TV Ratings: CBS wins Friday as 'Blue Bloods,' 'Fringe' slip, 'Gifted Man,' 'CSI: NY' rise
'Nikita' rises slightly, 'Supernatural' falls slightly
Gary Sinise of "CSI: NY"
Credit: CBS
Fast National ratings for Friday, October 14, 2011.
It was a business-as-usual Friday with CBS ruling overall and in the coveted demographic.
Most of the night's variation was miniscule. "Gifted Man," "CSI: New York" and "Nikita" were among the show with tiny week-to-week growth (either overall, in the demo or both), while "Blue Blues," "Fringe" and "Kitchen Nightmares" were among the shows dipping very slightly.
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 1.6 rating for the night, followed closely by FOX's 1.3 rating and the 1.2 ratings for ABC and NBC in the key demographic. The CW trailed with a 0.6 rating.
Overall, CBS won the night in a cakewalk, averaging 9.56 million viewers to go with a 6.1 rating/11 share. That topped the combined totals for NBC (3.0/5 and 4.365 million viewers) and ABC (3.0/5 and 4.34 million viewers). FOX was fourth with a 2.1/4 and 3.37 million viewers. The CW's 1.1/2 and 1.64 million viewers trailed.
8 p.m. - CBS swept primetime overall starting at 8 p.m. with the 7.75 million viewers for "A Gifted Man," which tied for second with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC finished second on the hour with a strong 4.87 million viewer (and 1.3 key demo) resampling for the two-episode "Last Man Standing" premiere. FOX's "Kitchen Nightmares" was third overall with 3.6 million viewers, but won the hour with a 1.4 key demo rating. NBC's repeats of "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" averaged 1.82 million and a 0.6 key demo rating, neck-and-neck with the 1.67 million viewers and 0.6 key demo rating for The CW's "Nikita."
9 p.m. - "CSI: NY" won the 9 p.m. hour for CBS with 10.02 million viewers and also came out on top with a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's "Dateline" was second with 5.32 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo rating. ABC's repeats of "Modern Family" and "Suburgatory" averaged 3.41 million viewers, beating the 3.14 million viewers for "Fringe," while both shows averaged a 1.2 rating in the key demo. [And yes, this puts "Fringe" down a tiny 0.1 in the demo and almost exactly 100,000 in total viewers from last week, which either counts as "down" or "irrelevantly unchanged."] The CW's "Supernatural" averaged 1.61 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating in fifth.
10 p.m. - CBS' "Blue Bloods" averaged 10.905 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating to win the 10 p.m. hour, though those were its lowest numbers of the season. NBC's "Dateline" averaged 5.955 million viewers for second and tied for tops with a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's "20/20" posted big viewer increases from last week to 4.74 million in third.
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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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupDarius
October 15, 2011 at 12:34PM EST Reply to CommentDan are you watching Nikita this season and what do you think about its chances for renewal?
October 15, 2011 at 12:43PM EST-Daniel
Darius
October 15, 2011 at 1:56PM EST Reply to CommentAlright, thanks. Nikita to me is of the best dramas on network TV and this second season has continued the great momentum the first developed throughtout its run.
mike
October 15, 2011 at 11:01PM EST Reply to CommentIf the CW cancels NIKITA they are beyond stupid to get 0.6 in the demo on fridays is impressive if all there shows on high level hut days only get 0.6-0.8.Except TVD of course. But to get 0.6 on fridays for the CW when all their other shows don't get much better is good and should be a clear renewal for NIKITA.
what do you say about that Dan am i on to something here?
Also think Fringe will be renewed for a 5th season if it can hold onto 1.2 and up in the demo.
October 16, 2011 at 1:02AM EST1) It's not cheap. If a slot comes down to "Hart of Dixie" doing a 0.7 rating at "Hart of Dixie" cost versus "Nikita" doing a 0.6 at "Nikita" cost, there's more value in "Hart of Dixie." Or several other comparable dirt cheap shows.
