Fast National ratings for Friday, February 14, 2014.
Was NBC’s Sochi coverage sluggish on Friday night because the men’s figure skating competition yielded an American-free medal podium?
Were ratings low because Friday was also Valentine’s Day?
Or was Friday slow just because it was Friday?
The answer is probably “All of the above.”
No matter where you put the blame, Friday night yielded NBC’s lowest numbers of the 2014 Olympics, even with normally reliable figure-skating as a centerpiece. Still, NBC beat the combined totals for the other four networks in all measures.
Thanks to the Olympics and Valentine’s Day, the other networks took Friday off, basically, so there aren’t any other real notables, though you may be interested that an encore of the “Enlisted” premiere outdrew last week’s original?
On to the numbers.
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 4.5 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. ABC was a distant second with a 1.1 key demo rating, followed by CBS’ 0.9 key demo rating, FOX’s 0.6 key demo rating and the 0.2 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 19.08 million viewers for Friday primetime, along with an 11.0 rating/19 share. CBS was second for the night with 5.41 million viewers and a 3.5/6, topping ABC’s 4.33 million viewers and 2.8/5. FOX averaged a 1.5/3 and 2.37 million viewers, topping the 674,000 viewers and 0.5/1 for The CW.
8 p.m. – NBC’s Olympics coverage started primetime in first with 18.36 million viewers and a 4.2 rating among adults 18-49. CBS was second for the hour with 5.26 million viewers for the first of three “Hawaii Five-0” repeats, finishing third with a 0.9 key demo rating. ABC’s “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown ” was third with 3.91 million viewers and second with a 1.0 key demo rating, topping the 3.06 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for FOX’s “Bones” repeat. The CW began testing its Friday comedies with two “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” repeats averaging 912,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The second hour of Olympics coverage rose to 20.35 million viewers and a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC. CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” repeat averaged 5.76 million viewers for second and a 0.9 key demo rating for third, compared to the 4.39 million viewers and 1.2 key demo rating for ABC’s “Shark Tank” repeat. FOX was fourth with repeats of “Enlisted” (1.83 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo) and “Raising Hope” (1.52 million and a 0.5 key demo rating). The CW’s “Originals” repeat averaged 436,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – NBC completed its primetime sweep with 18.52 million viewers and a 4.6 rating among adults 18-49 for Olympics coverage. CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” repeat stayed second with 5.2 million viewers and third with a 0.8 key demo rating. ABC’s “20/20” was third with 4.69 million viewers and second with a 1.1 key demo rating.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.