Fast National ratings for Wednesday, December 31, 2014.
ABC's “Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2015” ruled New Year's Eve Wednesday in all measures, rising very slightly from last year's telecast.
NBC's New Year's Eve coverage, including the climactic telecast hosted by Carson Daly, was good for second on the night.
And as for FOX's “Pitbull's New Year's Revolution”? Well, at least FOX beat CBS drama repeats among young viewers (though not overall).
On to the numbers, which are preliminary and subject to change due to liveness for half of the country…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 2.7 rating for Wednesday night, tops in the key demographic. NBC was a distant second with a 1.2 key demo rating. FOX's 0.7 key demo rating edged out CBS' 0.6 key demo rating, while The CW did a 0.3 key demo rating for Wednesday primetime.
Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 9.62 million viewers and a 4.8 rating/10 share for Wednesday night. CBS averaged a 3.0/6 to NBC's 2.9/6, but NBC averaged 4.92 million viewers to the 4.66 million for CBS. FOX was fourth with a 1.2/2 and 2.21 million viewers, beating The CW's 0.6/1 and 1.03 million.
8 p.m. – The first hour of ABC's “Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2015” (technically “Part 1” for the first two hours) averaged 7.03 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. A “Blue Bloods” repeat averaged 5.4 million viewers for second and a 0.7 key demo rating for third. NBC's “A Toast to 2014!” averaged 4.27 million viewers for third and a 0.9 key demo rating for second on the hour. FOX's “Pitbull's New Year's Revolution” averaged 2.13 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating in fourth, ahead of whatever IHeartRadio special The CW aired, which drew 1.1 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The second hour of “Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2015” rose to 9.09 million viewers and a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC. NBC's “A Toast to 2014!” rose to 5.08 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating in second, beating the 4.63 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating for CBS' “Criminal Minds” repeat. FOX's Pitbull special rose a tiny bit to 2.3 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating in its second hour. The CW's IHeartRadio thing averaged 952,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – The second part and third hour of “Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2015” hit 12.75 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49 to rule the 10 p.m. hour for ABC. NBC's “New Year's Eve with Carson Daly” averaged 5.39 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating for second. And CBS aired a repeat of “Stalker,” which somehow still drew 3.94 million viewers and a 0.6 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, particularly in the case of live events.