The premiere of Kiefer Sutherland's new Fox drama "Touch" put in a solid performance on a night that saw declines across the board, according to preliminary numbers.
Fox took first place in the advertiser-cherished 18-49 demographic and total viewers with an average 3.6 rating/10 share in the demo and 13.3 million. "American Idol" at 8 took a predictable ratings win for the night but was down 13 percent from last week in the demo with a 4.0/13. It had 15 million total viewers, which also made it the most-watched program of the night. The "Touch" premiere aired at 9, taking a 3.3/9 in the demo — lower than the 3.9 rating it received for its January preview. But it was still the second-highest-rated show of the night, and had 11.6 million total viewers.
CBS, in second place in ratings and total viewership with an average 2.3/7 and 6.7 million, aired NCAA basketball playoff coverage throughout primetime. Though the nature of live sports renders the network's numbers for the night approximate, preliminary data indicates that the coverage was down slightly from the same night last year.
NBC took third place in ratings and fourth in total viewers with an average 1.4/4 in the demo and 3.8 million. "Community" at 8 was down 23 percent from last week with a 1.7/6 and 3.9 million total viewers. (Even so, it was the show's second-highest-rated episode for the series since September.) "30 Rock" at 8:30 slipped 25 percent in the demo from last week to a 1.5/4 and 3.3 million total viewers. A special airing of "30 Rock" at 9 also received a 1.5/4 — down 38 percent from last week's 9 o'clock airing of "The Office" — and 3.4 million total viewers. "Up All Night" at 9:30 was down 18 percent in the demo with a 1.4/4 and 3.2 million total viewers. "Awake" slid 25 percent in the demo for a 1.2/3 and 4.6 million total viewers.
ABC was fourth in ratings and third in total viewers with an average 1.2/3 and 5.6 million. Aside from "Missing" at 8, which was down 24 percent from last week's premiere with a 1.6/5 in the demo and 8.7 million total viewers, the network ran repeats.
