THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:
ABC Dances to Victory; NBC’s Heroes Continues to Lose Steam
Ratings Box:
What's Hot/What's Not
On the Air Tonight:
Prime-Time Programming Options
TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest
Reader Feedback:
Everybody Hates Chris
TV Trivia Time:
A Double Flop
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Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:
ABC Dances to Victory; NBC’s Heroes Continues to Lose Steam
Monday 10/06/08
Note: The following results exclude Houston.
HH
Rtg/Shr
ABC 10.5/16
CBS 7.5/11
NBC 4.6/ 7
Fox 3.7/ 5
CW 1.4/ 2
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-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Monday, October 8, 2007):
ABC: + 7, CBS: - 3, Fox: -12, NBC: -21, CW: -30
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Note: The fast national 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, October 6, 2008.
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-Yesterday’s Winners:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC), Two and a Half Men (CBS), CSI: Miami (CBS)
-Honorable Mention:
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
-Fading Fast:
Heroes (NBC)
-Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):
Chuck (NBC), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox), Worst Week (CBS), Prison Break (Fox), Boston Legal (ABC), Life (NBC)
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-Ratings Breakdown:
ABC danced its way to another Monday overnight victory, with a hefty 40 percent advantage over second-place CBS. Next was NBC, the home of the rapidly deteriorating Heroes, followed by Fox and the CW, which took a hit because it aired a night of repeats. To the readers emailing to ask why the CW was already airing encore telecasts, don’t forget that it kicked-off Monday on Sept. 1. That’s why.
Another two-hour edition of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars stood head and shoulders above the competition, with a whopping 12.7 rating/19 share from 8-10 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
8:00 p.m. 11.6/18 (#1)
8:30 p.m. 13.0/19 (#1)
9:00 p.m. 13.0/19 (#1)
9:30 p.m. 13.4/19 (#1)
As good as this is – and it is tremendous – Cloris Leachman on Dancing With the Stars is beginning to wear very thin. While I admire her gusto, I also think this is a competition that needs to be treated more seriously. Don’t you? My pick to exit tonight: Rocco DiSpirito.
At 10 p.m. ABC’s soon to conclude Boston Legal was second with a 6.2/10 -- 54 percent below the last half-hour of lead-in Dancing With the Stars. The network is smart to be cutting Boston Legal loose this season.
Second-place CBS opened the evening with sitcoms The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother each at a 5.9/ 9 in the overnights from 8-9 p.m. Compared to one year earlier (when The Big Bang Theory anchored the night, followed by How I Met Your Mother), that is an increase of 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Although veteran Two and a Half Men remained healthy at a second-place 9.2/13 at 9 p.m., week three of lead-out Worst Week dipped to a 5.8/ 8 (#2) at 9:30 p.m. -- 17 percent below year-ago occupant Rules of Engagement. Tick, tock…the cancellation clock is ticking.
CSI: Miami capped off the evening for CBS with a still dominant 9.1/15 at 10 p.m. -- 57 percent above lead-in Worst Week.
Third-place NBC is finding Monday a challenge this season. Chuck opened the evening at a depressed (and third-place) 4.3/ 6 in the overnights at 8 p.m. -- 12 percent below one year earlier. While I recognize that the strength of lead-out Heroes falls within the young adult demos, a third-place 5.4/ 8 in the overnights at 9 p.m. is 28 percent below the 7.5/11 on Oct. 8, 2007 (and that was already down from one year earlier). Is the show really that bad this season? The second (and final) Monday 10 p.m. airing of Life sunk to a last-place 4.0/ 6 at 10 p.m. Next week, look for the premiere of NBC drama My Own Worst Enemy at 10 p.m. Good luck, Christian Slater!
Fox remained on the downside care of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (#4: 3.7/ 6) and Prison Break (#4: 3.8/ 6), which decreased year-to-year by an average of 12 percent from then occupants Prison Break and K-Ville. And The CW closed the night with repeats of Gossip Girl (#5: 1.6/ 2) and Privileged (#5: 1.3/ 2), which would be a better option on Sunday than the Media Rights Capital mumbo-jumbo.
Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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Ratings Box:
What’s Hot/What’s Not
-Record Friday Night Smackdown! on MyNetworkTV:
The CW’s loss was MyNetworkTV’s gain, with the Oct. 3 launch of veteran Friday Night Smackdown! smashing the record books on the growing network at a 1.9 household rating and.3.2 million viewers. Comparably, that was an increase of 217 percent and 233 percent, respectively, from one year earlier. The CW, meanwhile, dipped to a 1.1 rating in households and 1.73 million viewers on the same night with its new combination of Everybody Hates Chris, The Game and encore telecasts of America’s Next Top Model. Friday Night Smackdown! also rose to a record performance on MyNetworkTV among men 18-34 (1.2 rating) and men 18-49 (1.3). Although Smackdown on the CW was noticeably stronger one week earlier (Viewers: 4.1 million; A18-49: 1.4 rating on Sept. 26, 2008), this is a rousing new beginning for MyNetworkTV. And some of the lost viewers who did not realize Smackdown! moved its new home will likely find it as time progresses.
-Solid Sanctuary on Sci Fi Channel:
New scripted drama Sanctuary debuted on Sci Fi Channel on Friday, Oct. 3 as the top-rated cable entertainment program among adults 25-54 (1.4 million) from 9-11 p.m. Sanctuary averaged a 2.2 household rating, with 2.7 million total viewers and 1.08 million adults 18-49 -- the highest rated series-premiere on the network since Eureka in July 2006.
-DOA Start for the CW’s Revamped Sunday:
The CW’s new Sunday rotation of programming (from Media Rights Capital) -- In Harm’s Way, Valentine and Easy Money -- was off, but not running on Oct. 5. Based on the fast affiliate rating results, reality series In Harm’s Way opened the evening with a mere 676,000 viewers and a 0.3 rating/1 share among adults 18-49 from 7-8 p.m. One year earlier, failed magazines CW Now (Viewers: 790,000, A18-49: 0.3/ 1 on Oct. 7, 2007) and Online Nation (Viewers: 700,000; A18-49: 0.3/ 1) averaged 745,000 viewers and a 0.3/ 1 in the demo on Oct. 7, 2007. All comparisons to one year earlier are based on the final nationals. Next was the premiere of the scripted Valentine at 1.10 million viewers and a 0.3/ 1 among adults 18-49 at 8 p.m., which was down from year-ago failed occupant Life Is Wild (Viewers: 1.65 million; A18-49: 0.4/ 1 on Oct. 7, 2007) by 550,000 viewers and 25 percent in the demo. And the premiere of drama Easy Money dropped to 1.08 million viewers and a 0.4/ 1 among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. One year earlier was a repeat of America’s Next Top Model at 1.35 million viewers and a 0.5/ 1 in the demo.
