‘Shark Tank’ Ratings Hit Season High, ‘Amazing Race’ Steadyish, ’20/20′ Surges
In some ways the unofficial soundtrack to Shark Tank (1.7/6) should be Diana Ross’s Upside Down. Not as a nod to the multiple Grammy winner on Grammy weekend but to the fact that the ABC reality entrepreneurial series’ ratings fortunes shift so suddenly. Maybe it was the sweetener that tasted like honey pitch last night but after a double digit drop last week from its previous season high, Shark Tank surged 21% among adults 18-49 to hit a new Season 7 high.
Up 25% overall from last week to score a demo winning 1.5/5, ABC started the night with its third annual Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1.0/4) special – which was even with last year. However, Shark Tank was neither the lone top rated show nor the biggest surger of the night for ABC or anyone else this February sweeps weekend. With Diane Sawyer’s exclusive interview with Sue Klebold, the mother of one of the 1999 Columbine shooters, 20/20 (1.7/6) was up 42% from its February 5 show among the key demo and up 35% among the 25-54 news demo. That matches last season’s high when the news mag scored a fall hit with its Leah Remini interview, the actress discussing her time in the Church of Scientology.
With numbers like that, 20/20 easily topped its 10 PM slot over Dateline (0.9/3) and an original Blue Bloods (1.4/5). The former was down 10% while the NYPD cop family drama, which was the most watched show of the night with an audience of 10.88 million, dipped 7% from its last original of January 22. Blue Bloods lead-in Hawaii Five-O (1.3/5) was back with a 7% decline too from its last original, also of January 22.
As usual, CBS topped the night in total viewers – with 8.59 million last night.
The net started its night with the return of The Amazing Race (1.2/5) for its 28th Season. While even with its Season 27 debut of September 25 last year, the competition show fell 20% from its 9:30 – 11 PM February 25, 2015 Season 26 premiere on a Wednesday. On a Friday-to-Friday comparison, last night’s TAR bopped up 9% from its February 27, 2015 show, the first Friday of Season 26 and the night CBS considers the “official” start of the cycle.
Going into the second week of its winter return, Fox’s Sleepy Hollow (0.7/3) took a 22% fall in the key demo to also see lead-out Second Chance (0.5/2) down 17% – lows for both. The Vampire Diaries (0.4/1) was even with last week while The Originals (0.3/1) was down a tenth to hit a season low for the CW. It was kind of the same story for NBC, though in reverse on Friday. At 8 PM, Caught On Camera With Nick Cannon (0.8/3) was down a tenth from its February 5 show while Grimm (0.9/3) was perfectly even with last week.
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