Primetime Ratings: 'Dancing With the Stars' Finale Down From Last Fall

Fox's lineup posts double-digit gains

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/28/2012 11:34:20 AM

The two-hour finale of Dancing With the Stars was down 27% from last fall with adults 18-49 to a 3.0 rating on Tuesday, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. It was, however, up 50% from last week (2.0). Earlier, the holiday specials How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Shrek the Halls were down 4% each from the same days last year to a 2.5 and 2.6, respectively. ABC narrowly won the night with an overall 2.8 rating/7 share.

CBS finished second (but first in total viewers) with a 2.7/7. NCIS was up 17% to a 3.5 and its spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles improved 4% to a 2.9. Vegas tied its lowest rating of 1.6, falling 11% from last week.

NBC took third (2.5/7), seeing improvements across the board. The Voice was up 12% from last Tuesday to a 3.8, Go On improved 19% to a 2.5 and The New Normal rose 13% to a 1.7. At 10 p.m., Parenthood drew a 1.8, up 6%.

Fox saw double-digit gains throughout its entire lineup, although it still finished fourth with a 1.7/5. Raising Hope was up 13% to a 1.7 while New Girl and The Mindy Project both improved 15% to a 2.3 and 1.5, respectively. Ben and Kate posted the largest gains, rising 27% to a 1.4.

The CW rounded out the evening with a 0.4/1. Hart of Dixie was even with 18-49s with a 0.5 and up a tenth with 18-34s at 0.6. Emily Owens, M.D. was down a tenth in both demos to a 0.3 rating for each.