Fast National ratings for Friday, April 17, 2015.
The season finales for “Last Man Standing” and “Cristela” were both down from last week's episodes and “Shark Tank” remained on the low side, but ABC still ruled Friday both overall and in the key demographic.
The combination of a low-ish two-hour block of “The Amazing Race” and a “Blue Bloods” repeat allowed ABC to take CBS' normal overall crown.
Friday's big notable was the launch of a new CW programming block. “Cedric's Barber Battle” got off to a weak start and probably hampered the return of “Whose Line Is It Anyway.” The new drama “The Messengers” drew a reasonably big audience by CW Friday standards and got an encouraging bump at the half-hour.
Let's get to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 1.3 rating for Friday night, comfortably tops in the key demographic. CBS and NBC both averaged a 0.9 key demo rating for the night, followed by FOX's 0.6 key demo rating. The CW averaged a 0.3 key demo rating for Friday.
Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 5.95 million viewers and a 3.8 rating/7 share for Friday primetime. CBS was a close second with a 3.5/7 and 5.59 million viewers, with NBC's 3.3/6 and 4.78 million viewers taking third. FOX averaged 2.16 million viewers and a 1.5/3, followed by The CW's 0.7/1 and 1.08 million viewers.
8 p.m. – ABC led the 8 p.m. hour overall and finished second in the key demographic with finales for “Last Man Standing” (6.21 million and a 1.1 key demo) and “Cristela” (4.93 million and a 0.9 key demo). The first hour of CBS' “The Amazing Race” was second with 5.52 million viewers and led the hour with a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's “Grimm” was third with 4.55 million viewers and tied for second with a 1.0 key demo rating. FOX's airing of the movie “Bad Teacher” averaged 2.08 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating for fourth. The CW followed with the series premiere of Cedric's Barber Battle” (826,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo) and the return of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (1.11 million and a 0.4 key demo).
9 p.m. – “Shark Tank” won the 9 p.m. hour with a primetime best 6.46 million viewers and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' “The Amazing Race” was second with 5.37 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating. NBC's “Dateline” averaged 4.55 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating for third. FOX's movie was fourth with 2.24 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating. The CW's “The Messengers” premiere averaged 1.18 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – CBS' “Blue Bloods” repeat won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 5.865 million viewers, but finished third with a 0.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “20/20” average 5.83 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating, topping the 5.23 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for NBC's “Dateline.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.