THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings: CBS Wins, Cloris Leachman Bids Adieu on Dancing With the Stars
Ratings Box: What’s Hot/What’s Not
National Ratings in Prime-Time: Week of October 20, 2008
On the Air Tonight: Prime-Time Programming Options
TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest
TV Trivia Time: Put on Your Snow Shoes ______________________________________________________________________
Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings: CBS Wins, Cloris Leachman Bids Adieu on Dancing With the Stars
Tuesday 10/28/08
HH Rtg/Shr CBS 9.7/15 ABC 7.5/12 Fox 6.1/ 9 NBC 5.1/ 8 CW 1.9/ 3
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-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Tuesday, October 30, 2007): CBS: +24, CW: + 6, NBC: no change, ABC: -18, Fox: -29
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Note: The fast affiliate results for Tuesday will be posted at PIFeedback by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Tuesday, October 28, 2008.
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-Yesterday’s Winners: NCIS (CBS), House (Fox), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), The Mentalist (CBS), Without a Trace (CBS)
-Yesterday’s Losers: Privileged (CW), Eli Stone (ABC)
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-Ratings Breakdown: CBS scored another overnight Tuesday victory, beating second-place ABC by an average of 29 percent. Third overall was Fox, followed by NBC and the CW.
CBS’ rock-solid NCIS opened the evening first in the 8 p.m. hour, with a 10.6 rating/16 share in the overnights. Although NCIS will be facing Fox’s returning American Idol in January, this is the one show that can stand up to it. Second in the hour was Fox’s House (7.9/12), which will surely dominate among adults 18-49, followed by annual holiday special It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on ABC (5.9/ 9 – down 18 percent from one year earlier), the first half of NBC’s two-hour The Biggest Loser (4.2/ 7) and 90210 on the CW (2.2/ 3). Comparably, 90210 built from year-ago occupant Beauty and the Geek (1.9/ 3) by 16 percent. As for the proposed remake of Melrose Place on the CW, it could potentially end up behind 90210 next season. That would make sense, wouldn’t it?
At 9 p.m., top-rated honors in the overnights went to ABC’s live Dancing With the Stars Results Show (11.3/17). Fox’s Fringe normally dominates among adults 18-49, but last night was a repeat and it only finished fourth in the overnights at a 4.3/ 7. Second behind Dancing With the Stars was bona fide CBS freshman hit The Mentalist (10.5/16), followed by the second hour of NBC’s The Biggest Loser at a 4.8/ 8. Overall. The Biggest Loser averaged a 4.5/ 7 from 8-10 p.m. Keep in mind, of course, that The Biggest Loser always manages to generate some interest among adults 18-49. Last in the 9 p.m. hour was the CW’s struggling Privileged at a not-so-privileged 1.5/ 2. Comparably, that put retention out of 90210 at a so-so 68 percent.
As for Dancing With the Stars, the just departed Cloris Leachman deserves a great deal of credit for competing. Too bad, though, that no one from the old MTM gang stopped by to cheer her on.
CBS’ relocated Without a Trace won the 10 p.m. hour in the overnights, with an 8.3/14. But second-place Law & Order: SVU on NBC (below average 6.3/11) is still expected to dominate among adults 18-49. In the distant third-place position was ABC’s Eli Stone at a 5.2/ 9 -- 55 percent below the 9:30 p.m. portion of lead-in Dancing With the Stars. Comparably, Without a Trace built from year-ago occupant Cane (6.1/10 on Oct. 30, 2007) by a hefty 36 percent. . Source: Nielsen Media Research data
-Top 10 Rated Programs in Syndication – Week of Oct. 13: What follows is the top tier in syndication nationally for the week of Oct. 6 based on households (AA – average audience), followed by any highlights of note:
Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 6.9 rating Jeopardy (CBS): 5.6 Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.0 Oprah (CBS): 4.7 Judge Judy (CBS): 4.2 Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 4.1 Family Guy (Twentieth Television): 3.4 CSI: NY (CBS): 3.4 Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 3.3 Dr. Phil (CBS) and George Lopez (Disney-ABC): 3.2 each
-Wheel of Fortune hit a 22-week high (and a new season high), building by three week-to-week.
