Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings: Dancing With the Stars Lifts ABC, Disappointing Revamped NBC
Wednesday 11/05/08
HH ABC 7.2/11 CBS 7.1/11 Fox 5.4/ 8 NBC 4.3/ 7 CW 2.4/ 4
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-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday, November 7, 2007): Fox: +26, NBC: no change, CBS: -10, ABC: -19, CW: -20
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Note: The fast affiliate results for Wednesday 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 Wednesday, November 5, 2008.
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-Yesterday’s Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC). Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI: NY (CBS)
-Honorable Mention: Bones (Fox)
-Below Average: The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS), Gary Unmarried (CBS), America’s Next Top Model (CW), Law & Order (NBC)
-Yesterday’s Losers: Knight Rider (NBC), Life (NBC), Stylista (CW)
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-Ratings Breakdown: Led by a midweek edition of the live Dancing With the Stars Results Show, ABC won Wednesday, inching past normally dominant CBS by one-tenth of a rating point in the metered markets. Third overall was Fox, followed by NBC and the CW. NBC’s results were particularly disappointing because it moved Life to the night and opened a new season of Law & Order.
Dancing With the Stars kicked-off the evening with a 10.5 rating/16 share at 8 p.m., which was the top-rated show of the evening in the overnights. Comparably, that outdelivered the week-ago performance of regularly scheduled occupant Pushing Daisies (4.2/ 7 on Oct. 29) by a mammoth 150 percent. So long, Susan Lucci.
Second in the 8 p.m. hour was Fox’s underrated Bones (6.2/10), followed by below average performances for CBS sitcoms The New Adventures of Old Christine (4.4/ 7) and Gary Unmarried (4.2/ 5), NBC’s inane Knight Rider (3.3/ 5), and the CW’s fading America’s Next Top Model (3.1/ 5). One year earlier, Top Model averaged a 3.9/ 6.
CBS moved into the 9 p.m. overnight winner’s circle, with Criminal Minds at a solid 9.5/15. ABC’s competing Private Practice got a minor boost thanks to lead-in Dancing With the Stars, with a second-place 6.4/10. But retention out of the second half of Dancing With the Stars (10.8/16 at 8:30 p.m.) was just 59 percent. And the drama dipped by 12 percent in the second half-hour (6.8/10 to 6.0/ 9). Keep in mind that the last two minutes of Dancing With the Stars was factored into the first half of Private Practice.
A repeat of Fox’s House ranked third at 9 p.m., with a 4.7/ 7, followed by the time period premiere of NBC’s Life at a mere 3.7/ 7, and week three of CW dud Stylista at a 1.6/ 2. With Top Model already declining, did the CW really need another model competition?
CBS’ dominance continued at 10 p.m., with CSI: NY at a below average 7.8/13 -- down 15 percent from one week earlier (9.2/14 on Oct. 29). Second was the 19th season-premiere of NBC’s Law & Order at a 5.8/10, which built by 53 percent out of the second-half of lead-in Life (3.4/8/ 6 at 9:30 p.m.). Comparably, however, tied Law & Order dipped by 39 percent from its year-ago two-hour season-opener (9.5/14 on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2008).
Last at 10 p.m. was ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money at a 4.7/ 8 -- 22 percent below the second half of lead-in Private Practice (6.0/ 9 at 9:30 p.m.).
Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________
Ratings Box: What’s Hot/What’s Not
-Election Night Coverage Results: A record 71.5 million viewers tuned into prime-time portion of Election night coverage via the 14 broadcast, cable and Hispanic networks carrying it on Tuesday, Nov. 4. ABC’s coverage dominated the broadcast networks in prime-time on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with an average 13.13 million viewers and a 4.4 rating among adults 18-49. Comparably, that beat results from the 2004 Presidential race (Viewers: 12.14 million; A18-49: 4.1) by eight percent in total viewers and seven percent in the demo. NBC was competitive at 12.02 million viewers and a 4.2 in the demo. But versus 2004, it was down by 18 percent in both categories. And third-place CBS (which may seriously want to rethink its future with Katie Couric), dipped by 14 percent in total viewers (9.09 to 7.83 million) and 25 percent among adults 18-49 (3.2 to 2.4)
CNN, of course, led the cable networks, with 12.30 million viewers, finishing second overall behind ABC (and first, with 13.30 million viewers, based on full 8 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. ET coverage). Comparably, that was 3.26 million more than second-place Fox News (9.04 million – its second largest audience ever). Next was MSNBC at 5.89 million, followed by CNBC with just 391,000
Here are the total viewer results by network for the prime-time portion:
ABC: 13.13 million CNN: 12.30 million NBC: 12.02 million Fox News: 9.04 million CBS: 7.83 million MSNBC: 5.89 million Fox: 5.14 million Univision: 4.07 million Telemundo: 790,000 BET: 438,000 CNBC: 391,000 BBC-America: 224,000 WGN-America: 115,000 TVOne: 88,000
-Speaking of Election Coverage: Comedy Central’s live Indecision 2008: America’s Choice, hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, was the most-watched election themed special in the history of the cable network, with 3.1 million viewers and 2.1 million adults 18-49. Compared to Stewart’s election night special in 2004, that was an increase of 45 percent and 60 percent, respectively.
-Dora the Successful Explorer on Nickelodeon: Dora the Explorer movie, Dora Saves the Snow Princess, which debuted on Nickelodeon on Monday, Nov. 3, finished as the top-rated pre-school program on all of television among kids 2-11 (2.0 million) and kids 2-5 (1.2 million). Comparably, that was up by 37 percent and 76 percent, respectively, from the year-ago time period average. Dora Saves the Snow Princess also increased by 34 percent in total viewers (3.5 million) from one year earlier.
Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________
On the Air Tonight: Prime-Time Programming Options
Thursday 11/06/08 Night 8 of the Nov. 2008 Sweeps
ABC: 8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty 9:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy 10:00 p.m. Life On Mars
-King of the Hill Heads to Adult Swim: Adult Swim, the home of adult-themed animated programming, has a new acquisition: Twentieth Television’s King of the Hill. Effective in January, the veteran Fox sitcom (which could be heading to ABC next season) will anchor an Adult Swim programming block beginning at 10 p.m. ET. The cable network has the rights to all 13 seasons of King of the Hill.
-Coming Up on SOAPnet: SOAPnet, the home of must see serials, has announced four additional movies for its Sunday Night Movie franchise. They are Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, with Stockard Channing; Ice Castles, with Robby Benson; L.A. Story, starring Steve Martin and Sarah Jessica Parker (pre Sex and the City); and Mixed Nuts, another Steve Martin entry. The four films will roll out over the next three months.
-ABC Programming Cost Reductions in Midseason: You know an upcoming new series cannot be all that good if the network trims the episode order before it even premieres. With that in mind, ABC has cut the number of episodes of Nathan Fillion crime drama Castle from 13 to 10, and is looking to do the same for The Unusuals, an ensemble dramedy set in a New York precinct headlined by former Joan of Arcadia star Amber Tamblyn. Alyssa Milano sitcom Single With Parents, meanwhile, has been halted completely.
-More Scare Tactics: On the heels of its record setting current season, Sci Fi Channel has ordered nine additional episodes of Scare Tactics to air this spring.
Which one of the following TV characters competed in the Miss America pageant?
a) Nancy Bradford b) Katie Douglas c) Jenny McMillan d) Daphne Moon e) Corky Sherwood
The answer to yesterday’s question…
Which one of the following series will be celebrating its 100th episode this month?
a) American Dad (Fox) b) CSI: NY (CBS) c) My Name is Earl (NBC) d) The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) e) Supernatural (CW)
Is: b) CSI: NY (R), which hits the Big 100 on Nov. 19.
-Current kudos goes to: Mikki Beno, Sheila Berman, Mark Binda, Larry Collins, Linda D’Adamo, Audrey Davis, Phyllis Epstein, Maureen Goldman, John Hezlep, Marc Horowitz, Bob Ingersoll, Deb Kainer, Kathy Martin, Tricia McKee, Gordon Purcell, Andrea Regusters, Neal Sabin, Michelle Stanton, Terry Wing
NBC's numbers in general seem really low. The good news is the ratings built in the timeslots. However, L&O is way below average, so much so that I'll wait for the noon numbers for a final determination.
CBS seemed to be below average also. Again, perhaps the noon numbers will reveal something different.
Odd that two networks are so off their game. DWTS results couldn't have thrown off the whole night for those networks.
DSM didn't get helped out much by LJ being moved. Still way off the numbers of L&O and CSI:NY.
I know it has been a month or more since Wednesday aired a relatively normal schedule on all networks, but DwtS looks to have taken quite a bite out of the normal 8pm shows. Knight Rider should be pulled for sweeps even if it does 'skew male', it has barely any viewers at this point.
Marc, as noted above, Stylista] is not a show about models, it is a competition show for magazine editors. That being said, it is unfortunately more like Big Brother or Real World in that the vile/incompetent humans are the focus of the show and being kept around for the 'drama' rather than keeping the intelligent/competent contestants.
Private practice got a boost from Dwts, but it didn't last to Dirty Sexy Money, which should also be cancelled. It and Eli Stone are ABC's two weakest shows.
Why is FOX airing a rerun of House? They have had a month of baseball to build up fresh episodes of something for sweeps.
Law & Order: very disappointing numbers. Lipstick Jungle really killed this timeslot.
I hope DSM will see at least a proper send-off. I really don't think that any series after its first year should end without a proper finale. Even more if the series isn't a procedural, but a serialized series.
And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.
If you find my english is bad, it's because I'm italian. :-)
Posts: 84 | Location: Italy | Registered: 15 May 2007
Originally posted by Obveeus: Private practice got a boost from Dwts, but it didn't last to Dirty Sexy Money, which should also be cancelled. It and Eli Stone are ABC's two weakest shows.
Actually it looks as if DSM will be up week to week by a nice amount. Should hit around 7 million viewers and hopefully around a 2.5 in the demo. And if you look at the last half hour retention for DSM out of PP, it was at 78%, the best for any 10pm ABC program, save for maybe Boston Legal. Agreed that Eli Stone is very weak though. I actually think a testing of Pushing Daisies in that slot should happen here soon.
Why is FOX airing a rerun of House? They have had a month of baseball to build up fresh episodes of something for sweeps.
Law & Order: very disappointing numbers. Lipstick Jungle really killed this timeslot.
For FOX, how about Kitchen Nightmares, with the Friday game shows moving back to Thursdays. If they're going to do reruns, do them on Fridays.
As lively as the news is now, I'm surprised that NBC hasn't put a Dateline at 9ET Wednesdays as a lead-in for Law & Order.
I do agree with Kitchen Nightmares on Wednesdays for Fox but the gameshows are likely to end up on Fridays again this January with Terminator or perhaps Prison Break on Thursdays with Hell's Kitchen. Therefore, just airing burn off on Thursdays for now (Til Death, Hole in the Wall, Moment of Truth) may be the best policy. House and Bones repeats could fill til Thanksgiving night and then have a whole month of lovely burnoff. Sundays at 7 could be another burn off hour this December/January.
Life is clearly a flop now. Time to cue up Dateline for Wed. at 9 where it has done well before. Fridays could also use a 2 hour Dateline perhaps after the deadly DOND.
