Fast National ratings for Friday, September 26, 2014.
Amidst a sea of premieres, Friday quickly returned to business as usual: “Blue Bloods,” returning on the low side led CBS to victory overall, while “Shark Tank” and ABC were easily Friday's best among young viewers.
The news wasn't all good for CBS, though. “The Amazing Race” cratered hard in its Friday debut and may require immediate assistance if CBS hopes to keep the long-running Emmy winner around.
Let's get straight to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 1.7 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS and NBC both averaged a 1.2 key demo rating for second, followed by FOX's 0.7 key demo rating and the 0.2 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 8.36 million viewers and a 5.3 rating/10 share for Friday night. ABC was second with 6.9 million viewers and a 4.5/8, ahead of the 4.1/8 and 6.17 million viewers for NBC. FOX was a distant fourth with 2.18 million viewers and a 1.4/3, ahead of the 798,000 viewers and 0.5/1 for The CW.
8 p.m. – “Shark Tank” led the 8 p.m. hour overall for ABC with 6.88 million viewers and also led with a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' “The Amazing Race” struggled with 5.52 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating in second. [“Undercover Boss” premiered to over 8.1 million viewers and did a 1.5 key demo rating in the time slot last year.] NBC's “The Mysteries of Laura” encore was third with 4.77 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, compared to the 1.86 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for FOX's “Utopia.” The CW's “Masters of Illusion” (1.1 million and a 0.3 key demo) and a “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” repeat (902,000 and a 0.3 key demo) trailed.
9 p.m. – CBS' “Hawaii Five-0” premiere took over first in the 9 p.m. hour with 8.93 million viewers and finished second with a 1.3 key demo rating, both down from last year. ABC's “Shark Tank” rose to 7.39 million viewers and an hour-winning 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 in its second hour. NBC's “Dateline” drew 6.5 million viewers for third and tied for second with a 1.3 key demo rating. On FOX, a “Gotham” encore drew 2.5 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, ahead of the 593,000 viewers and 0.2 key demo rating for The CW's “America's Next Top Model” encore.
10 p.m. – “Blue Bloods” led the 10 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 10.64 million viewers and finished third with a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's “Dateline” was second with 7.23 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating, compared to the 6.44 million viewers and hour-winning 1.6 key demo rating for ABC's “20/20.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.