2) DVR bumps. "Nikita" gets one, of course. All CW shows have high percentage bumps. But it's not a huge bump and DVR separates what "Nikita" is doing and what "Supernatural" does even further.
But here's the biggie...
3) The CW doesn't care about adults 18-49. They care about women 18-34. "Nikita" is, relatively speaking, less effectively concentrated in that demo than something like "Gossip Girl," which definitely has mockable overall and even 18-49 numbers, but continues to perform absurdly well in The CW's core.
So that's the easy Devil's Advocate argument to your claim that it should be a "clear renewal." "Nikita" is not cheap and not concentrated in The CW's very limited core.
As for "Fringe"? I don't quite get your confidence that a 1.2 -- i.e. at-or-under what ABC comedy repeats do in that time slot -- equals renewal. "Fringe" isn't a 20th Century Fox TV show, so the network doesn't have a huge reason to get the show through a fifth season. And there's really no way to spin the "Fringe" numbers. Even factoring in DVR usage for the premiere, easily its highest rated episode of the season thus far, "Fringe" only gets up to a 2.3 in the demo and 5.3 million viewers. You can't spin that.
So if FOX keeps "Fringe" around, it's all about cache and giving genre fans *something* to be happy about. The numbers are basically irrelevant, because ratings-wise, there's no way "Fringe" should still be on *this* season.
Bottom line: Both "Nikita" and "Fringe" *could* get renewed. Sure. But neither is a sure thing and neither hypothetical cancellation would be "a mistake," per se.
-Daniel
Sareeta
October 16, 2011 at 1:15PM EST Reply to CommentDan, do you watch Supernatural? I recently started watching reruns on TNT and am up to season 6. I've been curious why Hitfix doesn't review it or talk about it on the podcast since it seems like a show you both would probably enjoy.
October 16, 2011 at 2:32PM EST-Daniel
Sareeta To be honest, I didn't like most of the 1st season, due to it feeling very "monster of the week" and I think even the creator acknowledged there were things he would change if given the chance. However, I think everything really came together towards the end of season 1 and start of season 2.
October 19, 2011 at 6:30PM ESTYou're right, the show is very mythology-driven so you do need to watch the episodes in order, at least from season 2 forward.
October 19, 2011 at 6:39PM EST-Daniel
mike
October 16, 2011 at 2:11PM EST Reply to CommentDaniel. I don't the CW looks at these specific demo numbers as much anymore if they did Smallville and supernatural would have been cancelled long time ago. And now with this new president i think the CW is looking on the ratings like all the other networks
October 16, 2011 at 2:21PM ESTRegardless, the future of "Nikita" will be tied to the same things it always has been:
1) How do "Ringer," "Secret Circle" and "Hart of Dixie" perform over their next 17 or 18 episodes? Not one of those three shows feels like a lock to be back next year, but any of them could steady/grow. If none of them warrant renewal or maybe only one of them does, "Nikita" does, indeed, feel like a likely returner. If two or three of them do well enough to justify returning, that won't be the case.
2) Development. This isn't just about scripted development. Pedowitz has said that he knows The CW needs a reality/competition hit and that's a major priority. He's right, especially with "ANTM" continuing to age. Will next spring's "ANTM" be the show's last season? Will The CW have a replacement ready? Or will "ANTM" return?
Once again, my point wasn't that "Nikita" won't be renewed. Just that there are many factors and it's far from a sure thing. VERY far.
-Daniel
mike
October 16, 2011 at 2:15PM EST Reply to CommentDaniel. Hart of Dixie only get 0.6-0.7 now in the demo on mondays if it was put on fridays it would get way less on a friday. No to mention that show with Supernatural does not mix well together at all. I think they put Nikita there to replace smallville so they got 2 shows on fridays again that appeal more to guys.
October 16, 2011 at 2:30PM ESTAnd the "Supernatural" audience is far more female skewing than you may think it is...
AGAIN, all I'm saying is that you're talking about a show with miniscule-but-steady ratings and you're making it sound as if it would be absurd for The CW to want to go another way. It would not be absurd. It would just be a choice.
-Daniel