Prime-Time Ratings:
Thursday 6/26/08

-Total Viewers:
Fox: 7.74 million, CBS: 6.55, NBC: 5.00, ABC: 4.22, CW: 1.58

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 2.4 rating/8 share, NBC: 1.9/ 6, CBS: 1.7/ 6, ABC: 1.1/ 4, CW: 0.5/ 2

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)

-Promising Return:
Hopkins (ABC)

-Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):
Swingtown (CBS), Fear Itself (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Fox led the Thursday troops care of non-scripted duo Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Viewers: #1, 6.92 million; A18-49: #2, 1.8 rating/6 share at 8 p.m.) and the live So You Think You Can Dance Results Show (Viewers: #1, 8.56 million; A18-49: #1, 3.0/ 9 at 9 p.m.), which was the highest rated show of the evening. As expected, Chelsea was shown the door. But I personally thought that Thayne would have been chosen over Chris. Thayne is now paired with Comfort.

Second overall in total viewers and third among adults 18-49 was CBS with a repeat of Million Dollar Password (Viewers: #2, 6.77 million; A18-49: #3, 1.7/ 6), a repeat of CSI (Viewers: #2, 7.24 million; A18-49: #3, 1.7/ 5), and deteriorating drama Swingtown, which sunk to a series-low 5.65 million (#2) and a 1.9/ 6 among adults 18-49 (#1). Take a look at the four-week national ratings track for Swingtown:

6/06/08 – Viewers: 8.57 million (#1), A18-49: 2.8/ 8 (#1)
6/13/08 – Viewers: 7.00 million (#2), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#1)
6/20/08 - Viewers: 6.01 million (#1), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#1)
6/27/08 - Viewers: 5.65 million (#2), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#1)

In just three weeks, Swingtown has dropped by a hefty 2.92 million viewers and 32 percent among adults 18-49.

Next was NBC care of a two-hour edition of Last Comic Standing (uneventful 5.26 million viewers and a 2.1/ 7 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m.) and week four of failing Fear Itself (Viewers: #3, 4.47 million; A18-49: #3, 1.5/ 4). The only thing positive to say about Fear Itself is that (unlike Swingtown) it has leveled off. Here is the four week track:

Fear Itself (NBC)
6/06/08 – Viewers: 5.26 million (#3), A18-49: 2.0/ 6 (#3)
6/13/08 – Viewers: 4.87 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#3)
6/20/08 – Viewers: 4.65 million (#2), A18-49: 1.5/ 6 (#2)
6/27/08 – Viewers: 4.47 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#3)

And take a look at Last Comic Standing by half-hour:

Last Comic Standing (NBC)
8:00 p.m. – Viewers: 4.79 million (#3), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#1)
8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.21 million (#3), A18-49: 1.9/ 7 (#1)
9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.60 million (#3), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#2)
9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.44 million (#3), A18-49: 2.2/ 7 (#2)

In season-premiere news, ABC’s non-scripted Hopkins was first in total viewers (5.84 million) and second among adults 18-49 (1.6/ 5 at 10 p.m. Comparably, that built from a repeat of lead-in Gray’s Anatomy (Viewers: #4, 3.36 million; A18-49: #4, 1.0/ 3) by a considerable 2.48 million viewers and 60 percent in the demo.

The CW capped off Thursday with repeats of Smallville (Viewers: #5, 1.63 million; A18-49: #5, 0.6/ 2) and Supernatural (Viewers: 1.53 million; A18-49: #5, 0.5/ 2) from 8-10 p.m.


Source: Nielsen Media Research data

I watched a good bit of Swingtown last night, and I have one good thing to say about it:

Molly Parker looks great in those clothes.

If this was pay cable, we could see how she looked out of them.

And that's why Swingtown SUCKS.

I think "Hopkins" is REAL reality TV, telling/showing it like it is. Wonder how many potential viewers missed it cuz they didn't know what it was about?

I know who I'm gonna call if I ever need my head cut open! (I'll remind him to bring a jackhammer.)

Well, any hope of a season two is dead for SWINGTOWN but I do hope they play out the remaining episodes since they are already in the can I believe and its 10PM in the summertime...there isn't going to be anything that it going to be a break out hit there.

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Berman:
The only thing positive to say about Fear Itself is that (unlike Swingtown) it has leveled off.

Swingtown held 94% of viewers last week and is 'dropping' while Fear Itself held 96% of viewers and has 'leveled off'. Well, now I know where the line is.

I think Swingtown is suffering from 'pre-cancellation syndrome'. Being that it is a family drama, there is a serialized nature to the shows. Viewers don't want to get involved with a serial show if it isn't going to continue passed the current season. CW realized this and took action by renewing Gossip Girl early on so viewers wouldn't feel that 'need to bail' before the show abruptly ends on them. If CBS had any interest in continuing Swingtown pased this summer (and I doubt they do), they should take a cue from CW and announce a renewal as soon as possible to stem the ratings bleeding.

In more general terms with regards to viewers that can't handle watching shows that end without an 'ending': I just finished watching 3 seasons of Deadwood. That show ended as abruptly and as 'without an ending' as any show could. Fantastic show and worth every episode of viewing. Too many people miss great TV because they are 'afraid' they won't get closure.

quote:

Originally posted by robycop3:
I think "Hopkins" is REAL reality TV, telling/showing it like it is. Wonder how many potential viewers missed it cuz they didn't know what it was about?

I expected it to be a copy off of Trauma, Life in the ER, so I didn't bother even recording it for a sampling.

