Fast National ratings for Friday, March 28, 2014.
CBS had a pair of solid NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games on Friday night and used that basketball action to score easy wins in all measures.
Among other notables, it was a series low for “Enlisted” in its last Friday airing for the foreseeable future, while NBC's “Hannibal” rose thanks to a big two-hour block for “Dateline.”
Meanwhile, The CW's “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” was down, though the network continued to see the comparative benefits of its new Friday comedy lineup.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 3.1 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS came close to beating the combined key demo rating totals for NBC (1.3 key demo), ABC (1.2 key demo) and FOX and The CW (both a 0.4 key demo rating).
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 9.855 million viewers and a 5.7 rating/10 share for Friday primetime, not quite as dominant as in the 18-49 demo, but still far ahead of the 6.55 million viewers and 4.5/8 for NBC. ABC was third with 5.73 million viewers and a 3.7/6. There was a big drop and then you had FOX's 1.67 million viewers and 1.1/2 and The CW's 1.38 million and 0.9/2.
8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first with 8.475 million viewers and a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49 for Sweet 16 coverage. NBC's “Dateline” was second with 7.295 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating. ABC followed with “Last Man Standing” (6.21 million and a 1.3 key demo) and “The Neighbors” (4.03 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating). FOX's “Rake” averaged 1.89 million viewers for fourth and a 0.4 key demo rating for fifth, compared to the 1.665 million viewers and 0.5 key demo rating for two episodes — one new, one repeat — of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” on The CW.
9 p.m. – Basketball coverage rose to 10.85 million viewers and a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS in the 9 p.m. hour. NBC's “Dateline” was second with 8.72 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, easily beating the 5.02 million viewers and 1.2 key demo rating for ABC's “Shark Tank” repeat. FOX was fourth with “Enlisted” (1.36 million and a 0.4 key demo) and “Raising Hope” (1.55 million and a 0.5 key demo). On The CW, “Hart of Dixie” averaged just under 1.1 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – CBS closed primetime in first with 10.24 million viewers and a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49 for NCAA hoops coverage. ABC's “20/20” was second with 7.04 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating. Boosted by the big “Dateline” number, NBC's “Hannibal” rose to 3.65 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating. [Note that in the Los Angeles market, which isn't small, several networks were covering the La Habra earthquake in the 10 p.m. hour and preempted programming.]
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.