TV Ratings: ‘Shark Tank’ series high leads ABC, while ‘Bones’ settles in on Friday

Fast National ratings for Friday, December 6, 2013.

The combination of a series high in viewers for “Shark Tank,” plus a typically weak “Grammy Nominations Concert Live” special on CBS helped ABC win Friday night overall and tie for the lead among young viewers with “Grimm”-boosted NBC.

Also delivering week-to-week growth on Friday were ABC’s “Last Man Standing” and “The Neighbors,” plus NBC’s “Dracula.” But perhaps no show is getting more encouraging returns than FOX’s “Bones,” which had a soft Friday start three weeks ago, but has settled into exactly the sort of steady performer the network hoped for, winning its hour among young viewers.

Finally, The CW’s “The Carrie Diaries” and “Nikita” were up a hair from its last airings. 

On to the numbers…

Among adults 18-49, NBC and ABC both averaged a 1.4 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. FOX and NBC tied for third with a 1.2 key demo rating, while The CW averaged a 0.3 key demo rating. 

Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 5.95 million viewers and a 3.9 rating/7 share for Friday primetime, edging out the 5.83 million and 3.7/6 for NBC for the night. CBS was a close third with 5.69 million viewers and a 3.5/6. FOX’s 4.59 million viewers and 2.8/5 was good for fourth, while The CW averaged 900,000 viewers and a 0.3/1 for the night.

8 p.m. – NBC started the night in first overall with 7.3 million viewers for “Dateline,” which was third with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. FOX’s “Bones” was second overall with 6.8 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.6 key demo rating. CBS was third overall and second in the key demo with the holiday-flavored “Frosty the Snowman” (6.68 million and a 1.6 key demo) and “Yes Virginia” (5.65 million and a 1.4 key demo). ABC followed with “Last Man Standing” (6.34 million and a 1.4 key demo) and “The Neighbors” (4.31 million and a 1.0 key demo). The CW’s “The Carrie Diaries” averaged 953,000 viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.

9 p.m. – With no original competition from CBS, “Shark Tank” led the 8 p.m. hour with 7.46 million viewers and a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC. NBC’s “Grimm” also capitalized on the absence of “Hawaii Five-0” to averaged 6.38 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. A repeat of “NCIS: Los Angeles” averaged 5.61 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating for CBS. FOX’s two episodes of “Raising Hope” averaged 2.38 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, still far ahead of the 846,000 viewers and 0.3 key demo rating for “Nikita” on The CW.

10 p.m. – CBS’ “Grammy Nominations Concert Live” scored an unimpressive 10 p.m. win with 5.29 million viewers and tied for the lead with a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “20/20” was second with 5.07 million viewers and also did a 1.1 key demo rating. NBC’s “Dracula” also did a 1.1 key demo rating and averaged 3.8 million viewers in third.