THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER
Monday, May 19, 2008
Prime-Time Ratings:
Weekend Highlights
Ratings Box:
What's Hot/What's Not
On the Air Tonight:
Prime Time Programming Options
TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest
TV Trivia Time:
Don’t’ Pack Your Bags
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Prime-Time Ratings:
Weekend Highlights
Friday 5/16/08
Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data).
HH
Rtg/Shr
CBS 5.5/10
ABC 4.2/ 8
CW 2.4/ 4
NBC 2.2/ 4
Fox 2.0/ 4
-Total Viewers:
CBS: 8.55 million, ABC: 6.60, CW: 4.02, NBC: 3.10, Fox: 2.98
-Adults 18-49:
CBS: 2.0 rating/7 share, ABC: 1.7/ 6, Fox and CW: 1.2/ 4 each, NBC: 1.0/ 4
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Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 13 percent at this same point last year to approximately 23 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted.
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-Friday’s Winners:
Numb3rs (CBS)
-Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats):
America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC), Dateline (NBC), and the night overall.
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-Ratings Breakdown:
A night of season/series enders on CBS kept the network in the Friday winner’s circle. But an overall performance of just 8.55 million viewers and a mere 2.0 rating/7 share among adults 18-49 in primetime is, no doubt, a concern for the future of the evening. Will Friday become the next Saturday?
Ghost Whisperer closed the season on CBS with a first-place 8.36 million viewers and a 2.0/ 8 among adults 18-49 from 8-9 p.m. That led into the series-finale of Moonlight at 9 p.m. (Viewers: #2, 7.56 million; A18-49: #2, 1.8/ 6), followed by the season-finale of Numb3rs at a dominant 9.73 million viewers and a 2.3/ 7 in demo. Comparably, Numb3rs was the highest rated show of the evening. Next fall, look for new dramedy The Ex List out of Ghost Whisperer and into Numb3rs.
Second-place ABC opened the evening with the two-hour season-finale of America’s Funniest Home Videos at 6.80 million viewers (#2) and a 1.7/ 6 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, that was considerably below its demographic performance in the regularly scheduled Sunday 7 p.m. hour. Veteran 20/20 capped off the evening with an also second-place finish in both total viewers (6.21 million) and adults 18-49 (1.9/ 6) at 10 p.m. Look for relocated Wife Swap and Supernanny into 20/20 on ABC Friday next fall.
Friday Night Smackdown! on the CW was close to recent levels, with 4.02 million viewers (#3) and a 1.2/ 4 among adults 18-49 (#3t) from 8-10 p.m. But a two-hour repeat of American Gladiators on NBC tanked at just 2.51 million viewers (#5) and a 0.9/ 3 among adults 18-49 (#5), leading into Dateline at a mere (and last-place) 4.27 million viewers and a 1.4/ 4 in the demo at 10 p.m. The CW will have its work cut out of it on Friday next fall without Smackdown!, and with sitcoms Everybody Hates Chris and The Game and a repeat of America’s Next Top Model. NBC is more ambitious with new drama Crusoe at 8 p.m., followed by Deal or No Deal and the returning Life.
Fox also hit the skids with a repeat of theatrical Dogdeball: A True Underdog Story at 2.84 million viewers (#5) and a 1.2/ 4 among adults 18-49 (#3t) from 8-10 p.m. But moving current non-scripted Thursday occupants Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Don’t Forget the Lyrics to the night next season is a smart, and competitive move.
Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)
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Saturday 5/17/08
Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data).
HH
Rtg/Shr
CBS 3.5/ 7
Fox 2.9/ 6
ABC 2.6/ 5
NBC 2.6/ 5
-Total Viewers:
CBS: 5.17 million, Fox: 4.53, ABC: 3.82, NBC: 3.69
-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 1.6 rating/6 share, ABC: 1.3/ 5, CBS: 1.0/ 4, NBC: 0.8/ 3
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Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 13 percent at this same point last year to approximately 23 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted.
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-Saturday’s Winners:
Nothing
-Saturday’s Losers:
Every single show on this evening!
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-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS finished first in total viewers and Fox No. 1 among adults 18-49 on this typically mundane Saturday. There is very little to say, of course, when just slightly above five million viewers and a 1.8 rating in the demo is the top-rated network for the evening.
