TV Ratings: ‘Made in Jersey’ struggles, ‘Fringe’ returns low and ‘Grimm’ leads Friday demos

Fast National ratings for Friday, September 28, 2012.

CBS’ struggle to find that missing piece of the Friday puzzle continued with a disappointing premiere for the legal dramedy “Made in Jersey,” though that dud couldn’t dampen a normal CBS rout overall. 

“Blue Bloods” also helped CBS split the night among young viewers with “Shark Tank”-led ABC, though the evening’s top key demo rating came courtesy of NBC’s “Grimm.”

Meanwhile, “Fringe” returned to FOX with low numbers, but since it’s the final season for the cult favorite, nobody should really worry.

On to numbers…

Among adults 18-49, ABC and CBS both posted a 1.3 rating for Friday night, edging out NBC’s 1.2 rating in the key demographic. FOX was a close fourth with a 1.1 rating, while The CW averaged a 0.3 key demo rating.

Overall, though, it was CBS in a laugher, as the network averaged 9.25 million viewers and a 6.1 rating/11 share for Friday primetime, nearly doubling the 3.1/6 and 4.69 million viewers for second place ABC. NBC was third with a 2.9/5 and 4.32 million viewers, beating the 3.23 million viewers and 2.1/4 for FOX. The CW averaged 908,000 viewers and a 0.6/1 for the night.

8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first overall with nearly 9 million viewers for “CSI: NY,” which finished second with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Shark Tank” averaged 5.89 million viewers overall and won the hour with a 1.5 key demo rating. FOX’s encore of “The X Factor” averaged 3.28 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, beating the 2.84 million and 0.7 key demo rating for NBC’s “Grimm” repeat. The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” averaged 1.18 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – The premiere of “Made in Jersey” won the 9 p.m. hour overall for CBS, but with 7.74 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49, the network can’t be pleased with the fall-off. NBC’s “Grimm” was second with 5.31 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.6 key demo rating. ABC’s encore of the “Last Resort” premiere drew a solid 4.01 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating. On FOX, the fifth season premiere of “Fringe” drew 3.18 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, basically in line with what it was doing last season. The CW’s repeat of “Nikita” averaged 633,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – CBS bounced back with 11.02 million viewers and an hour-winning 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 for the return of “Blue Bloods,” easily the night’s most watched show. NBC’s “Dateline” averaged 4.79 million viewers for second and a 1.3 key demo rating for third, compared to the 4.165 million viewers and 1.4 key demo rating for ABC’s “20/20.”