Ratings: ‘Hawaii Five-0’, ‘Blue Bloods’ rise, helped by no ‘Shark Tank’

Don’t you see? This is what happens when there is far less competition on the air!

CBS was the only network to trot out any new programming on Friday night, and it turned out to be quite a nice win for a pair of their crime dramas in “Hawaii Five-0” and “Blue Bloods.” Both shows drew over 10 million viewers and also 1.4 ratings in the 18-49 demographic, which are relatively significant increases from their last new episodes airing last month. The caveat is that there was no “Shark Tank” against “Hawaii Five-0,” and next week it and many other shows will return. Luckily, “Blue Bloods” should still be in the clear.

Does this change anything about the future of either show? Probably not, and mostly because we feel like they probably had a reasonable chance either way. The truth here is that “Stalker” is floundering on Wednesday nights, and we’d say that “CSI,” “The Amazing Race,” and maybe even “Person of Interest” are in far more danger of getting canceled. It takes a lot to draw decent numbers on Fridays, and sometimes the decently-rated show you know is better than an unknown, which could plummet on Fridays. Plus, the casts for these shows have at least another year left on their contracts.

To us, “Blue Bloods” remains one of the most fascinating shows on television. It never gets any real publicity, but it still draws almost 12 million viewers. If it even just doubled its demo rating, it’d be considered one of the biggest smash hits out there. It just goes to show the bizarre relationship that advertisers have with the key 18-49 demographic that you hear so much about.

Photo: CBS