TV Ratings: 'Blue Bloods' leads CBS Friday win, 'Fringe' rises from May
'Nikita' and 'Supernatural' are steady for The CW
Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood guested on Friday's "Blue Bloods" premiere
Credit: CBS
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Fast National ratings for Friday, September 23, 2011.
Same as it ever was, the first Friday of the new TV season was dominated overall by CBS' reliable assortment of procedurals, led by "Blue Bloods," while the network narrowly eked out a victory among young viewers.
In other ratings news, "Fringe" launched its fourth season with either significantly lower numbers than when it first launched on Fridays last spring or slightly higher numbers than when it completed its season in May. Also, The CW's "Nikita" and "Supernatural" both got off to solid-but-unremarkable starts, as did CBS' new drama "A Gifted Man."
Let's get down to numbers...
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 1.7 rating for the night, edging out NBC and FOX's 1.6 rating in the key demographic. ABC was fourth with a 1.0 rating, while The CW averaged a 0.7 rating.
Overall, CBS had a big cushion, averaging 10.61 million viewers and a 6.9 rating/12 share for the night. NBC was a distant second with a 4.0/7 and 5.78 million viewers. ABC's 2.6/4 and 3.78 million and FOX's 2.3/4 and 3.685 million followed. The CW trailed with a 1.2/2 and 1.92 million viewers for the night.
8 p.m. - "A Gifted Man" started primetime in first overall for CBS with 9.31 million viewers, coming in second with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. Those numbers are higher than "Medium," "Chaos," "The Defenders" and a number of fill-ins drew for CBS in the hour, though not that much higher with young viewers. ABC's repeats of "Modern Family" were second overall with 3.9 million viewers, beating the 3.84 million for FOX's "Kitchen Nightmares," which won the hour with a lackluster 1.6 rating in the key demographic. NBC's repeats of "Up All Night" and "Whitney" averaged 3.13 million viewers. The CW's "Nikita" averaged 1.88 million viewers and a 0.6 rating in its Friday premiere, retaining almost all of the audience that watched its first season finale on Thursday.
9 p.m. - CBS stayed in first for the 10 p.m. hour with 10.665 million viewers for "CSI: NY," which also won the hour with a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49. That marked improvement over last year's "CSI: NY" premiere in viewers, but a drop in the key demo. NBC moved up to second with 6.39 million viewers for "Dateline," which also did a 1.7 key demo rating. ABC's repeat of "Revenge" averaged 4.13 million viewers in third. FOX's "Fringe" took fourth overall with 3.53 million viewers and third in the key demo with a 1.5 rating. On The CW, "Supernatural" averaged 1.95 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating.
10 p.m. - "Blue Bloods" averaged 11.85 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating for CBS in the 10 p.m. hour, making it the night's top program overall and top scripted program among young viewers. NBC's "Dateline" was second with 7.83 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.2 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's "20/20" averaged 3.205 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.
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
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September 24, 2011 at 12:15PM EST Reply to CommentWho would've thought that the second hour of Dateline on a Friday night would be one of NBC's better performers during premiere week? It did better than Parenthood, Parks & Recreation, The Sing-off, Prime Suspect, Community, The Playboy Club, Free Agents, and Harry's Law.
September 24, 2011 at 12:24PM EST-Daniel
theboyisimportant
September 26, 2011 at 12:40AM EST Reply to CommentIf FOX could only tie in Fringe with Star Wars somehow. But seriously, people LOVE Fringe and like Lost, the story is getting better this season.