THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:
Fox and ABC Neck-and-Neck; CBS Solid

Ratings Box:
What’s Hot/What’s Not

National Ratings in Prime-Time:
Week of May 12, 2008

On the Air Tonight:
Prime-Time Programming Options

TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest

TV Trivia Time:
A Smart Gilmore
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Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:
Fox and ABC Neck-and-Neck; CBS Solid

Tuesday 5/20/08

HH
Rtg/Shr
Fox 11.3/17
ABC 11.2/17
CBS 9.3/14
NBC 3.3/ 5
CW 1.6/ 2

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-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Tuesday, May 22, 2007):
CBS: + 8, Fox: no change, ABC: - 5, CW: - 6, NBC: -42,

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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, May 20, 2008.

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC), American Idol (Fox), NCIS (CBS)

-Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):
Most Outrageous Moments (NBC), Reaper (CW)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
American Idol-ignited Fox won Tuesday in the metered markets, but its advantage over a night of Dancing With the Stars on ABC was only one-tenth of a rating point. Fox will, of course, win the evening among adults 18-49. Third overall in the overnights was a comfortable CBS, followed distant NBC and the CW.

The final night of competition on Fox’s American Idol stood well above anything else in the 8 p.m. hour, with a hefty 15.3 rating/24 share in the overnights. That led into Hell’s Kitchen, with a third-place 7.2/11 from 9-10 p.m. Retention for Hell’s Kitchen out of the second half-hour of American Idol (16.3/25 at 8:30 p.m.) was just 44 percent. Keep in mind, though, that the competition included Dancing With the Stars and the season-finale of CBS’ NCIS.

As for American Idol, I have been rooting for David Cook all season. But after last night’s performances, it is obvious David Archuletta will win.

ABC opened the evening with a repeat of Dancing With the Stars at a third-place 6.6/10 at 8 p.m. The two-hour season-finale rose to a hefty
13.5/21 from 9-11 p.m., building by half-hour as follows:

Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
9:00 p.m. 12.8/19 (#1)
9:30 p.m. 13.0/19 (#1)
10:00 p.m. 13.8/21 (#1)
10:30 p.m. 14.3/23 (#1)

Congratulations, Kristi Yamiguchi.

Despite the severity of the competition, CBS got plenty of mileage out of the two-hour season-finale of NCIS at 10.3/16 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m., and growth in each half-hour as follows:

NCIS (CBS)
8:00 p.m. 9.3/15 (#2)
8:30 p.m. 10.0/15 (#2)
9:00 p.m. 10.9/16 (#2)
9:30 p.m. 11.2/17 (#2)

NCIS led into the series-finale of Shark at a second-place 7.1/11 at 10 p.m. While the overall performance for Shark was not bad by any means this season, what did the show in was the older skew.

NBC had nothing of note to report last night with its combination of two episodes (original and repeat) of Most Outrageous Moments (#4: avg. 2.6/ 4), and two repeat episodes of Law & Order: SVU (9 p.m.: #4, 3.0/ 5 – 10 p.m. #3, 4.4/ 7).

The CW capped off the evening with a repeat of Reaper (#5: 1.3/ 2), followed by the freshman season-ender at a 1.9/ 3 at 9 p.m. (#5). Look for the return of Reaper in 2008-09 in midseason in place of the expected-to-conclude Smallville.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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Ratings Box:
What’s Hot/What’s Not

-National Ratings in Syndication – Week of May 5, 2008:
Here are the top 10 rated programs in syndication based on households for the week of May 5, 2008, followed by any highlights of note:

Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 7.1 rating Jeopardy (CBS): 5.9 Oprah (CBS): 5.8 Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.0 Judge Judy (CBS): 4.7 Dr. Phil (CBS): 4.3 Entertainment Tonight (CBS) and Family Guy (Twentieth Television): 4.1 each
CSI: Miami (CBS): 4.0
Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 3.7

-Ignited from appearances by Barbara Walters, Cher and Tina Turner, Oprah rose to a 10-week high, with growth of 14 percent in households from one week earlier.

-Judge Judy (my personal favorite, on-camera and off) was the only court show up year-to-year, with an increase of seven percent in households and as much as 17 percent among women 18-34.

-NBC Universal’s Law & Order: SVU increased to a 3.6 household rating in off-network -- up 13 percent week-to-week. And it scored a record 1.8 rating among men 18-49, an increase of 29 percent from the previous week.

-Two and a Half Men continued to dominate the category of off-network sitcoms (despite the absence of a cable run) in households, adults 18-49 (2.8), adults 25-54 (3.1), women 18-49 (2.9), women 25-54 (3.3), and men
25-54 (3.0).

