Fast National ratings for Friday, April 4, 2014.
The not-especially-huge third season premiere of “Unforgettable” still won its hour overall to help CBS win Friday in total viewers, but it was far less successful among young viewers, where “Shark Tank” led ABC to its usual Friday win.
Because of the weird way CBS has scheduled “Unforgettable,” it's impossible to truly compare seasons. Friday's return was up from last season's late-July premiere in total viewers, but it was down in the key demo. Of course, despite the summer slot, the last “Unforgettable” premiere had a strong “Big Brother” lead-in, while the drama had to be a self-starter on Friday.
Last week's “Hannibal” bump proved to be a “Dateline”-fueled illusion as the cult favorite drama drooped again, as did its “Grimm” lead-in. Also way down for the week were The CW's “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and “Hart of Dixie.”
The news was a tiny bit better for the series finale of “Raising Hope,” which didn't exactly get a “How I Met Your Mother”-sized finale bump, but at least it was up week-to-week.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 1.5 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 1.3 key demo rating, followed by NBC's 1.1 key demo rating. FOX's 0.7 key demo rating beat the 0.3 key demo rating for The CW on Friday.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 9.47 million viewers and a 6.0 rating/11 share for Friday primetime. ABC was second with 6.19 million viewers and a 4.0/7, topping NBC's 4.45 million viewers and 3.0/5. FOX was fourth with a 1.2/2 and 1.76 million viewers, followed by the 1.11 million viewers and 0.7/1 for The CW.
8 p.m. – “Unforgettable” won the 8 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 7.5 million viewers, but finished third with a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's “Dateline” was second overall with 6.15 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.2 key demo rating. ABC was third overall and second in the key demo with “Last Man Standing” (6.17 million and a 1.3 key demo) and “The Neighbors” (3.94 million and a 0.9 key demo). FOX's repeat of “Kitchen Nightmares” averaged 1.93 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, which is still better in both counts than last week's “Rake.” A new “Whose Line” and a repeat averaged 1.455 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating for The CW.
9 p.m. – “Hawaii Five-0” averaged 9.52 million viewers to win the 9 p.m. hour for CBS, tying for second with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “Shark Tank” was second with 7.19 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.9 key demo rating. NBC's “Grimm” was on the low side with 4.88 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating. FOX's two episodes of “Raising Hope,” which culminated in the series finale, averaged 1.58 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating, holding the same demo for both half-hours. On The CW, “Hart of Dixie” averaged only 766,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating, in what was likely a series low.
10 p.m. – “Blue Bloods” won the 10 p.m. hour for CBS with 11.4 million viewers and also tied for the lead with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “20/20” was second with 6.33 million viewers and also averaged a 1.5 key demo rating. On NBC, “Hannibal” slipped to 2.32 million viewers and a 0.8 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.