On that note, CBS had noting to report with its combination of a repeat of Cold Case (Viewers: #1: 4.59 million; A18-49: #3, 0.8/ 3), a repeat of CSI: NY (Viewers: #1, 5.05 million; A18-49: #3, 0.9/ 3), and 48 Hours Mystery (Viewers: #1, 5.78 million; A18-49: #2, 1.3/ 5). Fox’s perennial combination of Cops (Viewers: #2, 4.25 million; A18-49: #1: 1.6/ 7) and America’s Most Wanted (Viewers: #2, 4.81 million; A18-49: #1: 1.6/ 6) were both below average.
Elsewhere, theatrical Hitch on ABC averaged a mere 3.82 million viewers (#3) and a 1.3/ 5 among adults 18-49 (#2) from 8-11 p.m. And NBC’s encore telecasts of Medium (Viewers: #4: 2.52 million; A18-49: #4, 0.5/ 2), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Viewers: #4: 3.56 million; A18-49: #4, 0.7/ 2), and Law & Order (Viewers: #2, 4.99 million; A18-49: #3, 1.2/ 4) all generated minimal interest. What a night!
Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)
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Sunday 5/18/08
Note: The following results are based on the metered market ratings.
HH
Rtg/Shr
ABC 8.4/14
CBS 7.2/12
Fox 3.3/ 6
NBC 3.0/ 5
CW 1.2/ 2
-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Sunday, May 202007)
CBS: +33, CW: no change, ABC: - 1, NBC: -32, Fox: -34
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Note: The fast national results for Sunday 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 Sunday, May 18 2008.
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-Yesterday’s Winners:
60 Minutes (CBS), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), Desperate Housewives (ABC)
-Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):
Dateline (NBC), Everybody Hates Chris (CW), Aliens in America (CW)
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-Ratings Breakdown:
Led by the two-hour season-finales of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives, ABC dominated this final Sunday of the May 2008 sweeps, beating second-place CBS by 17 percent. But both shows were down year-to-year. Fox finished a distant third in the overnights, followed by NBC and the CW.
The expanded edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition averaged a 6.0 rating/10 share in the overnights from 7-9 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows:
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)
7:00 p.m. 4.9/ 9 (#2)
7:30 p.m. 4.9/ 9 (#2)
8:00 p.m. 6.4/11 (#2)
8:30 p.m. 7.9/12 (#1)
Compared to one year-earlier (6.4/11 on Sunday, May 20, 007), this is an overall decrease of six percent. EMHE will, of course, dominate the block among adults 18-49.
The two-hour season-ender of Desperate Housewives (two episodes packaged back to back) rose to a 10.8/17 in the overnights from 9-11 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows”
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
9:00 p.m. 10.3/16 (#1)
9:30 p.m. 10.8/17 (#1)
10:00 p.m. 10.8/17 (#1)
10:30 p.m. 11.2/18 (#1)
Compared to the one-hour season-finale on May 20, 2007 (12.3/18), the 9-10 p.m. portion was down by 14 percent.
Older-skewing CBS granddaddy 60 Minutes won the 7 p.m. in the hour in the overnights, with a 7.8/14. But it won’t, of course, beat competing EMHE among adults 18-49. That led into The 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards at a competitive 7.1/11 from 8-11 p.m.
NBC opened the evening with veteran Dateline at a third-place 3.5/ 6 in the overnights from 7-8 p.m. Next were four repeat episodes of The Office averaging a mere (and fourth-place) 2.4/ 4 from 8-10 p.m., followed by a repeat of Law & Order: SVU at a last-place 3.8/ 7 at 10 p.m.
Fox fared as follows in the Sunday overnights:
Fox/Sunday
7:00 p.m. King of the Hill (R): 1.9/ 4 (#4)
7:30 p.m. The Simpsons (R): 2.7/ 5 (#4)
8:00 p.m. The Simpsons (season finale): 4.2/ 7 (#3)
8:30 p.m. King of the Hill (season finale): 3.6/ 6 (#3)
9:00 p.m. Family Guy (R): 4.0/ 6 (#3)
9:30 p.m. American Dad (season finale): 3.8/ 6 (#3)
And the CW, which is handing over low-rated Sunday to Media Rights Capital next season, was barely visible with its combination of a repeat of America’s Next Top Model (1.1/ 2), the season-finale of Everybody Hates Chris (1.2/ 2), the series-finale of Aliens in America (1.1/ 2), the season-finale of The Game (1.5/ 2), and a repeat of Girlfriends (1.2/ 2). As a reminder, Everybody Hates Chris and The Game are moving into the Friday 8 p.m. hour next fall, into an encore telecast of Top Model. That combination will not compare to Friday Night Smackdown!
Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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Ratings Box:
What’s Hot/What’s Not
-Syndicated Game Show Ratings Update:
Based on national ratings through May, 2008, what follows is an updated track for all syndicated game shows in households and two key demos -- women 25-54 and adults 25-54. Change versus the comparable year-ago period appears in parentheses for all established series.
Households:
Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 7.8 rating (- 7), Jeopardy: 6.3 (- 5), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC): 3.0 (- 9), Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury): 1.9 (no change), Merv Griffin’s Crosswords (Program Partners): 0.8, Temptation (Twentieth Television): 0.5
Women 25-54:
Wheel of Fortune (CBS): 2.9 (-12), Jeopardy: 2.4 (- 4), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC): 1.3 (-13), Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury): 0.9 (+13), Merv Griffin’s Crosswords (Program Partners): 0.5, Temptation (Twentieth Television): 0.3
Adults 25-54:
Wheel of Fortune (CBS): 2.5 (-11), Jeopardy: 2.0 (- 9), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC): 1.0 (-17), Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury): 0.7 (+17), Merv Griffin’s Crosswords (Program Partners): 0.4, Temptation (Twentieth Television): 0.2
Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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On the Air Tonight:
Prime-Time Programming Options
Monday 5/19/08
Night 26 of the May 2008 Sweeps
ABC:
8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars
9:00 p.m. The Bachelorette (season premiere, two hours)
CBS:
8:00 p.m. The Big Bang Theory (season finale)
8:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (season finale)
9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men (season finale)
9:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement (season finale)
10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (season finale)
NBC:
8:00 p.m. American Gladiators (two hours)
10:00 p.m. Dateline
Fox:
8:00 p.m. Bones (season finale)
9:00 p.m. House (season finale, part two)
CW:
8:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (season finale)
9:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (season finale)
MNTV
8:00 p.m. Celebrity Expose: Madonna
9:00 p.m. Paradise Hotel – TV14 (TV-MA version available on Fox Reality Channel 1 a.m. ET
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TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest
-Midseason 2009 Show Tallies:
Sixteen new series will launch this fall -- 10 dramas, 4 sitcoms and 2 non-scripted hours. And here is the breakdown by network as to what to expect in midseason. To-date, I have 24 projects (12 new series and 12 returning). If anything is missing, please email me at mberman@mediaweek.com.
ABC
Sitcoms: The Goode Family
Non-Scripted: Untitled Tyra Banks/Ashton Kutcher Project
Returning: According to Jim, The Bachelor, Lost, Scrubs (from NBC), Primetime: What Would You Do?
CBS
Dramas: Harper’s Island
Returning: Rules of Engagement
NBC
Dramas: Kings, Merlin, The Philanthropist
Sitcoms: The Office Spin-Off
Returning: Celebrity Apprentice, Law & Order, Medium
Fox
Dramas: Courtroom K, Dollhouse, Lie To Me
Sitcoms: The Cleveland Show, Sit Down, Shut Up
Non-Scripted: Secret Millionaire
Returning: American Idol, Hell’s Kitchen, 24
CW
Returning: Reaper
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TV Trivia Time:
Don’t Pack Your Bags
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)
The answer to yesterday’s question…
Which one of the following series will be returning in 2008-09 in midseason?
a) Back to You (Fox)
b) Bionic Woman (NBC)
c) Moonlight (CBS)
d) Rules of Engagement (CBS)
e) Shark (CBS)
Is: d) Rules of Engagement, which will likely return to the Monday 9:30 p.m. half hour unless upcoming occupant Worst Week clicks.
-Current kudos goes to:
Mark Amato, Carolyn Bisson, Gerry Bixenspan, Cory Chapman, Larry Collins, Audrey Davis, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Leslie Franzen, Janet Furneaux, Brad Hight, Holley Ford, Cliff Jackson, Marie LeFevre Karp, Irene Kirchner, Stephen LaRue, Patty Lynch, Jim O’Heir, Aaron Paqueete, Peter Poore, Gordon Purcell, Anthony Salerno, Joel Simon, Dewayne Snype, Ron Strauss, David Williams, Ged Young
