Fast National ratings for Tuesday, December 16, 2014.
The latest season finale was, predictably, far below last December's finale and a hair below last May's finale among young viewers, but still helped NBC rule Tuesday in the key demo. “NCIS,” however, dominated its hour overall and helped CBS comfortably win in total viewers.
CBS' overall win was boosted by a weak performance from NBC's “Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas” special, but hindered by relatively low numbers for “NCIS: New Orleans” an “Person of Interest.”
The season finale for “MasterChef Junior” was up a bit week-to-week.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 2.6 rating for Tuesday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 1.8 key demo rating, followed by the 1.2 key demo ratings for ABC and FOX. The CW averaged a 0.5 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 13.33 million viewers and an 8.4 rating/14 share for Tuesday primetime, topping the 10.09 million viewers and 6.1/10 for NBC. There was a big drop to ABC's 2.7/4 and 4.43 million viewers and to FOX's 3.73 million viewers and 2.2/4. The CW averaged nearly 1.5 million viewers and a 1.0/2 for the night.
8 p.m. – “NCIS” averaged 17.21 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49 to control the 8 p.m. hour for CBS. ABC's latest airing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” averaged 6.26 million viewers, topping the 5.55 million viewers for FOX's “MasterChef Junior” finale, while both hours averaged a 1.7 key demo rating. NBC's “Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas” averaged 4.87 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating for fourth, while The CW's “The Flash” repeat averaged 1.73 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “NCIS: New Orleans” kept CBS in first for the 9 p.m. hour with 13.96 million viewers, finishing second with a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's “The Voice” won the hour with a 3.1 key demo rating and finished second with 12.36 million viewers. ABC's airings of the two “Prep & Landing” specials averaged 3.9 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating, topping the 1.92 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for “New Girl” and “Mindy Project” repeats on FOX. The CW's encore of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show averaged 1.265 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – The last hour of the “Voice” finale won the 10 p.m. hour with 13.06 million viewers and a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' “Person of Interest” was second with 8.82 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating, with ABC's “Forever” repeat drawing 3.12 million viewers and a 0.7 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.