-Record Debut for Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network:
The Friday, Oct. 3rd premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars broke the record books on Cartoon Network, with its 9-10 p.m. performance now the most-watched series premiere in network history. The previous record breaker was Ben 10: Alien Force on April 18, 2008. Take a look at the initial results (based on the preliminary nationals) versus the comparable year-ago period:
Total Viewers: 3.96 million (+37)
Kids 2-11: 1.83 million (+125)
Kids 6-11: 1.44 million (+120)
Tweens 9-14: 1.22 million (+91)
Boys 2-11: 1.39 million (+150)
Boys 6-11: 1.60 million (+160)
Boys 9-14: 991,000 (+133)
Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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On the Air Tonight:
Prime-Time Programming Options
Tuesday 10/07/08
ABC:
8:00 p.m. Opportunity Knocks
9:00 p.m. Second Presidential Debates
10:30 p.m. Debate Analysis
CBS:
8:00 p.m. NCIS
9:00 p.m. Second Presidential Debates
10:30 p.m. Debate Analysis
NBC:
8:00 p.m. The Biggest Loser: Families
9:00 p.m. Second Presidential Debates
10:30 p.m. Debate Analysis
Fox:
8:00 p.m. House (R)
9:00 p.m. Second Presidential Debates
10:30 p.m. Debate Analysis
CW:
8:00 p.m. 90210
9:00 p.m. Privileged
MNTV
8:00 p.m. Street Patrol
8:30 p.m. Street Patrol (R)
9:00 p.m. Jail
9:30 p.m. Jail (R)
ION
8:00 p.m. Boston Legal (R)
9:00 p.m. NCIS (R)
10:00 p.m. ER (R)
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TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest
-You Just Knew This Was in the Works:
Lifetime Television has begun pre-production on The Natalee Holloway Story, the true (and very unfortunate) story of a teenage girl who disappeared during a high school senior class trip to Aruba. The movie is based on the book, Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith by Beth Twitty, the mother of Natalee Holloway. The Natalee Holloway Story will air on Lifetime in May 2009.
-More Entourage:
HBO has renewed half-hour Entourage for a sixth season, with production set to begin in first quarter 2009 and the new episodes slated to air next summer.
-Vote of Confidence for Sons of Anarchy:
FX has picked-up recently introduced drama Sons of Anarchy for a second season, with an order for 13 additional episodes.
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Reader Feedback:
Everybody Hates Chris
“I was reading your weekend ratings recap and have to take exception at your criticism of the CW’s Everybody Hates Chris, claiming the show has lost its creative juice. On the contrary, the fourth season opened with an episode that was laugh-out-loud funny and chock full of catch 'em if you can sight gags, puns and inside jokes.
Toward your point, I've been watching Everybody Hates Chris since its exception and there has been a shift in the mainstream accessibility of the show. While still humorous for me, there seems to be a shift away from portraying the characters as a family dealing with general family situations and more toward portraying them as a black family dealing with situations that tend to be more relatable to a black audience.
Case in point – Friday’s season-premiere dealt mainly with the racism faced by Chris as he entered high school. While the premise was uncomfortable, the execution was very funny. His homeroom teacher was openly bigoted toward him and his junior high teacher, who hilariously had no concept of her own blatant racism, turns up as his high school principal. So it may be the case that the show is not as funny to some people as it once was, as opposed to the show having lost its creative juice.
Of course a lot of people are probably not paying attention anyway since already low-rated the CW shunted the program to the even lower-rated Friday night -- which leads me to another discussion that I won't bore you with today.”
-Terrence Moss
-The P.I:
You did not “bore” me by any means. So, feel free to send me a follow-up email about the CW burying Everybody Hates Chris on Friday. After reading your comments, I will make sure to sample Chris again this week.
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TV Trivia Time:
A Double Flop
Which one of the following failed CBS dramas did not generate interest when it was moved to UPN?
a) Clubhouse
b) The Handler
c) Presidio Med
d) Threshold
e) Wolf Lake
The answer to yesterday’s question…
Which one of the following TV characters worked in a subway station selling tokens?
a) Joe Coffee
b) Benny Goodwin
c) Spence Olchin
d) Ralph Monroe
e) Henry Warnimont
Is: c) Spence Olchin of King of Queens. All together now…
My eyes are getting weary. My back is getting tight.
I’m sitting here in traffic on the Queensborough Bridge tonight.
But I don’t care 'cause all I want to do
Is cash my check and drive right home to you.
Cause Baby, all my life, I will be driving home to you.
-Current kudos goes to:
Anna Andres, Sheila Berman, Gerry Bixenspan, Randy Blake, Larry Collins, Mark Cosenza, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Stephen Ferrara, Maureen Goldman, Martha Gonzales, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Karen Kavanagh, Synda Kollman, Kathy McClung, Peter Poore, Andrea Regusters, Deana Rosolen, Sonya Shaw, Trista Thompson, Gus Vasilakis, Jeanne Yonke
