by Andy Grieser

Fast National ratings for Friday, October 2, 2009

CBS' supernatural one-two punch took a lackluster Friday night, with "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium" having visions of total-viewer and demographics wins.

ABC didn't put up much of a fight for second place, scheduling repeats of new series "FlashForward" and "The Forgotten" against NBC's venerable but winning combination of "Law & Order" and "Dateline."

CBS averaged 7.6 million viewers for the night, with a 5.0 rating/9 share. NBC followed close behind at 6.5 million viewers and a 4.4/8. ABC lagged with 4.6 million viewers for the night and a 3.2/6. FOX pulled out 2.2 million viewers and a 1.5/3, while The CW trailed with 1.9 million and a 1.2/2.

In the adults 18-49 demo, CBS squeezed by with a 1.7 rating. NBC scored a 1.4, followed by ABC at 1.2, FOX with 0.8 and The CW at 0.7.

Friday night hour by hour:
 
8 p.m.
CBS: "Ghost Whisperer" (7.6 million viewers, 4.9/9 households)
NBC: "Law & Order" (6.6 million, 4.5/8)
ABC: "FlashForward" (3.7 million, 2.6/5)
The CW: "Smallville" (2.387 million, 1.5/3)
FOX: "Brothers" (2.4 million, 1.6/3) / "Til Death" (2.2 million, 1.5/3)
 
18-49 leader: "Ghost Whisperer" at 1.7
 
9 p.m.
CBS: "Medium" (7.7 million viewers, 5/9 households)
NBC: "Dateline: NBC" (7.4 million, 5.1/9)
ABC: "The Forgotten" (3.8 million, 2.6/5)
FOX: "Dollhouse" (2.0 million, 1.4/2)
The CW: "America's Next Top Model" (1.4 million, 0.9/2)
 
18-49 leader: "Medium" at 1.8
 
10 p.m.
CBS: "Numb3rs" (7.7 million viewers, 5.1/9 households)
ABC: "20/20" (6.1 million, 4.3/8)
NBC: "The Jay Leno Show" (5.4 million, 3.7/7)
 
18-49 leader: "Numb3rs" and "20/20" tied at 1.6
 
Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.