TV Ratings: 'Shark Tank,' 'Blue Bloods' lead Friday, while 'Fringe' droops pre-finale

ABC and CBS split the demo, while CBS rules overall

By Daniel Fienberg Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 11:56 AM

"Shark Tank"

Credit: ABC

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Fast National ratings for Friday, January 11, 2013.

It was a pretty standard Friday night, with "Shark Tank" delivering the biggest numbers among young viewers to help ABC split the key demo, while CBS' procedurals were dominant overall.

Meanwhile, "Fringe" hit a pre-finale low, which won't make much of a difference to anybody.

For the night, ABC and CBS averaged a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49, tops in the key demographic. NBC averaged a 1.2 key demo rating, followed by FOX's 0.9 rating and the 0.3 key demo rating for The CW.

Overall, though, CBS won comfortably with an average of 10.3 million viewers and a 6.3 rating/11 share for Friday night. ABC was a distant second with 6.14 million viewers and a 3.9/7, topping NBC's 3.3/5 and 4.77 million viewers. FOX's 2.46 million viewers and 1.5/3 and the 0.6/1 and 924,000 viewers for The CW trailed.

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8 p.m. - CBS started primetime in first with 9.03 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 for "Undercover Boss," up from last week's sluggish airing against the Cotton Bowl. ABC was second with "Last Man Standing" (7.05 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo) and "Malibu Country" (6.15 million and a 1.4 key demo), which also both rose from last week. NBC's repeats of "1600 Penn" averaged 3.025 million viewers for third and a 0.8 key demo rating for third. FOX was fourth overall with 2.49 million viewers and third in the key demo with a 1.0 rating for a "Kitchen Nightmares" repeat. The CW's repeat of "Nikita" averaged 963,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.

9 p.m. - "CSI: NY" led the 9 p.m. hour overall for CBS with 10.74 million viewers and finished second with a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49, both on the high side for the season. ABC's "Shark Tank" averaged 6.84 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.0 key demo rating. NBC's "Dateline" was third with 4.85 million viewers and a 1.2 key demo rating. On FOX, the antepenultimate episode (and penultimate night) of "Fringe" averaged only 2.42 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating. The CW's "Arrow" repeat averaged 885,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo.

10 p.m. - "Blue Bloods" closed CBS' overall primetime sweep with 11.13 million viewers and also tied for first among adults 18-49 with a 1.6 rating. NBC's "Dateline" averaged 6.42 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating. That left ABC in third with 4.98 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating for "20/20."

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

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.