Fast National ratings for Friday, March 9, 2012.
A special airing of an original episode of “The Mentalist” was Friday night’s most watched program, boosting 9 p.m. ratings for CBS and combining with “Undercover Boss” and “Blue Bloods” to give the network an easy primetime sweep in all key measures.
Among adults 18-49, CBS won Friday with a 2.0 rating, topping ABC’s 1.4 rating and the 1.3 rating for NBC. FOX was fourth with a 1.1 rating, while The CW averaged a 0.4 key demo rating.
Overall, CBS won even more handily with an average of 11.04 million viewers and a 6.9 rating/12 share for Friday night. NBC was a distant second with a 3.4/6 and 5.08 million viewers, beating ABC’s 3.1/5 and 4.72 million viewers. FOX averaged a 1.8/3 and 2.83 million viewers. The CW drew 1.15 million viewers and a 0.8/1.
8 p.m. – “Undercover Boss” started primetime in first for CBS with 10.02 million viewers and a 2.2 rating among adults 18-49, both up from last week. ABC’s “Shark Tank” was down from last week and finished second with 5.38 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating. After last week’s odd bump, NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” came back to Earth with 5.05 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating. A repeat of “Kitchen Nightmares” averaged 2.67 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating. And on The CW, a “Nikita” repeat averaged 1.15 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – Airing away from its normal Thursday home, “The Mentalist” averaged 11.83 million viewers and a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49, which is either better than any “CSI: NY” (or “A Gifted Man”) performance in that slot this year, or well below what “The Mentalist” does on Thursday. NBC’s “Grimm” slipped a bit against the procedural competition and averaged 5.15 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating for second. ABC was third with 4.21 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating for “Primetime: What Would You Do?” FOX’s second “Kitchen Nightmares” repeat averaged 2.99 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating. The CW’s “Supernatural” repeat averaged 1.16 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – CBS’ “Blue Bloods” averaged 11.265 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49, barely boosted by the enhanced lead-in. NBC’s “Dateline” averaged 5.03 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating, beating the 4.55 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating for ABC’s “20/20.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.