Fast National ratings for Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
On the last Tuesday of the summer, CBS won the night overall, while NBC was tops among young viewers, but for most ratings observers, the night’s big story involved the season premieres of a pair of dramas on The CW and “Parenthood” on NBC.
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 2.4 rating, tops in the key demographic. ABC’s 1.7 rating and the 1.6 rating for CBS followed. The CW burst out of last place for the night with a 1.0 rating, edging out the 0.9 rating for FOX.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 8.88 million viewers for primetime along with a 5.8 rating/9 share. NBC averaged 8.23 million viewers, while ABC averaged 7.65 million. FOX was far back with a 1.5/2 and 2.32 million viewers, with The CW’s 1.4/2 and 2.18 million viewers nipping at its heels.
[We’ll justifiably debate/discuss/hype the CW ratings for last night, but note that Univision averaged 4.02 million viewers for primetime and delivered a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49.]
8 p.m. – “NCIS” fans are ready for the drama to return, with a repeat averaging 10.12 million viewers to win the 8 p.m. hour for CBS. ABC’s “Wipeout” was second overall with 6.09 million viewers, winning the hour with a 2.0 rating among adult adults 18-49. NBC’s “It’s Worth What?” averaged nearly 4.7 million viewers, beating the 2.73 million for FOX’s “Glee.” The fourth season premiere of The CW’s “90210” averaged 1.63 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, which was in line with what the drama’s finale in the spring did, but off a bit from the nearly 2 million viewers who watched last fall’s premiere.
9 p.m. – NBC dominated the 9 p.m. hour with 13.2 million viewers and a 3.6 rating among adults 18-49 for “America’s Got Talent.” CBS was second with 8.48 million viewers for “NCIS: Los Angeles.” ABC’s “Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words” special averaged a solid 8.12 million viewers, but a lackluster 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. On The CW, Sarah Michelle Gellar returned to TV with “Ringer” and averaged 2.74 million viewers and a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49. On the positive side, working without any sort of meaningful lead-in, that was The CW’s biggest audience in the time period since 2008 and improved on the “Life Unexpected” premiere in the same slot last year by 66 percent, but the heavily promoted drama wasn’t able to draw an audience comparable to the CW premieres of dramas like “90210,” “Vampire Diaries” or even “Nikita” last fall. In any case, The CW had no trouble beating the 1.905 million viewers for FOX’s two “Raising Hope” repeats.
10 p.m. – ABC’s “Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words” won the 10 p.m. overall with 8.73 million viewers, but slipped to a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second with 8.04 million viewers for “NCIS: Los Angeles.” NBC’s 10 p.m. hour averaged 6.78 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, but “America’s Got Talent” ran well into the hour, helping the 10 p.m. half-hour of “AGT” and “Parenthood” average 7.83 million viewers and a 2.6 key demo rating, while the 10:30 p.m. half-hour of just “Parenthood” averaged 5.73 million and a 2.0 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.