Fast National ratings for Friday, November 30, 2012.
“Undercover Boss” delivered Friday’s biggest audience among young viewers, while “Blue Bloods” had primetime’s biggest total audience, leading CBS to an easy win overall and to a tie with ABC in the key demo.
Among other ratings notes, FOX drew low numbers for its college football broadcast, though Fast Nationals wouldn’t give an accurate representation for how a Pac-12 championship game drew when most of its telecast took place out of primetime in its target region. [Then again, even a low-rated football night drew more viewers than FOX’s regular Friday.]
Meanwhile, “Nikita” got off to an encouraging start in its new 8 p.m. time period, though we’re checking to see if there were any preemptions that might have boosted the figures for The CW. [The CW says there were no notable preemptions.]
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC and CBS both drew a 1.6 rating, tops in the key demographic. FOX was somewhat far back (by Friday standards) with a 1.1 key demo rating in third, beating NBC’s 0.9 key demo rating. The CW did a 0.4 key demo rating for Friday night.
Overall, CBS won Friday night easily with a 6.4 rating/11 share and 9.91 million viewers, with ABC’s 3.9/7 and 6.03 million viewers good for second. FOX was third with a 2.6/4 and 4.035 million viewers, ahead of the 2.6/4 and 3.73 million viewers for NBC. The CW averaged 1.15 million viewers and a 0.8/1 for Friday night.
8 p.m. – “Undercover Boss” started primetime with 8.73 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC was second with “Last Man Standing” (6.8 million and a 1.6 key demo rating) and “Malibu Country” (6.33 million and a 1.5 key demo). FOX’s football averaged 4.23 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, nipping the 4.06 million viewers and 0.9 key demo rating for an encore of “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” on NBC. On The CW, “Nikita” rose to 1.24 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating as it returned to its time period from last season.
9 p.m. – “CSI: NY” kept CBS in first overall with 9.82 million viewers, but dropped the network to second among adults 18-49 with a 1.5 rating in the 9 p.m. hour. ABC’s “Shark Tank” repeat averaged 5.84 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.6 key demo rating. FOX’s football averaged 3.84 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, bettering the 2.8 million viewers and 0.6 key demo rating for a repeat of “Grimm” on NBC. The CW’s “Arrow” repeat averaged 1.06 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Blue Bloods” closed primetime with a strong 11.18 million viewers and finished second with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC’s “20/20” won the key demo with a 1.7 rating and finished second overall with 5.69 million viewers. NBC’s “Dateline” averaged 4.34 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating in third.
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.