-TMZ from Warner Bros. finished first among all syndicated magazines among women 18-34 (1.5), adults 18-34 (1.3) and men 18-34 (1.1) for the fifth consecutive week.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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National Ratings in Prime-Time:
Week of May 12, 2008

It was another week of split leadership, with CBS first in households and total viewers and Fox No. 1 in the three key demos (adults 18-49, adults
25-54 and adults 18-34) for the week of May 12, 2008. Comparably, this was Fox’s 19th consecutive weekly win among adults 18-49. ABC finished second across the board, with NBC fourth, the CW fifth and MyNetworkTV a distant sixth. Three networks -- ABC, NBC and the CW -- were all on the double-digit downside, while the remaining three were close to year-ago levels.

In a week populated with season and series finales, of note was The 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS Sunday at an above-average
11.73 million viewers and a 2.9 rating/8 share among adults 18-49. The network’s Moonlight, meanwhile, earned its cancellation stripes at just
7.47 million viewers (#41 overall) and a 1.8/ 7 in the demo (tied for #54) on Friday, May 16. And the season-finale of ABC’s The Bachelor: London Calling got a boost at 8.85 million viewers (#27) and a 3.2/ 8 among 18-49 (#21t). But a sluggish start for The Bachelorette this week means it is a good thing the network is resting the franchise next fall.

Here are the final national ratings for the week of May 12, 2008 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the top 20 ranked programs of the week. Keep in mind that this report included two full weeks of the May 2008 sweep.

-Households:
CBS: 6.7 rating/11 share (- 1), ABC: 6.2/11 (-11),
Fox: 5.6/ 9 (- 8), NBC: 3.6/ 6 (-23), CW: 1.7/ 3 (-15),
MNTV: 0.8/ 1 (no change)

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 10.33 million (no change), ABC: 9.56 (-11), Fox: 9.20 (- 9), NBC: 5.54 (-21), CW: 2.68 (-13), MNTV: 1.15 (- 1)

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 3.5 rating/10 share (-10), ABC: 3.1/ 9 (-14),
CBS: 2.6/ 7 (- 7), NBC: 1.9/ 5 (-21), CW: 1.1/ 3 (-15),
MNTV: 0.4/ 1 (no change)

-Adults 25-54:
Fox: 3.9/10 (- 7), ABC: 3.7/10 (-12), CBS: 3.4/ 9 (- 3),
NBC: 2.2/ 6 (-18), CW: 1.1/ 3 (- 8), MNTV: 0.5/ 1 (no change)

-Adults 18-34:
Fox: 3.0/10 (-17), ABC: 2.4/ 8 (-14), CBS: 1.7/ 5 (-11),
NBC: 1.5/ 5 (-21), CW: 1.1/ 3 (-27), MNTV: 0.4/ 1 (no change)

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Top 20 Rankings

-Total Viewers:
American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 24.86 million, American Idol – Tuesday
(Fox): 24.77, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 18.47, CSI (CBS, season finale): 18.06, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC): 16.99, Desperate Housewives (ABC, season finale): 16.84, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC):
15.55, House (Fox): 15.02, NCIS (CBS): 14.88, Without a Trace (CBS, season
finale): 14.54, CSI: Miami (CBS, season finale): 13.92, Two and a Half Men (CBS, season finale): 13.82, Criminal Minds (CBS): 12.88, CSI: NY (CBS):
11.86, The 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards (CBS): 11.73, Law &
Order: SVU (NBC, season finale): 11.50, Hell’s Kitchen (Fox): 11.31, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC, season finale): 11.22, Lost (ABC):
10.96, 60 Minutes (CBS): 10.79

-Adults 18-49:
American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 9.2 rating/22 share, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 9.0/25, Desperate Housewives (ABC, season finale): 6.2/16, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 6.1/15, House (Fox): 5.9/14, Hell’s Kitchen (Fox):
5.1/13, Two and a Half Men (CBS, season finale): 5.1/12, Lost (ABC):
4.9/13, CSI (CBS, season finale): 4.9/12, Dancing With the Stars – Monday
(ABC): 4.2/11, The Office (NBC, season finale): 4.2/10, CSI: Miami (CBS, season finale): 4.1/11, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC) and Rules of Engagement (CBS, season finale): 4.1/10 each, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC, season finale); 3.9/11, How I Met Your Mother (CBS, season
finale) and Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 3.8/10 each, Without a Trace (CBS, season finale): 3.6/10, ER (NBC) and Bones (Fox): 3.3/ 9 each

Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) __________________________________________________________

