Fast National ratings for Friday, April 27, 2012.
Since “Fringe” has already earned its fifth season renewal and FOX has already announced that that fifth season will be its last, is there any reason to keep foregrounding “Fringe” ratings every Friday?
Perhaps freed from renewal anxiety, but more like due to entirely random Nielsen fluctuations, “Fringe” was up on Friday night, though not enough to lift FOX out of last place for the evening. Instead, it was another CBS rout overall and another close-and-low race among young viewers.
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 1.5 rating for Friday night, edging out ABC’s 1.3 rating in the key demographic. NBC was a close third with a 1.2 rating, followed by FOX’s 1.1 rating. The CW averaged a 0.5 key demo rating.
Overall, CBS won in a walk, averaging an estimated 8.78 million viewers and a 5.6 rating/10 share, comfortably ahead of ABC’s 4.8 million viewers and 3.2/6. NBC was a close third with a 3.1/6 and nearly 4.6 million viewers, with FOX’s 2.2/4 and 3.54 million viewers good for fourth. The CW averaged 1.42 million viewers and a 0.9/2 for the night.
8 p.m. – “Undercover Boss” was on the low side for recent originals, but still won the 8 p.m. hour for CBS with 7.15 million viewers and a Friday-best 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Shark Tank” was also on the low side with 5.41 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating. NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” was third with 5.21 million viewers and fourth with a 1.0 key demo rating. After last week’s big rise, FOX’s “The Finder” dropped a bit to 3.94 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating. The CW’s “Nikita” was flat with a 0.4 key demo rating and a smidge down with 1.315 million viewers.
9 p.m. – CBS stayed in first overall with 8.985 million viewers for “CSI: NY,” which tied for the hour with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “Grimm” was far back in second with 4.49 million viewers and also averaged a 1.4 key demo rating. ABC’s “Primetime: What Would You Do?” averaged 4.04 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, compared to the 3.14 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating for “Fringe.” The CW’s “Supernatural” was mostly flat with 1.53 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Blue Bloods” drew Friday’s biggest audience with 10.21 million viewers for CBS, but could only muster a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “20/20” was second with 4.96 million viewers, but tied with CBS in the key demo. NBC’s “Dateline” averaged 4.1 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating in third.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.