TV Ratings: FOX's Fiesta bowls over ABC's 'Bachelor' premiere

'Conveyor Belt of Love' premiere is so-so, while the return of 'Heroes' is soft

By Daniel Fienberg Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 11:50 AM

Doug Martin of Boise State

Credit: Matt York/AP

FOX's coverage of a tight Fiesta Bowl between TCU and Boise State generated strong enough ratings to claim Monday night victories over ABC's premiere of "The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" and the one-off special "Conveyor Belt of Love."

Meanwhile, viewers were unenthusiastic about welcoming "Heroes" back to NBC.

Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 4.3 rating for the night, beating ABC's 3.1 rating and CBS' 2.7 rating in the key demographic. NBC was a distant fourth with a 2.0 rating, leaving The CW in fifth with a 0.4 rating.

Overall, FOX averaged an estimated 13.16 million viewers to go with a 7.8 rating/12 share. CBS was second with a 5.9/9, nipping the 5.7/9 for ABC. NBC was well back in fourth with a 3.1/5. The CW's 0.6/1 trailed.

FOX started the night in first with a 7.7/12 for the beginning of the Fiesta Bowl, which also had a 4.0 rating in the key demo. ABC's 6.1/9 for hour one of "The Bachelor" finished second. CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and "Accidentally on Purpose" repeats were third, beating the 3.4/5 (and 2.3 demo rating) for NBC's "Heroes," which had an estimated 5.3 million viewers for its first new hour. The CW's "One Tree Hill" had a 0.7/1 for fifth.

The Fiesta Bowl stayed in first at 9 p.m. for FOX with a 7.9/12 and a 4.5 demo rating. CBS moved into second with a 6.9/10 for repeats of "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory." ABC's "The Bachelor" improved to a 6.6/10 and a 3.6 demo rating in its second hour. NBC's "Heroes," meanwhile, slipped to a 2.9/4 and a 2.1 rating in the demo. The CW's "Gossip Girl" was fifth.

ABC provides the following details on "The Bachelor" premiere: This was the most watched premiere for the franchise since April 2007 and the highest rated in the 18-49 demo since September 2007.

With FOX not factoring into the ratings (but surely winning), CBS' "CSI: Miami" repeat took the 10 p.m. hour with a 6.4/11. ABC's "Conveyor Belt of Love" had a 4.3/7 overall, with 6.53 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.7 rating in the 18-49 demo. NBC's new "The Jay Leno Show" finished 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, particularly in the case of live events.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

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.