On the Air Tonight:
Prime-Time Programming Options

Wednesday 5/21/08
Final Night of the May 2008 Sweeps

ABC:
8:00 p.m. Lost (R)
9:00 p.m. Lost (R)
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal

CBS:
8:00 p.m. The Price is Right
9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds (season finale) 10:00 p.m. CSI: NY (season finale)

NBC:
8:00 p.m. Law & Order (R)
9:00 p.m. Law & Order (R)
10:00 p.m. Law & Order (season finale)

Fox:
8:00 p.m. American Idol (season finale, two hours)

CW:
8:00 p.m. Farmer Wants a Wife (R)
9:00 p.m. Farmer Wants a Wife (R)

MTNV
8:00 p.m. Under One Roof
8:30 p.m. In Living Color
9:00 p.m. Magicians Code: Magic Secrets Finally Revealed 5

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TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest

-More Here Come the Newlyweds:
ABC has picked up recent midseason entry Here Come the Newlyweds for a second season, which is expected to go into production this summer.

-Summer Programming Premiere Dates:
With the May 2008 sweeps ending today, here are the roll-out dates for the upcoming original summer fare, network and cable. If anything is missing, please email me with the information at mberman@mediaweek.com.

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox): season premiere Thursday, May 22: 8 p.m. ET )

The Last Comic Standing (NBC): season premiere Thursday, May 22: 9:30 p.m. ET

The Moment of Truth (Fox): season premiere Tuesday, May 27: 8 p.m. ET

Million Dollar Password (CBS): premiere
Sunday, June 1: 8 p.m. ET

The Mole (ABC): season premiere
Monday, June 2: 10 p.m. ET

She’s Got the Look (TV Land): premiere
Wednesday, June 4: 10 p.m. ET

Fear Itself (NBC): premiere
Thursday, June 5: 10 p.m. ET

Swingtown (CBS): premiere
Thursday, June 5: 10 p.m. ET

Army Wives (Lifetime): season premiere
Sunday, June 8: 10 p.m. ET

Denise Richards: It’s Complicated (E!): premiere Sunday, June 8: 10 p.m. ET

Living Lohan (E!): premiere
Sunday, June 8, 10:30 pm. ET

Nashville Star (NBC): season premiere
Monday, June 9: 9:30 p.m. ET

Celebrity Circus (NBC): premiere
Wednesday, June 11: 9:30 p.m. ET

My Boys (TBS): season premiere
Thursday, June 12: 9:30 p.m.

America’s Got Talent (NBC): season premiere Tuesday, June 17: 9 p.m. ET

Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels (A&E): season premiere Sunday, June 22, 9:30 p.m. ET

The Two Coreys (A&E): season premiere
Sunday, June 22: 10 p.m. ET

I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC): premiere Tuesday, June 24: 9 p.m. ET

Dance Machine (ABC): premiere
Friday, June 27: 8 p.m. ET

Duel (ABC): season premiere
Friday, June 27: 9 p.m. ET

Big Brother 10 (CBS): season premiere
Tuesday, July 15: 9 p.m. ET

Family Foreman (TV Land): premiere
Wednesday, July 16: 10:30 p.m. ET

The Gong Show with Dave Attell (Comedy Central): premiere Tuesday, July 17: 10:30 p.m. ET

Psych (USA): season premiere
Wednesday, July 18, 10 p.m. ET

High School Musical: Get in the Picture (ABC): premiere Monday, July 21: 8 p.m. ET

Wanna Bet (ABC): premiere
Monday, July 21: 9 p.m. ET

Jingles (CBS): premiere
Sunday, July 27, 9 p.m. ET
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TV Trivia Time:
A Smart Gilmore

What high school did Rory Gilmore go to?

a) Cheshire Academy
b) Chilton Academy
c) Oak Creek
d) Eastland
e) Verde Valley Institute

The answer to yesterday’s question…

Where was quirky 1992 to 1996 CBS drama Picket Fences set?

a) Delaware
b) Georgia
c) Idaho
d) Missouri
e) Wisconsin

Is: e) Wisconsin. Rome, Wisconsin to be exact.

-Current kudos goes to:
Anna Alvord, Mark Binda, Gerry Bixenspan, Jordan Breslow, Audrey Davis, John Ferlazzo, James Gentry, Sherrie Hentschel, David Jackino, Deb Kainer, Mary Kalnin, Marie Lefevre Karp, Stephen LaRue, Steve Meadows, Greg Phelan, Francine Purcell, Michael Ratliffe, David Ruckman, Mark Simmons, Michelle Stanton, Ivan Tafur, Ronnie Tallant, Carol Teichman, Ged Young, Ted Zavales