Fast National ratings for Monday, September 24, 2012.
Forget the past couple weeks of early starts… The 2012-2013 Season is now officially under way!
For the most part, things restarted where we left them last season:
“The Voice” and strong week-to-week retention for “Revolution” helped NBC win Premiere Monday among young viewers, while “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” gave ABC the night overall despite what has to be considered a lackluster premiere for the hyped cycle.
And speaking of lackluster, CBS’ “Two and a Half Men”-free Monday delivered mixed returns, with “How I Met Your Mother,” “2 Broke Girls” and “Mike & Molly” drawing OK (but far below last fall) numbers and “Partners” making an early case to be the year’s first cancelled series. CBS also has cause for concern after a dismal return for “Hawaii Five-0.”
“Partners” will have competition from FOX’s “The Mob Doctor,” which slipped from an already subpar premiere.
Let’s get down to numbers:
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 4.0 rating for Monday night, scoring a commanding win in the key demographic. CBS was far back in second with a 2.7 rating, nipping the 2.6 rating for ABC. FOX was fourth in the key demographic with a 1.7 rating, while two new episodes of “The L.A. Complex” could only average a 0.2 key demo rating on The CW.
Overall, though, ABC came out on top with 13.51 million viewers and an 8.8 rating/13 share, comfortably beating the 6.8/10 and 11.05 million viewers for NBC. There was a big drop to CBS’ 8.41 million viewers and 5.3/8 and then to FOX’s 3.4/5 and 5.65 million viewers. The CW averaged only 517,000 viewers and a 0.4/1.
[Univision averaged 3.67 million viewers and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 for Monday primetime.]
8 p.m. – ABC started primetime in first overall with 14.32 million viewers for “Dancing with the Stars,” which came in third with a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49. [So much for an “All-Stars” bump, as the most recent spring installment of “Dancing” drew nearly three million more viewers for its opening hour.] NBC’s “The Voice” was second overall with 10.93 million viewers and first with a 3.8 key demo rating, markedly down from last week, but still impressive against a full slate of original competition. CBS was third with premieres for “How I Met Your Mother” (8.66 million viewers and a 3.4 key demo rating) and “Partners” (6.5 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating). FOX’s “Bones” held up well with 7.34 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating in its second week. The CW’s “The L.A. Complex” averaged 651,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The second hour of “Dancing with the Stars” displayed only a tiny bit of growth with 14.84 million viewers and a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49. In contrast, “The Voice” made a big jump for NBC, rising to 12.92 million viewers and a 4.7 key demo rating. CBS was third overall and second in the key demo with premieres for “2 Broke Girls” (10.02 million and a 3.7 rating, despite no lead-in) and “Mike & Molly” (9.31 million and a 3.0 key demo rating). FOX’s “The Mob Doctor” drooped to a nearly untenable 3.955 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating in its second week. On The CW, the finale for “The L.A. Complex” averaged 383,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Castle” won the 10 p.m. hour overall for ABC with 11.38 million viewers, coming in second with a 2.5 key demo rating. NBC’s “Revolution” averaged 9.29 million viewers and a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49. [NBC observes that’s 85 percent retention of last week’s premiere demos. In total viewers, though, “Revolution” lost over 2 million and the 10:30 half-hour averaged 8.56 million viewers and a 3.2 key demo rating, not that continuing at that level wouldn’t be cause for NBC celebration.] CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” premiere with only 7.97 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo rating, off by roughly four million viewers and 1.5 key demo points from last September’s premiere.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.