-CBS Television Distribution’s The Doctors rose to a series-high 1.5.
-Two and a Half Men reached the full year mark as the top-rated off-network sitcom (without, of course, the benefit of a cable run). Year-to-year, the Charlie Sheen sitcom was up by 32 percent in households, with a first-place genre finish in adults 18-49 (2.6), adults 25-54 (3.0), women 18-49 (2.7), women 25-54 (3.1), men 18-49 (2.5, tie) and men 25-54 (3.0).
-Ellen DeGeneres, also from Warner Bros., scored a 2.1 in households -- up 13 percent from one week earlier. Ellen also built by eight percent among women 25-54, with a 1.3 in the demo.
Source: Nielsen Media Research data _______________________________________________________________________________
National Ratings in Prime-Time: Week of October 20, 2008
It was another week of split leadership in prime-time, with CBS first in households and total viewers and baseball populated Fox No. 1 in the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. But before anyone at Fox breaks open the bottle of bubby, the four World Series games this week between Philadelphia and Tampa Bay versus the comparable year-ago four games between Colorado and Boston resulted in overall losses for the network of 19 to 22 percent. CBS was close to year-ago levels.
Elsewhere, ABC finished third in four of the five surveyed categories (excluding a second-place finish among adults 18-34), dropping by as much as 19 percent among adults 18-49 year-to-year. Declining NBC was one notch below ABC, with erosion of 11 to 17 percent. And the CW’s lead over the new home of Friday Night Smackdown!, MyNetworkTV, continues to diminish. Ignited by Smackdown!, MyNetworkTV increased by as much as 100 percent among adults 18-49.
This week featured the aforementioned games one through four of Philadelphia versus Tampa Bay on The World Series on Fox (airing Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), the series-premiere of the CW’s Stylista, an additional weekly telecast of NBC’s Deal or No Deal in the Friday 8 p.m. hour, and the series-finale of America’s Toughest Jobs on NBC on Saturday.
Here are the final national ratings for the week of October 20, 2008 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by a listing of the new series results (in order of total viewers), the sophomore series report card, and the top 30 rated programs of the week.
The stability is good. But the retention out of CSI (Viewers: 19.49 million; A18-49: 5.5/13) of 61 percent in total viewers and 56 percent among adults 18-49 could be better.
Compared to the performance for year-ago occupant Rules of Engagement (Viewers: 10.82 million; A18-49: 3.9/ 9 on Oct. 22, 2007), Worst Week decreased by 940,000 viewers and 18 percent among adults 18-49.
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Life on Mars (ABC) – Thursday 10 p.m. Viewers: 7.86 million (#48), A18-49: 2.4/ 6 (#48t)
Retention out of lead-in Grey’s Anatomy this week was just 54 percent in total viewers and 44 percent among adults 18-49.
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Gary Unmarried (CBS) – Wednesday 8:30 p.m. Viewers: 7.56 million (#51), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#43t)
Four additional scripts have been ordered for the slow growing sitcom.
With barely 6 million viewers, Crusoe was still the most-watched show in the Friday 9 p.m. hour. But it dipped to fourth among adults 18-49.
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My Own Worst Enemy (NBC) – Monday 10 p.m. Viewers: 5.69 million (#68t), A18-49: 2.5/ 6 (#43t)
Erosion for My Own Worst Enemy of 1.58 million viewers and 17 percent among adults 18-49 from its already sluggish start one week earlier does not bode well for a future past midseason. You may have to go back to bad theatricals, Christian Slater.
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The Ex List (CBS) – Friday 9 p.m. Viewers: 5.33 million (#73), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#75t)
Pulled from the schedule after just four episodes. Filling in this Friday will be a repeat of NCIS.
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Kath & Kim (NBC) – Thursday 8:30 p.m. Viewers: 4.99 million (#77), A18-49: 2.2/ 6 (#51t)
Tick, tock…the cancellation clock is ticking.
