Fast National ratings for Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
The two-hour premiere of the 11th season of “Hell’s Kitchen” helped FOX rule Tuesday primetime among young viewers, while CBS’ “NCIS” repeats and “Golden Boy” swept the night overall.
Among other notables, NBC actually saw “Smash” rise slightly in early numbers, as did ABC’s “Celebrity Wife Swap.”
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 2.2 rating for Tuesday night, beating CBS’ 1.8 rating in the key demographic. ABC’s 1.3 key demo rating and the 0.9 key demo rating for NBC followed. The CW averaged a 0.2 key demo rating for Tuesday.
Overall, though, CBS won comfortably with an estimated 11.15 million viewers and a 7.1 rating/11 share for Tuesday primetime. FOX was a distant second with a 3.4/5 and 5.44 million viewers, which beat the 3.3/5 and 4.92 million viewers for ABC. NBC’s 3.03 million and 2.0/3 at least beat The CW’s 0.5/1 and 777,000 viewers.
8 p.m. – A repeat of “NCIS” led the 8 p.m. hour overall with 13 million viewers for CBS, coming in second with a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. FOX’s “Hell’s Kitchen” was second with 5.14 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.0 key demo rating. ABC’s “Celebrity Wife Swap” averaged 5 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating in third. A repeat of “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” did 3.81 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating for NBC, while The CW’s “Hart of Dixie” repeat averaged 839,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – CBS stayed in first for the 9 p.m. hour with 11.92 million viewers for a repeat of “NCIS: Los Angeles,” which came in second with a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. FOX’s “Hell’s Kitchen” was second with 5.74 million viewers and led with a 2.3 key demo rating. ABC’s “The Taste” averaged 3.36 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, beating the 2.39 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating for repeats of “Go On” and “The New Normal” on NBC. The CW’s “Beauty and the Beast” repeat drew 716,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – After a weird one-off detour to Fridays, “Golden Boy” was steady in its return to Tuesday, averaging 8.53 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC’s “Body of Proof” was second with 6.38 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating. And, as we warned you, “Smash” was up for NBC, averaging 2.89 million viewers and a 0.9 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.