Fast National ratings for Monday, March 25, 2013.
For one night at least, NBC is back!
The returns of “The Voice” and “Revolution” lifted NBC out of its midseason doldrums and put the struggling network back in first place in all key measures — Other than, you know, “overall” — on Monday night.
Of course, it’s a matter of spin how “The Voice” and “Revolution” actually did compared to previous performances.
“The Voice” was either way down from last winter’s premiere (a reasonably unfair comparison, given the post-Super Bowl bounce), or slightly up from the show’s fall premiere or slightly down from the fall finale. No matter how you spin it, with a 4.7 rating among adults 18-49 and 13.4 million total viewers, that’s a very good return for “The Voice.”
Similarly, with a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49, “Revolution” was either roughly flat against its end-of-fall averages, slightly down against its fall finale or way down against its September premiere. It’s not an unqualified returning success, but it’s certainly not a disappointing return.
When it comes to other numbers, there was a lot of dropping all around. “The Voice” took a huge bite out of “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC and forced CBS’ 8 p.m. comedies to season lows. Also dropping were FOX’s “The Following” and “Bones,” plus The CW’s “The Carrie Diaries.”
For the night, FOX averaged a 4.0 rating among adults 18-49, far ahead of CBS’ 2.4 rating in the key demographic. ABC’s 2.2 rating and the 2.1 rating for FOX followed in the key demo, well ahead of the 0.3 key demo rating for The CW.
Overall, though, ABC still won the night with 12.95 million viewers and an 8.3 rating/13 share, beating NBC’s 6.6/10 and 11.32 million viewers. There was a drop to CBS’ 7.76 million viewers and 4.8/7 and FOX’s 4.1/6 and 6.69 million viewers. The CW averaged 681,000 viewers and a 0.5/1 for Monday.
8 p.m. – “Dancing with the Stars” led the 8 p.m. hour overall with 13.84 million viewers for ABC, coming in third with a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “The Voice” returned with 12.46 million viewers and an hour-winning 4.2 key demo rating. FOX’s “Bones” averaged 6.745 million viewers in third and a 1.9 key demo rating in fourth. CBS was fourth overall, but second in the key demo with low numbers for “How I Met Your Mother” (6.85 million and a 2.7 key demo) and “Rules of Engagement” (6.18 million and a 2.1 key demo). The CW’s “The Carrie Diaries” averaged 941,000 viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – ABC narrowly held onto first overall in the 9 p.m. hour with 14.32 million viewers for “Dancing with the Stars,” which finished third with a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “The Voice” rose to 14.27 million viewers and a 5.1 key demo rating. CBS was third overall and second in the key demo with “2 Broke Girls” (8.55 million and a 2.9 key demo) and “Mike & Molly” (8.64 million and a 2.6 key demo), which were both actually up a hair from last week. FOX’s “The Following” had another week of declines against increased competition with 6.63 million viewers and a 2.3 key demo rating. The CW’s repeat of “Hart of Dixie” averaged only 421,000 viewers and a 0.1 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Castle” won the 10 p.m. hour overall with 10.685 million viewers and finished second with a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” averaged 8.16 million viewers for second and a 2.0 key demo rating in third. NBC’s “Revolution” won the 10 p.m. hour with 2.7 key demo rating and finished third with 7.25 million viewers.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.