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America’s Toughest Jobs (NBC) - Saturday 8 p.m. (series finale) Viewers: 2.91 million (#91), A18-49: 0.7/ 3 (#93t)
Initial retention out of America’s Next Top Model (Viewers: 4.44 million; A18-49: 2.1/ 6) was just 53 percent in total viewers and 52 percent among adults 18-49 (and equally unimpressive among key female viewers).
Life (NBC) – Friday 10 p.m. Viewers: 5.59 million (#71), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#72t)
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Top 30 Rankings
-Total Viewers: CSI (CBS): 19.49 million, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 18.50, NCIS (CBS): 17.23, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC): 16.35, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 15.95, World Series, Game 4 (Fox, Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay): 15.48, The Mentalist (CBS): 15.28, Criminal Minds (CBS): 15.01, Two and a Half Men (CBS) and The World Series, Game 1 (Fox): 14.63 each, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 14.45, CSI: NY (CBS): 14.39, CSI: Miami (CBS): 13.51, Survivor: Gabon (CBS): 13.31, The OT (Fox): 13.28, House (Fox): 13.08, World Series, Game 4 Pre-Game (Fox): 13.06, 60 Minutes (CBS): 12.82, World Series, Game 2 (Fox): 12.78, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 12.26, Cold Case (CBS): 11.97, Eleventh Hour (CBS): 11.85, Without a Trace (CBS): 11.63, Saturday Night Football (ABC): 10.37, Ghost Whisperer (CBS): 10.14, Worst Week (CBS): 9.88, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 9.86, World Series, Game 3 (Fox): 9.84, World Series, Game 1 Preview (Fox): 9.73, The Amazing Race (CBS): 9.70
-Adults 18-49: Desperate Housewives (ABC): 5.8 rating/13 share, House (Fox): 5.6/15, CSI (CBS): 5.5/13, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 5.4/13, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 5.1/12, World Series, Game 4 (Fox, Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay: 5.1/13, The OT (Fox): 5.0/15, The World Series, Game 1 (Fox): 4.8/13, Survivor: Gabon (CBS) and World Series, Game 4 Pre-Game: 4.4/12 each, The Office (NBC): 4.2/10, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC) and Criminal Minds (CBS): 4.1/10 each, World Series, Game 2 (Fox): 4.0/11, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 4.0/10, SNL Weekend Update (NBC): 4.0/ 9, CSI: NY (CBS), Fringe (Fox) and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 3.9/10 each, Heroes (NBC): 3.9/ 9, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC) and CSI: Miami (CBS): 3.8/10 each, Saturday Night Football (ABC): 3.6/12, NCIS (CBS): 3.6/10, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 3.5/10, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 3.5/ 9, The Mentalist (CBS): 3.4/ 9, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 3.4/ 8, World Series, Game 3 (Fox): 3.2/11, ER (NBC): 3.2/ 8, Worst Week (CBS): 3.2/ 7
Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ______________________________________________________________________________
On the Air Tonight: Prime-Time Programming Options
-Coming Up on E! – Party Monsters: Cabo: E! Entertainment Television will introduce a new reality/competition called Party Monsters: Cabo, which will feature nine party planners who compete to see who can throw the ultimate party for Hollywood’s A-listers, including P. Diddy, Electra, Brody Jenner and Lil Jon. (These are A-listers?). It premieres Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 10 p.m. ET.
What is the name of the town where recent ABC drama Men in Trees was set?
a) Anchorage b) Elmo c) Fort Yukon d) Heche e) Savooga
The answer to yesterday’s question…
Which one of the following TV characters was employed as a radio talk show host?
a) Niles Crane b) Faith Fairfield c) Lisa Miller d) Martin Payne e) Andy Travis
Is: d) Martin Payne, played by Martin Lawrence on Fox sitcom Martin. To the masses who answered Niles Crane, he was Frasier’s stuffy psychiatrist brother and not a radio personality. Nor were Hope & Faith’s Faith Fairfield, NewsRadio’s Lisa Miller or WKRP in Cincinnati’s Andy Travis.
