TV Ratings: ‘Fringe,’ ‘Back to the Beginning’ help FOX and ABC split Friday

Fast National ratings for Friday, December 21, 2012.

Although it was down a hair week-to-week, “Fringe” spent a rare week atop its hour among young viewers and helped FOX tie for the nightly crown. Overall, ABC claimed the title thanks to the two-hour special “Back To The Beginning with Christiane Amanpour.”

Mostly numbers were low across the board on a pre-holiday Friday, though The CW had another solid night with seasonal specials.

Among adults 18-49, FOX and ABC both averaged a 1.0 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. [And FOX actually won the two hours in which the networks went head-to-head.] NBC’s 0.8 key demo rating and the 0.6 key demo ratings for CBS and The CW followed.

Overall, though, ABC won Friday primetime with an estimated 4.84 million viewers and a 3.2 rating/6 share. NBC was second with 4.42 million viewers and a 2.9/5, compared to CBS which also averaged a 2.9/5, but averaged only 4.05 million viewers. FOX was fourth with a 1.7/3 and 2.71 million viewers, holding off the 0.9/2 and 1.8 million viewers for The CW.

8 p.m. – NBC started primetime in first with yet another reairing of Blake Shelton’s Christmas special, which drew 5.05 million viewers and a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 this time around. CBS’ repeat of “The Good Wife” was second overall with 4.13 million viewers and tied for fourth with a 0.6 key demo rating. ABC’s repeats of “Last Man Standing” and “Malibu Country” averaged 4.04 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, both good for third. FOX’s “Kitchen Nightmares” repeat was fourth overall with 2.4 million viewers, but second with a 0.9 key demo rating, basically neck-and-neck with NBC. The CW’s “The Happy Elf” averaged 1.73 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – ABC moved into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 5.08 million viewers and a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 for “Back To The Beginning with Christiane Amanpour.” NBC’s reairing of the latest Michael Buble Christmas special was second with 4.435 million viewers and third with a 0.8 key demo rating. Another “Good Wife” repeat averaged 3.92 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating for CBS. On FOX, “Fringe” averaged 3.02 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating for the hour. The CW’s “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” averaged 1.88 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – “Back To The Beginning with Christiane Amanpour” led the 10 p.m. hour for ABC with 5.42 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “The Good Wife” repeat averaged 4.115 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, compared to the 3.78 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating for NBC’s “Dateline.”