by Rick Porter

Fast National ratings for Friday, January 1, 2010

College football dominated Friday's ratings, with the Rose Bowl on ABC scoring big numbers in the afternoon and FOX winning primetime with its coverage of the Sugar Bowl.

FOX led the night's ratings with 14.35 million viewers and a 7.8 rating/13 share in households. Helped by the Rose Bowl, ABC finished second with 7.2 million viewers and a 4.3/7. CBS (4.7 million, 3.1/5) came in third. NBC (3.4 million, 2.2/4) finished fourth, followed by The CW (1.2 million, 0.8/1).

In the adults 18-49 demographic, FOX's 4.6 rating was far and away the night's best. ABC (2.1) was the only other network to break the 2.0 barrier. CBS averaged 1.0, NBC 0.9 and The CW 0.5.

New Year's night hour by hour:

8 p.m.

ABC: Rose Bowl - Ohio State-Oregon (19.95 million viewers, 10.8/18 households)/"Better Off Ted" (5.6 million, 3.4/6)

FOX: Sugar Bowl pre-game (5.9 million, 3.3/5)/Sugar Bowl - Florida-Cincinnati (15.95 million, 8.4/14)

CBS: "Ghost Whisperer" rerun (4.5 million, 3.0/5)

NBC: "The Biggest Loser" rerun (3.1 million, 2.0/3)

The CW: "Smallville" rerun (1.35 million, 0.9/1)

18-49 leader: Rose Bowl (5.8)

9 p.m.

FOX: Sugar Bowl (17.9 million, 9.7/16)

CBS: "Medium" rerun (4.7 million, 3.1/5)

NBC: "The Biggest Loser" rerun (3.6 million, 2.3/4)

ABC: "Scrubs" (3.5 million, 2.3/4)/"Better Off Ted" rerun (2.7 million, 1.8/3)

The CW: "Smallville" rerun (1.1 million, 0.8/1)

18-49 leader: Sugar Bowl (5.7)

10 p.m.

FOX: Sugar Bowl (14.2 million, 7.8/13)

ABC: "20/20" (5.6 million, 3.7/6)

CBS: "Numb3rs" rerun (4.9 million, 3.2/6)

NBC: "The Jay Leno Show" rerun (3.4 million, 2.2/4)

18-49 leader: Sugar Bowl (4.7)

Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change, especially in the case of live telecasts. Source: The Nielsen Company.