SMASH Ticks Up In The Ratings By 13%

Ratings from last night's episode of SMASH titled 'The Fringe' are currently up (0.9/3 in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall) 0.1 of a point or 13 percent versus last week's official-national 0.8 rating in 18-49. Ratings are up 0.2 of a point or 29 percent versus last week's 0.7 in these preliminary fast-affiliate ratings. "Smash" is currently building on this week's lead-in by 29 percent or 0.2 of a point.

"Smash" is also currently the most upscale drama on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX so far this season in its concentration of adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes, with an index of 163 in "most current" results that include "live plus three day" time-shifting (100 represents an average concentration of those homes), up from a 150 index last season.

In last night's episode, Derek (Jack Davenport) and Karen (Katharine McPhee) find themselves at a surprising crossroads, forcing one of them to make a difficult choice.

Jerry's (guest star Michael Cristofer) uneasy partnership with Eileen (Anjelica Huston) hits a snag, as does Hit List's first performance at the Fringe Festival. Meanwhile, Ivy's (Megan Hilty) last-ditch effort to save her and Terry's (guest star Sean Hayes) show has unexpected results. Debra Messing, Christian Borle, Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus and Krysta Rodriguez also star. Sean Hayes, Jesse L. Martin, Daniel Sunjata and Nikki Blonsky guest star.

Note: "Smash" continues to add an exceptional amount of viewership via time-shifting, with last week's 18-49 rating growing by 77% or 0.58 of a point going from these next-day "live plus same day" ratings to "live plus three day" results (to a 1.33 from a 0.75). In that slot, last week's "Golden Boy" went up 16% from L+SD to L+3 (to a 1.89 from a 1.63, 0.26 of a point) and "Body of Proof" grew by 42% (1.78 vs. 1.25, 0.53 of a point).

Photo by: Craig Blankenhorn/NBC