SHARK TANK Propels ABC to Top of Friday Night Ratings

By: Tyler Peterson Feb. 16, 2013

ABC won Friday in Adults 18-49 with strong advantages over NBC (+25%), CBS (+36%) and FOX (+67%). Shark Tank once again finished as the #1 TV show of the night in Adults 18-49. Season to date, ABC is Friday's #1 network in Adults 18-49, building over the comparable weeks last year by 21% to its strongest delivery on the night in 4 years - since the 2008-09 season.

Please Note: On the Friday leading into the holiday weekend, overall Adult 18-49 TV usage levels were down by -7% week to week (30.6 vs. 32.8).

During the 8 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49, ABC's Last Man Standing and Malibu Country beat out CBS' The Job by 71% and Fox's Kitchen Nightmares by 9%.

Spiking over its lead-in (+63%), ABC's Shark Tank won the 9 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49, dominating the second hour of NBC's 2-hour Dateline by 38%, CBS' CSI: NY by 50% and Fox's Touch by 157%.

Shark Tank grew 20% over its telecast on the same night last year, continuing to deliver its best season ever.

ABC's 20/20 ranked #1 during the 10 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 to stand as Friday's #1 newsmagazine, beating both NBC's Dateline and Rock Center with Br Ian Williams. Head to head from 10-11pm, 20/20 outdelivered NBC's Rock Center with Br Ian Williams by 14% in Total Viewers, by 31% in Adults 25-54 and by 36% in Adults 18-49. 20/20 reported on the crippled Carnival cruise ship Triumph and the eight-day trip to misery that ensued for the more than 4,000 passengers onboard. Up week to week in Total Viewers (+12%), Adults 18-49 (+15%) and Adults 25-54 (+17%), the ABC newsmagazine drew its biggest audience in 2 months - since 12/14/12.