Fast National ratings for Sunday, March 4, 2012.
The heavily promoted series premiere of the Texas dramedy “GCB” got off to a soft start, but another freshman drama, the hit “Once Upon a Time,” had a strong week to help ABC claim Sunday night among young viewers. CBS, meanwhile, comfortably won the evening overall, led by “60 Minutes.”
Among adults 18-49, ABC won Sunday night with a 2.6 rating, beating CBS’ 2.1 rating and the 2.0 rating for FOX in the key demographic. NBC was fourth with a 1.7 key demo rating.
Overall, though, CBS won the night with 10.39 million viewers and a 6.5 rating/10 share, topping the 5.2/8 and 8.6 million viewers for ABC. There was a big drop to NBC’s 5.53 million viewers and 3.5/6 and then to FOX’s 2.3/4 and 3.99 million viewers.
7 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first overall with the 11.47 million viewers for “60 Minutes,” which came in second with a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” averaged 8.04 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.2 key demo rating. [Something to ponder: This tied for the best “AFHV” key demo ratings since 2010.] NBC’s “Dateline” was third overall with 5.06 million viewers and fourth with a 1.0 key demo rating. FOX followed with a repeat of “Bob’s Burgers” (2 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo) and a new “The Cleveland Show” (3.16 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo).
8 p.m. – ABC got a bump for “Once Upon a Time,” which won the 8 p.m. hour with 10.62 million viewers and a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “The Amazing Race” was second with 10.37 million viewers and a 2.8 key demo rating. FOX was third with “The Simpsons” (5.17 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo) and the season finale of “Napoleon Dynamite” (4.04 million and a 2.0 key demo rating). NBC trailed with 3.77 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating for a “Celebrity Apprentice” repeat.
9 p.m. – CBS’ “The Good Wife” won the 9 p.m. hour overall with 9.705 million viewers, but finished fourth among adults 18-49 with a 1.8 rating. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” was second overall with 8.155 million viewers and tied for the hourly lead with a 2.5 key demo rating, both up from the show’s last airing. NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” was third with 6.31 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating. FOX was fourth overall and tied for first in the demo with “Family Guy” (5.335 million and a 2.8 key demo) and “American Dad” (4.26 million and a 2.1 key demo).
10 p.m. – “CSI: Miami” won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 10 million viewers, but came in third with a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “GCB” averaged 7.6 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating, which is either far better than recent time period performance from “Pan Am” or far lower than the September premiere for “Pan Am,” depending on your spin. [ABC can be encouraged that “GCB” held onto almost all of its “Housewives” lead-in and barely fell at the half-hour.] NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” was up from last week’s post-Oscars episode, but down from two weeks ago with 6.97 million viewers and an hour-winning 2.4 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.