Primetime Ratings: 'Golden Boy' Debuts Below 'Vegas' September Premiere

'Celebrity Wife Swap' returns to series high; 'The Taste' falls in new time slot

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/27/2013 11:36:22 AM

CBS premiered new cop drama Golden Boy on Tuesday at 10 p.m. to a 1.8 rating with adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. The debut, which also drew 10.46 million total viewers, was 28% below what Vegas premiered to in that space back in September (although it falls in line with Vegas' season average). Golden Boy will get one more week in that time slot before moving to Fridays on March 8.

Earlier, NCIS was down 3% from last week to a 3.4 while NCIS: Los Angeles rose 7% to a 2.9. CBS won the night with an overall 2.7 rating/8 share.

ABC and Fox split for second in the demo with a 1.7/5, though ABC had more overall viewers (5.8 million to 3.55 million). Celebrity Wife Swap, featuring Kate Gosselin, premiered to a series-high 2.4, up a tenth from the show's premiere last year. The Taste struggled in its new time slot at 9 p.m., dropping 13% to a 1.4. Body of Proof stayed at last week's series-low 1.2.

Fox's lineup was mostly steady, with its 8 p.m. episode of Raising Hope earning a 1.5, even with last week. A second episode at 8:30 p.m. posted a 1.4. The Mindy Project was also flat with last week at a 1.6. New Girl was up 5% to a 2.3.

NBC's Smash stayed its own series-low 0.9 rating, as did Go On, which remained at a 1.1. The New Normal was up a tenth from last week for a 1.0. Earlier, Betty White's Off Their Rockers stayed at its series-low 1.3 for both airings. NBC finished in fourth with a 1.1/3.

The CW's Cult was flat in its second week with a 0.2 in its targeted adults 18-34 demo and a 0.3 with 18-49s. Hart of Dixie was up a tenth in both demos to a 0.7 and 0.6, respectively. The CW ended the night with an overall 0.5/1.