TV Ratings: ABC, CBS and NBC battle for Friday, with 'Dollhouse' slipping slightly

'Frosty the Snowman,' 'Dateline' and '20/20' draw Friday audiences

Saturday, Dec 19, 2009 1:29 PM

Daniel Fienberg

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TV Ratings: ABC, CBS and NBC battle for Friday, with 'Dollhouse' slipping slightly

Eliza Dushku of 'Dollhouse'

Credit: Carin Baer/FOX

Fast National ratings for Friday, December 18, 2009.

A repeat-driven Friday led to low ratings and viewership across the board, as even new episodes of FOX's "Dollhouse" slipped in week-to-week ratings. NBC, CBS And ABC were all able to claim tiny, unimpressive ratings victories for the night.

Among adults 18-49, ABC and CBS both posted a 1.4 rating, which was enough to win the key demographic for the evening. NBC's 1.3 rating was third, followed pretty closely by the 0.7 rating for FOX and The CW's 0.6 rating.

Overall, though, NBC averaged an estimated 5.92 million viewers to go with a 3.9 rating/7 share. ABC's 3.7/7 was second, followed by CBS' 3.3/6, though CBS averaged more viewers than ABC. FOX had a 1.4/2 for the night, with The CW's 1.0/2 trailing.

NBC won the 8 p.m. hour overall with a repeat of "Law & Order," which did a 4.2/8. CBS' "Frosty the Snowman" and "Frosty Returns" were second overall with a 3.6/7, but actually won the hour in total viewers and in the key demo with a 2.0 rating. ABC's "Supernanny" had a 2.8/5 for third, beating the 1.4/3 for "Dollhouse" on FOX. The CW's repeat of "Vampire Diaries" was fifth.

"Dateline" kept NBC in first at 9 p.m. with a 3.9/7. ABC's "20/20" was second with a 3.7/7 and won the hour with a 1.4 rating in the demo. CBS' repeat of "Medium" was third. Fourth place went to "Dollhouse," which had a 1.3/2 for the hour. [For the night, "Dollhouse" averaged an estimated 2.105 million viewers and a 0.7 demo rating. The two-hour "Dollhouse" blocks the previous two weeks averaged 2.41 million and 2.053 million viewers respectively, with a 0.9 demo rating last week and a 0.8 demo rating the week before.] The CW's "Vampire Diaries" was fifth with a 0.9/2.

ABC closed primetime in first with a 4.6/8 for "20/20." NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" was second with a 3.6/4, leaving CBS' "Numb3rs" repeat 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.