Fast National ratings for Friday, October 19, 2012.
“Shark Tank” drew big numbers to ABC on Friday, leading to the network’s now-usual win among young viewers, but CBS cruised overall thanks to lower-than-last-week installments of “CSI: NY” and “Blue Bloods.”
Meanwhile, FOX’s National League Championship Series coverage helped the network tie for the lead (with an asterisk) among young viewers and The CW’s “Nikita” started its third season in disappointing fashion.
Among adults 18-49, FOX and ABC both averaged a 1.7 rating to tie for the lead in the key demographic. [ABC, of course, won in the two hours the networks went head-to-head.] CBS and NBC tied for a distant third in the key demographic, while The CW did a 0.5 rating for Friday night.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 8.36 million viewers and a 5.6 rating/10 share to win Friday primetime. FOX was second with a 3.9/7 and 6.36 million viewers, nipping the 3.8/7 and 5.795 million viewers for ABC. With 4.16 million viewers and a 2.8/5, NBC was fourth for the night. The CW averaged 1.21 million viewers and a 0.8/1.
8 p.m. – ABC started primetime in first with 7.04 million viewers and a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 for “Shark Tank.” FOX’s coverage of the game between the Giants and Cardinals averaged 6.22 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating for second. CBS’ repeat of “Hawaii Five-0” averaged 5.935 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, well below last week’s numbers for an “NCIS” repeat. NBC’s “Grimm” repeat averaged 2.62 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating. On The CW, “America’s Next Top Model” averaged a solid 1.47 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – CBS moved into first with 9.12 million viewers for “CSI: NY,” but despite a Green Day-based stunt, the procedural was fourth among adults 18-49 with a 1.2 rating. FOX’s baseball coverage was second overall with 6.5 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.7 key demo rating. ABC’s “What Would You Do?” was a close second with a 1.6 key demo rating and third with 4.93 million viewers. NBC’s “Grimm” slipped a little with 4.87 million viewers, though its 1.4 key demo rating was the top for Friday scripted programming. On The CW, “Nikita” premiered with only 951,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating, unspinnable numbers that are almost half what the drama did in its 8 p.m. hour premiere last year. That’s a drop that’s fairly hard to explain, and significantly lower than even a “Beauty and the Beast” encore did in this slot last week.
10 p.m. – “Blue Bloods” delivered Friday’s biggest overall audience with 10.02 million viewers and tied for second with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “20/20” won the hour with a 1.4 key demo rating and finished second with 5.42 million viewers. NBC’s “Dateline” averaged nearly 5 million viewers and a 1.3 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, particularly in the case of live events.