You are right on target with this point of view. People who invest in shows now days and have been bitten by the cancellation bug in the past (like us) are going to follow the ratings to see how a show is doing before they continue to invest time. I'm afraid many of these shows are losing an audience because of this. I'm not saying this is the total reason for the drop in viewers for Swingtown but I think most people understand also that new summer shows on non cable channels generally are burn off's or shows that the networks do not have confidence in, therefore making them less likely to have people invest time in them. In Swingtown's case I think CBS wanted to give it a chance to succeed but lack of original programming due to the strike made them show it in the summer. I doubt they will cut the series short because although the ratings are dropping they are not horrific for 10pm during the summer. Here's hoping they let it play out the string and give us something interesting to watch for the next two months.

I have to say though that I love the premise of this show and it could work....on cable. It just doesn't deliver the wow factor like I could on Showtime or HBO.

quote:

Originally posted by Obveeus:

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Berman:
The only thing positive to say about Fear Itself is that (unlike Swingtown) it has leveled off.

Swingtown held 94% of viewers last week and is 'dropping' while Fear Itself held 96% of viewers and has 'leveled off'. Well, now I know where the line is.

I think Swingtown is suffering from 'pre-cancellation syndrome'. Being that it is a family drama, there is a serialized nature to the shows. Viewers don't want to get involved with a serial show if it isn't going to continue passed the current season. CW realized this and took action by renewing Gossip Girl early on so viewers wouldn't feel that 'need to bail' before the show abruptly ends on them. If CBS had any interest in continuing Swingtown pased this summer (and I doubt they do), they should take a cue from CW and announce a renewal as soon as possible to stem the ratings bleeding.

In more general terms with regards to viewers that can't handle watching shows that end without an 'ending': I just finished watching 3 seasons of Deadwood. That show ended as abruptly and as 'without an ending' as any show could. Fantastic show and worth every episode of viewing. Too many people miss great TV because they are 'afraid' they won't get closure.

quote:

Originally posted by robycop3:
I think "Hopkins" is REAL reality TV, telling/showing it like it is. Wonder how many potential viewers missed it cuz they didn't know what it was about?

I know who I'm gonna call if I ever need my head cut open! (I'll remind him to bring a jackhammer.)

LOL! I'm sure he's got one stashed somewhere in his lab.
I watched Hopkins (mainly because I work there and was curious to see how it turned out) and I thought it was very well done. And yes, that is real "reality" TV. That is the only kind of reality TV I will watch. The numbers were a little disappointing but it looks like it did pretty well. (But let's face it, it's summer, so it's not gonna get much better than that) I'm looking forward to seeing more of it, and hoping it does even better in the ratings in the next few weeks.

So, a repeat of the 1st episode of MDP did better in the demo then last Sunday's all-new episode.

Perhaps, a move to Thurs. @ 8 for its duration could be of benefit to the show and CBS.

It could probably win its timeslot.

What a fascinating theory--millions of people are watching Swingtown, and even though it's summer, they're all reading the ratings reports religiously. And even though the early ratings reports were rather positive for Swingtown, they kept up with the much-less-reported downturn in the ratings in subsequent weeks--which in turn CAUSED the downturn in the ratings--almost instantaneously.

So because they anticipated the downturn in the ratings they themselves were causing, people stopped watching a show they enjoyed, just so they wouldn't have to stop watching a show they enjoyed.

I must admit, the logic is unassailable.

And circular.

quote:

Originally posted by TAYLORJNG:
So, a repeat of the 1st episode of MDP did better in the demo then last Sunday's all-new episode.

Because they promoted a repeat by saying it would be on Thursday.

As for a move, they shouldn't do that now with only two weeks left.

If you missed Hopkins, you missed out on a fantastic show. I'm glad to see that it was the most watched TV show at 10 PM. I do wonder what would happen if ABC actually gave it a good lead in. If it could grow by over 2.5 million from a repeat, how much more could the numbers grow?

Swingtown's numbers are just unacceptable. By next week, it will be below 5.5 million. It's time for CBS to cancel it and put the remaining episodes online. I hope CBS is reconsidering and going to let Flashpoint take the Thursday 10 PM slot. No use letting both of your summer entries die off.

Last Comic Standing and Fear Itself isn't showing much promise for NBC. While it can probably last for the summer, it definately won't be back next year.

Too bad about Swingtown - I thought last night's episode was the best so far. While the series keeps getting better creatively, ratings get lower and lower. Hopefully they won't go any lower in the next few weeks. I wonder if they would try moving the show to a new slot, maybe on Fridays with Flashpoint.

quote:

Originally posted by robycop3:
I think "Hopkins" is REAL reality TV, telling/showing it like it is. Wonder how many potential viewers missed it cuz they didn't know what it was about?

I know who I'm gonna call if I ever need my head cut open! (I'll remind him to bring a jackhammer.)

Hopkins reminds me favourably of Lifeline, an old NBC medical reality show that was a little more visceral, and a little less personality-oriented. Kudos to it for building on its paltry lead in by 2.5 million viewers and 0.6 in young adult demo.

Even though Swingtown fell again to a 1.9 A18-49, it was still CBS's best young adult number for the night, and for that reason, I don't expect the Eye will pull it anytime soon. And its quite an entertaining show to boot.

Fear Itself was simply brilliant, again satisfying with a very Serlingesque plot that ended more twisted that a Coney Island baked pretzel. Glad to see that it has "levelled off", but I can't believe that word of mouth hasn't started to wend its magic on this series so that some week-to-week growth gets started.

quote:

As for a move, they shouldn't do that now with only two weeks left.

CBS ordered six more episodes. Do they plan on airing them this summer or as a mid-season replacement?