TV Ratings: Strong ‘Body of Proof’ premiere lifts ABC on Tuesday

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, March 29, 2011.

Regular ratings observers knew that CBS would rule the 8 p.m. hour on Tuesday with “NCIS” and that ABC would rule the 9 p.m. hour with “Dancing with the Stars.” That left the 10 p.m. hour, pitting the series premiere of “Body of Proof” against “The Good Wife,” as primetime’s X-factor.

The early results are in and the returns are positive for ABC’s Dana Delany procedural, which crushed original episodes of “Good Wife” and “Parenthood” (even after a predictable half-hour drop) and helped push ABC to key Tuesday wins.

Among adults 18-49, AB averaged a 3.3 rating for the night, nipping the 3.1 rating for CBS in the coveted demographic. NBC was third with a 2.3 rating, followed by FOX’s 1.3 rating and the 0.3 rating for The CW.

Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 15.11 million viewers and a 9.6 rating/15 share. CBS was a close second with a 9.0/14 and 14.48 million viewers. Finishing a distant third was NBC with a 3.9/6 and 6.34 million viewers, with FOX’s 2.3/4 and 3.75 million taking fourth. The CW’s repeats did a 0.5/1 and averaged 760,000 viewers in fifth.

8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first with 18.26 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” recap special averaged 12.67 million viewers and a 2.7 rating in the key demo. NBC finished third with the 6.76 million viewers for “The Biggest Loser,” which beat FOX’s “Glee” repeat, which averaged 4.41 million. The CW’s repeat of “One Tree Hill” was fifth with 815,000 viewers.

9 p.m. – The season’s first “Dancing with the Stars” results show averaged 18.81 million viewers and a 4.2 demo rating to give ABC the 9 p.m. hour. CBS was a solid second with the 15.21 million viewers and 3.5 demo rating for “NCIS: Los Angeles.” NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” got a small bump to 7.49 million viewers and a 2.8 demo rating in third. FOX was fourth with 3.1 million viewers between a “Raising Hope” repeat and a new “Traffic Light.” The CW’s repeat of “Hellcats” averaged 704,000 viewers in fifth.

10 p.m. – The series premiere of “Body of Proof” averaged 13.85 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 10 p.m. hour for ABC. The second half-hour of “Body of Proof” slipped somewhat to just under 13 million viewers and a 2.8 demo rating, numbers ABC would be more-than-happy with, given that even with its “Dancing” bump, “Detroit 187” average roughly 9.75 million viewers for the full hour of its premiere in September. “Body of Proof” also knocked “Good Wife” down to 9.985 million viewers and a 1.9 demo rating in second. NBC’s new “Parenthood averaged 4.77 million viewers and did a 1.9 demo rating.