-Current kudos goes to: Naomi Adams, Vanessa Baker, Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins (2x), James Davison, Chris Eller, Maureen Goldman, Scott Groneman, Pat Hylkema, Greg Janover, Ken Jobe, Deb Kainer, Charmaine Leary, Marc Miller, Frank Nicotero, Joe Osuna, Gordon Purcell, Michael Ratliffe, Deanna Rosolen, Patrick Rubin, Ron Salmon
The heftier 8pm competition likely hurt Charlie Brown this year. Kudos to House, NCIS, the Mentalist, and Without a Trace along with SVU for likely still winning the demo despite having a lot less of a lead in.
-Total Viewers: CSI (CBS): 19.49 million, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 18.50, NCIS (CBS): 17.23, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC): 16.35, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 15.95, World Series, Game 4 (Fox, Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay): 15.48, The Mentalist (CBS): 15.28, Criminal Minds (CBS): 15.01, Two and a Half Men (CBS) and The World Series, Game 1 (Fox): 14.63 each, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 14.45, CSI: NY (CBS): 14.39, CSI: Miami (CBS): 13.51, Survivor: Gabon (CBS): 13.31, The OT (Fox): 13.28, House (Fox): 13.08, World Series, Game 4 Pre-Game (Fox): 13.06, 60 Minutes (CBS): 12.82, World Series, Game 2 (Fox): 12.78, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 12.26, Cold Case (CBS): 11.97, Eleventh Hour (CBS): 11.85, Without a Trace (CBS): 11.63, Saturday Night Football (ABC): 10.37, Ghost Whisperer (CBS): 10.14, Worst Week (CBS): 9.88, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 9.86, World Series, Game 3 (Fox): 9.84, World Series, Game 1 Preview (Fox): 9.73, The Amazing Race (CBS): 9.70
by the look of these numbers tvs in a big slump! i mean the highest rated show is pullen 19.4? didnt shows used to average 30mil. and by looken at those numbers nbc doesnt even have one show on here, thats pretty bad. and as for the other networks, stop putting your shows on the internet!! or airing them before they come out!!
Cbs-15 shows fox-1 show abc-5 shows nbc-0
ps.-I cant beleive fox sacrificed house for fringe? i mean look at those numbers!
-Total Viewers: CSI (CBS): 19.49 million, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 18.50, NCIS (CBS): 17.23, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC): 16.35, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 15.95, World Series, Game 4 (Fox, Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay): 15.48, The Mentalist (CBS): 15.28, Criminal Minds (CBS): 15.01, Two and a Half Men (CBS) and The World Series, Game 1 (Fox): 14.63 each, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 14.45, CSI: NY (CBS): 14.39, CSI: Miami (CBS): 13.51, Survivor: Gabon (CBS): 13.31, The OT (Fox): 13.28, House (Fox): 13.08, World Series, Game 4 Pre-Game (Fox): 13.06, 60 Minutes (CBS): 12.82, World Series, Game 2 (Fox): 12.78, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 12.26, Cold Case (CBS): 11.97, Eleventh Hour (CBS): 11.85, Without a Trace (CBS): 11.63, Saturday Night Football (ABC): 10.37, Ghost Whisperer (CBS): 10.14, Worst Week (CBS): 9.88, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 9.86, World Series, Game 3 (Fox): 9.84, World Series, Game 1 Preview (Fox): 9.73, The Amazing Race (CBS): 9.70
by the look of these numbers tvs in a big slump! i mean the highest rated show is pullen 19.4? didnt shows used to average 30mil. and by looken at those numbers nbc doesnt even have one show on here, thats pretty bad. and as for the other networks, stop putting your shows on the internet!! or airing them before they come out!!
Cbs-15 shows fox-1 show abc-5 shows nbc-0
ps.-I cant beleive fox sacrificed house for fringe? i mean look at those numbers!
