TV Ratings: CBS has a Good Friday, while FOX’s ‘Finder,’ ‘Fringe’ fizzle

Fast National ratings for Friday, April 6, 2012.

Basically flat despite the start of the Easter/Passover holiday weekend, CBS controlled Friday night both overall and among young viewers with “Undercover Boss,” “CSI: NY” and “Blue Bloods.” 

Meanwhile, FOX’s “The Finder” made its Friday debut to soft numbers and led into “Fringe,” which slipped after last week’s brief rise.

For the night, CBS averaged a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, tops in the key demographic. ABC was second in the key demo with a 1.4 rating, followed by the 1.0 ratings for both NBC and FOX. The CW’s Friday repeats average a 0.3 key demo rating.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 9.15 million viewers to go with a 5.9 rating/11 share for Friday primetime. There was a big drop to ABC’s 3.2/6 and 4.81 million viewers, followed closely by the 2.9/5 and 4.37 million viewers for NBC. FOX was fourth with a 2.2/4 and nearly 3.5 million viewers. The CW averaged 921,000 viewers and a 0.6/1 for Friday.

8 p.m. – “Undercover Boss” started CBS’ primetime sweep with 7.75 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” was a distant second with 4.535 million viewers and fourth with a 0.8 key demo rating. ABC’s repeat of “Shark Tank” was third overall with 4.41 million viewers and finished second with a 1.3 key demo rating. FOX’s time period debut for “The Finder” averaged 3.92 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, solidly up from last week’s “Kitchen Nightmares” performance in viewers, but down slightly in the key demo (and, not that it needs to be mentioned, down from its post-“Idol” performances on Thursday nights). The CW’s repeat of “Nikita” averaged 1.01 million viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.

9 p.m. –“CSI: NY” won the 9 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 8.955 million viewers and tied for first with a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” averaged 4.87 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. NBC’s “Grimm” was up a hair with 4.47 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating. On FOX, “Fringe” fell in total viewers to 3.08, despite its improved lead-in, and also dropped to a 1.0 key demo rating. The CW’s repeat of “Supernatural” averaged 831,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – CBS’ “Blue Bloods” ticked up with 10.76 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 10 p.m. hour. ABC’s “20/20” was second with 5.13 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, beating the 4.09 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for NBC’s “Dateline.”