Fast National ratings for Monday, May 5, 2014.
Although it was below its Season 8 averages, “24” had a strong return for FOX on Monday, pushing the network close to “Voice”-boosted NBC among young viewers, though not especially close to “Dancing with the Stars”-boosted ABC overall.
The funny thing to remember is that “24” averaged over 9 million live viewers and a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49 in its final season, numbers that seemed a little sluggish, but still totally respectable at the time. Now, of course, those would be blockbuster numbers for a drama, especially the key demo figure. So the “24: Live Another Day” average of approaching 8 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating? Well, you can either view it as down from established “24” standards, or far better than any drama FOX has aired this season since the early “Sleepy Hollow” episodes. Maybe I'll do analysis when Finals come in.
When you look at other numbers, “Dancing with the Stars” was down steely from last week, while “The Voice” and “The Blacklist” were basically flat.
Presumably it was “24” that took a big bite out of “2 Broke Girls” and “Friends with Better Lives.”
And over on The CW, “The Tomorrow People” rose for its first season finale.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 2.9 rating for Monday night, topping FOX's 2.5 rating in the key demographic. ABC averaged a 1.8 key demo rating for third, beating CBS' 1.2 key demo rating and the 0.4 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, ABC averaged an estimated 11.47 million viewers and a 7.6 rating/12 share for Monday primetime, holding off NBC's 6.6/11 and 10.71 million viewers. FOX was a distant third with 7.98 million viewers and a 4.6/7, which was far ahead of the 5.07 million viewers and 3.4/6 for CBS. The CW averaged 973,000 viewers and a 0.6/1 for the night.
8 p.m. – “Dancing with the Stars” led the 8 p.m. hour overall for ABC with 12.31 million viewers, coming in fourth with a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's “The Voice” averaged 10.51 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.8 key demo rating. The first hour of FOX's “24: Live Another Day” averaged 8.02 million viewers and a 2.6 key demo rating. [“24” dominated its hour among young males and tied for the lead among adults 18-34.] FOX was fourth overall and third in the key demo with the “2 Broke Girls” finale (6.49 million and a 1.9 key demo rating) and “Friends with Better Lives” (4.96 million and a 1.6 key demo). The CW's “Star-Crossed” averaged 933,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – ABC stayed in the overall lead in the 9 p.m. hour with the 13.17 million viewers for “Dancing with the Stars,” which was third with a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49. “The Voice” was up to 11.02 million viewers and an hour-winning 3.1 key demo rating for NBC. FOX's “24: Live Another Day” was pretty steady with 7.93 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating. CBS was fourth with a new “Mike & Molly” (6.52 million and a 1.8 key demo) and a repeat of “Mom” (4.65 million and a 1.2 key demo). The CW's “Tomorrow People” averaged 1.01 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating as it concluded its first season.
10 p.m. – “The Blacklist” moved NBC into first overall in the 10 p.m. hour with 10.61 million viewers and also led with a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “Castle” was second with 8.93 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, while CBS' “NCIS: Los Angeles” repeat averaged 3.9 million viewers and a 0.8 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.