Fast National ratings for Monday, February 17, 2014.
With bobsledding and the finals for ice-dancing, NBC’s Monday Olympics coverage was up from recent nights and dominated primetime in all measures.
For some reason, each of the networks decided to put up a fight on Monday, which featured plenty of new programming, including one series premiere.
That premiere, The CW’s “Star-Crossed,” wasn’t huge, but it improved a hair on recent “Hart of Dixie” audiences, which is probably all The CW could have expected going against the Olympics.
Also oddly, after taking last week off against the Olympics, a new “Castle” returned to ABC and drew lowish numbers, but also took a bite out of the audience for CBS’ only new show of the night, “Intelligence.”
Finally, FOX’s dramas were consistent with last week’s numbers. “The Following” was up a tiny bit in total viewers, while “Almost Human” was up a whopping 0.1 in the key demo.
On to the ratings…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 5.6 rating for Monday night, topping the combined totals for the other four networks in the key demo. ABC’s 2.0 key demo rating was second, just in front of the 1.7 key demo rating for FOX. CBS’ 1.2 key demo rating was fourth with The CW’s 0.4 key demo rating trailing.
Overall, NBC had an even wider margin over the combined totals for its four rivals, averaging 23.46 million viewers and a 13.8 rating/21 share for Monday primetime. ABC was a distant second with 7.66 million viewers and a 5.1/8. CBS’ 5.31 million viewers and 3.4/5 nipped the 5.21 million and 3.2/5 for FOX. The CW averaged 1.005 million viewers and a 0.7/1 for the night.
8 p.m. – NBC’s primetime Olympics coverage started in first with 21.88 million viewers and a 5.2 rating among adults 18-49 in the 8 p.m. hour. ABC’s “The Bachelor” was second with 7.5 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating. FOX’s “Almost Human” was third with 5.28 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, beating the 4.91 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating for CBS’ repeats of “How I Met Your Mother” and “2 Broke Girls.” The CW’s “Star-Crossed” averaged 1.24 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The second hour of Olympics coverage rose to 24.23 million viewers and a 5.9 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC. ABC’s “The Bachelor” also rose with 7.715 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating. CBS’ repeats of “Mike & Molly” and “Mom” averaged 5.29 million viewers for third and a 1.2 key demo rating for fourth. FOX’s “The Following” was steady with last week with a 1.7 key demo rating and ticked back above 5 million viewers with 5.14 million. The CW’s “Beauty and the Beast” averaged 766,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo.
10 p.m. – By holding the end of the ice-dancing to the end of primetime, NBC’s Olympics coverage held up well, rising to 24.275 million viewers and doing a 5.8 rating among adults 18-49 in the 10 p.m. hour. ABC’s “Castle” averaged 7.775 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating, pushing CBS’ “Intelligence” down to 5.72 million viewers and a 1.2 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.