 million viewer and a 4.0/7, topping NBC's 5.27 million viewers and 3.4/6. The CW averaged a 0.7/1 and 984,000 viewers for Friday.
8 p.m. – FOX's baseball coverage started primetime in first with 9.85 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49 in the 8 p.m. hour. NBC's “Dateline” was second with 6.21 million viewers and tied for second with a 1.1 key demo rating. ABC followed with “Last Man Standing” (6.26 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating) and “Cristela” (5.18 million and a 1.0 key demo). That left CBS' “Amazing Race” in fourth with 5.55 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating. On The CW, an encore of “Jane the Virgin” averaged 891,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – World Series Game 3 remained in first in the 9 p.m. hour, averaging 9.67 million viewers and a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' “Hawaii Five-0” was second with a low 8.78 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating for fourth. ABC's “Shark Tank” averaged 6.89 million viewers for third and delivered the night's best non-baseball key demo number with a 1.8 rating. NBC's “Grimm” premiere was fourth with 5.27 million viewers and third with a 1.5 key demo rating. [Last year's “Grimm” premiere, which didn't have the World Series as competition, drew over 6.1 million viewers and did a 1.8 in the key demo.] On The CW, a new “America's Next Top Model” averaged 1.08 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Blue Bloods” won the 10 p.m. hour with 11.2 million viewers and finished third with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “20/20” was second with 5.84 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.5 key demo rating. The premiere of NBC's “Constantine” averaged 4.34 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating. [For a few footnotes on “Constantine”: The DC Comics adaptation improved on “Grimm” among men 18-49 and tied for the hour lead among viewers 18-34. It didn't drop at the half-hour in the key demo. Last year's “Dracula” premiere averaged nearly 5.3 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating.]
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.