THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:
House Ignited Fox Beats ABC
Ratings Box:
What’s Hot/What’s Not
On the Air Tonight:
Prime-Time Programming Options
TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest
TV Trivia Time:
A Picket Fence
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Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:
House Ignited Fox Beats ABC
Monday 5/19/08
HH
Rtg/Shr
Fox 8.6/13
ABC 8.2/13
CBS 7.9/12
NBC 3.6/ 6
CW 2.3/ 3
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-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Monday, May 21, 2007)
CW: +53, Fox: +26, CBS: +10, ABC: -21, NBC: -52
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Note: The fast affiliate results for Monday will be posted at PIFeedback.com by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Monday, May 19, 2008.
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-Yesterday’s Winners:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC), House (Fox), Two and a Half Men (CBS), CSI: Miami (CBS)
-Honorable Mention:
Bones (Fox)
-Worth Retiring Already:
The Bachelorette (ABC)
-Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):
American Gladiators (NBC), Dateline (NBC)
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-Ratings Breakdown:
Led by the season-finale of House, Fox inched past ABC for dominance in the Monday overnights, with CBS third, followed by lowly NBC and an improved the CW. What did not work in ABC’s favor was paring down powerhouse Dancing With the Stars to just over one hour for an expanded launch of tired franchise The Bachelorette. On that note…
Dancing With the Stars, which closes the season tonight, opened the evening with a considerable 13.1 rating/21 share. Comparably, that was by far the highest rated show of the evening. Obviously, Kristi Yamiguchi, who owned the competition from day one, will win.
Second at 8 p.m. was the season-finale of Fox’s underrated Bones (6.6/11), followed by the season-finales of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory (4.7/ 8) and How I Met Your Mother (5.0/ 8), the first hour of a 90-minute edition of NBC’s American Gladiators (2.5/ 4), and the Gossip Girl season-ender on the CW at a 2.3/ 4. Comparably, that was a time period high for Gossip Girl. Next season, look for Bones Wednesday at 8 p.m. into returning ‘Til Death and new comedy Do Not Disturb.
Fox moved into the 9-10 p.m. winner’s circle with the season-finale of House at a 10.6/16. Next fall, look for House Tuesday at 8 p.m. into new J.J. Abrams drama Fringe. Next was CBS’ season-ending combination of Two and a Half Men (9.2/14) and Rules of Engagement (7.0/11), followed by the first hour of the expanded season-finale of ABC’s The Bachelorette at a 7.0/10. Keep in mind that the first five minutes of The Bachelorette included the finale minutes of Dancing With the Stars, so the results are approximate. As for Rules of Engagement, which returns in midseason, the sitcom seems to have found its groove and is worth another look.
Also in the 9 p.m. hour was the final half-hour of NBC’s American Gladiators (3.0/ 4) and the first half-hour of a 90-minute edition of Dateline (3.4/ 5), and the season-finale of the CW’s One Tree Hill at an above-average 2.4/ 4. Overall, American Gladiators averaged an embarrassing 2.6/ 4 in the overnights from 8-9:30 p.m.
Top honors at 10 p.m. fell in CBS’ court, with the season-finale of CSI: Miami at a 10.7/16. Next was the second half of ABC’s The Bachelorette (5.3/ 9), followed by the 10-11 p.m. portion of Dateline at a modest 5.2/ 9. Overall, The Bachelorette (including the last five minutes of lead-in Dancing With the Stars) disappointed at an estimated 6.1/ 9 from 9-11 p.m. Dateline averaged an uneventful 4.6/ 7 from 9:30-11 p.m.
Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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Ratings Box:
What’s Hot/What’s Not
-The Academy of Country Music Awards Scores on CBS:
The 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards finished a competitive second (opposite the season-finales of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives) on Sunday, May 18 in households (7.4 rating/12 share), total viewers (11.72 million), adults 25-54 (3.7/ 9), adults 18-49 (2.9/ 8) and adults 18-34 (2.1/ 7). Compared to last year’s ceremony (on Tuesday, May 15, 2007), the live three-hour telecast built by 21 percent in households, 2.45 million viewers and as much as 12 percent among adults 25-54.
Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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On the Air Tonight:
Prime-Time Programming Options
Tuesday 5/20/08
Night 27 of the May 2008 Sweeps
ABC:
8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (Repeat)
9:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (season finale, two hours)
CBS:
8:00 p.m. NCIS (season finale, two hours)
10:00 p.m. Shark (series finale)
NBC:
8:00 p.m. Most Outrageous Moments
8:30 p.m. Most Outrageous Moments (R)
9:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R)
10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R)
Fox:
8:00 p.m. American Idol
9:00 p.m. Hell’s Kitchen
CW:
8:00 p.m. Reaper (R)
9:00 p.m. Reaper (season finale)
MNTV
8:00 p.m. Street Patrol (R)
8:30 p.m. Street Patrol (R)
9:00 p.m. Jail (R)
9:30 p.m. Jail (R)
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TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest
-ION Life Adds Two New Series:
ION Media Networks has announced two new shows to launch on ION Life, the network dedicated to active living and personal growth. The first is Stories of the NFL, which will take a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of NFL players on and off the field. It will air daily on ION Life at 8 p.m. ET beginning on Monday, June 2. ION Life has also secured the rights to The 50 Greatest Moments at Madison Square Garden, the Emmy Award-winning documentary series showcasing some of the most celebrated moments in the famous arena. Episodes will run Sundays at 6 p.m., effective on June 15.
-Wrestlemania on MyNetworkTV:
The WWE on MyNetworkTV will kick-off one night early with the debut broadcast presentation of Wrestlemania on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. ET. The special presentation will include the best moments of Westlemania XXIV, including Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show. WWE Smackdown!, meanwhile, officially premieres on the network on Friday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
-The Simpsons On Hold:
Animated staple The Simpsons, which debuted yesterday as a theme park attraction at Universal Orlando Resort, is currently on hold as the actors voicing the animated series -- Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer -- are in negotiations for a pay increase. If approved, the reported deal could bump their salaries from $360,000 to $500,000 per episode.
-Hole in the Wall on Fox:
Fox has ordered 13 hours of a non-scripted series called Hole in the Wall, which features two teams competing against each other as they face barrier walls speeding towards them with unusual cut-out-shapes. If the team cannot contort their bodies to fit the shapes, they are released into a pool of water.
-Bob Schieffer Extends Deal with CBS:
Veteran journalist Bob Schieffer has entered a new long-term deal with CBS News and Sports that will include anchoring Face the Nation and contributing to the CBS Evening News, The Early Show and CBS News’ political and Campaign ’08 coverage. Schieffer is one of the few broadcast or print journalists to have covered all four major beats in the nation's capital -- the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill.
-ABC’s The View Heads to Las Vegas:
ABC morning chatfest The View will return to Las Vegas on Monday, June 23 for a week’s worth of telecasts from Caesars Palace. The View had previously broadcast from the famed casino in February 2006 and February 2004.
-MGM Signs Affiliate Agreement with Comcast:
MGM HD, the high definition movie channel from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, has signed an affiliate agreement with Comcast Corporation that will give Comcast the ability to distribute the network to its High Definition (HD) customers with hundreds of HD movies from MGM’s library. Comcast's HD customers will be able to enjoy both classic and contemporary films from MGM on both Comcast's linear line-up as well as its signature video-on-demand (VOD) service.
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TV Trivia Time:
A Picket Fence
Where was quirky 1992 to 1996 CBS drama Picket Fences set?
a) Delaware
b) Georgia
c) Idaho
d) Missouri
e) Wisconsin
The answer to the yesterday’s question…
Which one of the following returning series is not moving to a new time period next fall?
a) Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox)
b) Boston Legal (ABC)
c) Everybody Hates Chris (CW)
d) The Unit (CBS)
e) 30 Rock (NBC)
Is actually: f) none of the above. Take a look:
-Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox): from Thursday 8 p.m. to Friday 8 p.m. ET
-Boston Legal (ABC): Tuesday 10 p.m. to Monday 10 p.m. ET
-Everybody Hates Chris (CW): Sunday 8 p.m. to Friday 8 p.m. ET
-The Unit (CBS): Tuesday 9 p.m. to Sunday 10 p.m. ET
-30 Rock: Thursday 9:30 p.m. back to Thursday 8:30 p.m. ET
I will, however, give credit to anyone who answered e) 30 Rock because it did open the season Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
-Current kudos goes to:
Barbara Berman, Gerry Bixenspan, Jordan Breslow, Larry Collins, Stephen Ferrara, Kerry Hughes, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Mary Kinoshita, Patrick Swayne, Colleen Roth
