TV Ratings: 'Fringe,' 'Back to the Beginning' help FOX and ABC split Friday

ABC leads overall and ties in the demo with FOX

By Daniel Fienberg Saturday, Dec 22, 2012 11:58 AM

"Back To The Beginning with Christiane Amanpour"

Credit: ABC

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Fast National ratings for Friday, December 21, 2012.

Although it was down a hair week-to-week, "Fringe" spent a rare week atop its hour among young viewers and helped FOX tie for the nightly crown. Overall, ABC claimed the title thanks to the two-hour special "Back To The Beginning with Christiane Amanpour."

Mostly numbers were low across the board on a pre-holiday Friday, though The CW had another solid night with seasonal specials.

Among adults 18-49, FOX and ABC both averaged a 1.0 rating for Friday night, tops in the key demographic. [And FOX actually won the two hours in which the networks went head-to-head.] NBC's 0.8 key demo rating and the 0.6 key demo ratings for CBS and The CW followed.

Overall, though, ABC won Friday primetime with an estimated 4.84 million viewers and a 3.2 rating/6 share. NBC was second with 4.42 million viewers and a 2.9/5, compared to CBS which also averaged a 2.9/5, but averaged only 4.05 million viewers. FOX was fourth with a 1.7/3 and 2.71 million viewers, holding off the 0.9/2 and 1.8 million viewers for The CW.

8 p.m. - NBC started primetime in first with yet another reairing of Blake Shelton's Christmas special, which drew 5.05 million viewers and a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 this time around. CBS' repeat of "The Good Wife" was second overall with 4.13 million viewers and tied for fourth with a 0.6 key demo rating. ABC's repeats of "Last Man Standing" and "Malibu Country" averaged 4.04 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, both good for third. FOX's "Kitchen Nightmares" repeat was fourth overall with 2.4 million viewers, but second with a 0.9 key demo rating, basically neck-and-neck with NBC. The CW's "The Happy Elf" averaged 1.73 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.

9 p.m. - ABC moved into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 5.08 million viewers and a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 for "Back To The Beginning with Christiane Amanpour." NBC's reairing of the latest Michael Buble Christmas special was second with 4.435 million viewers and third with a 0.8 key demo rating. Another "Good Wife" repeat averaged 3.92 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating for CBS. On FOX, "Fringe" averaged 3.02 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating for the hour. The CW's "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" averaged 1.88 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.

10 p.m. - "Back To The Beginning with Christiane Amanpour" led the 10 p.m. hour for ABC with 5.42 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. CBS' "The Good Wife" repeat averaged 4.115 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, compared to the 3.78 million viewers and 0.8 key demo rating for NBC's "Dateline."

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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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.