TV Ratings: No finale bump for ‘Supernatural,’ as CBS, FOX split Friday

Fast National ratings for Friday, May 20, 2011.

 

The two-hour season finale of “Supernatural” mostly faced newsmagazines and repeats on Friday night, but it failed to even get a tiny bump and couldn’t lift The CW out of fifth. Instead, CBS and FOX split a lackluster last Friday of May Sweeps.

 

Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 1.5 rating for the night, beating the 1.3 rating for ABC in the coveted demographic. NBC’s 1.1 rating and the 1.0 rating for CBS followed, leaving The CW in fifth with a 0.8 rating.

 

Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 6.325 million viewers and a 4.1 rating/8 share to win the night. NBC was second with a 3.2/6 and 4.65 million viewers, just ahead of ABC’s 2.9/5 and 4.535 million viewers. FOX’s 2.1/4 and 3.67 million viewers were good for fourth and, of course, The CW was fifth with a 1.3/2 and 2.14 million viewers.

 

8 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first overall with 6.68 million viewers for “Flashpoint,” but the Canadian procedural could muster only a 0.9 rating among adults 18-49, a distant third. ABC’s “Shark Tank” repeat was second overall with 4.15 million viewers. FOX’s “Kitchen Nightmares” was third overall with 3.84 million viewers and won the hour comfortably with a 1.6 rating in the key demo. NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” was up from last week with 3.31 million viewers and a 0.9 demo rating. The CW’s “Supernatural” finale averaged 2.06 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating (both just under the show’s numbers for its last original episode) for its first hour.

 

9 p.m. – A repeat of “CSI: NY” was Friday’s most watched show, with 7.08 million viewers for CBS. NBC’s “Dateline” was second with 4.73 million viewers, holding off the 3.94 million viewers for ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” FOX’s repeat of “Kitchen Nightmares” averaged 3.49 million viewers and a 1.4 rating, winning the hour in the key demo. The CW’s “Supernatural” was up slightly to 2.21 million viewers and remained in place with a 0.8 rating in the key demo.

 

10 p.m. – “Dateline” won the 10 p.m. hour overall for NBC with 5.905 million viewers and finished second with a 1.3 demo rating. ABC’s “20/20” was second overall with 5.52 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.5 demo rating. That left CBS in a close third with 5.21 million viewers for “48 Hours Mystery.”