Prime Time Ratings:
Sunday 9/23/07

The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data)

-Total Viewers:
NBC: 14.18 million, CBS: 10.68, Fox: 10.49, ABC: 6.89, CW: 1.35

-Adults 18-49:
NBC: 5.8 rating/15 share, Fox: 4.9/13, CBS: 2.4/ 6, ABC: 2.3/ 6, CW: 0.5/ 1

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-Note: The listing of the winners and losers will return tomorrow!

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-Ratings Breakdown:
It was no contest on this football driven Sunday, with the Dallas versus Chicago match-up on NBC’s Sunday Night Football at a dominant (an approximate) 16.87 million viewers and a 7.1 rating/17 share from 8:30-11 p.m. Earlier in the evening on NBC was pre-game Football Night in America at 7.32 million and a 2.9/ 9 among adults 18-49 from 7-8 p.m., and 14.4 million viewers and a 5.9/16 in the demo in the 8 p.m. half-hour (with a combination of the pre-show and the actual game). As a reminder, fast affiliate results for any live sporting event are always approximate.

In series-premiere news, the initial results were grim for half-hour CW newsmagazines CW Now and Online Nation. CW Now kicked-off with just 1.01 million viewers and a 0.2/ 1 among adults 18-49 at 7 p.m., followed by 994,000 viewers and a 0.3/ 1 in the demo for Online Nation at 7:30 p.m. One year earlier in the time period were back-to-back repeats of Everybody Hates Chris at an average 2.48 million viewers and a 1.1/ 3 among adults 18-49, based on the final nationals. Historically, this very well could have been the worst performances for any original program in the Sunday 7 p.m. hour on both the CW and former network the WB. Both shows, of course, were a distant last in their time periods.

The CW capped off the evening with repeats of Gossip Girl (Viewers: #5, 1.16 million; A18-49: #5, 0.4/ 1) and America’s Next Top Model (Viewers: #5, 1.90 million; A18-49: #5, 0.8/ 2) from 8-10 p.m. While I did not expect much for the newsmagazines, I did expect more sampling than they received.

CBS opened with the season-premiere of granddaddy 60 Minutes at 11.45 million viewers (#1) and a third-place 2.3/ 7 among adults 18-49 at 7 p.m., followed by a Sunday edition of game show Power of 10 at a disappointing 7.47 million viewers (#4) and a forth-place 1.7/ 4 in the demo at 8 p.m. In season-premiere news, season No. five of Cold Case opened with 12.30 million viewers (#2) and a 3.0/ 7 among adults 18-49 (#4). While the positive news was double-digit growth from lead-in Power of 10, year-to-year Cold Case dipped by 3.97 million viewers and 27 percent among adults 18-49 from its fourth-season opener (Viewers: 16.27 million; A18-49: 4.1/ 9 on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006, based on the final nationals). The second season-premiere of Shark was perfectly compatible, at 11.52 million viewers (#2) and a 2.7/ 7 among adults 18-49 (#2) at 10 p.m. But one year earlier, the season-premiere of former occupant Without a Trace netted a considerably heftier 17.56 million viewers and a 4.8/12 in the demo, based on the final nationals. Shark, meanwhile, debuted with 14.74 million viewers and a 4.1/11 among adults 18-49 on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006 at 10 p.m. In other words, Cold Case and Shark were good, but far from spectacular.

Over at ABC, a two-hour repeat edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Viewers: 6.67 million; A18-49: 2.1/ 6 from 7-9 p.m.) led into a Desperate Housewives retrospective (Family Secrets) at 9.01 million viewers (#4) and a third-place 3.1/ 7 among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. As much as I tried to get into Desperate Housewives this past season, didn’t the overall story telling seem awfully forced? A look back at Brothers & Sisters, a Mr. TV favorite, capped off the evening for ABC with 5.19 million viewers (#3) and a 1.7/ 4 in the demo (#3).

A football overrun on Fox (Viewers: #1, 15.28 million; A18-49: #1, 6.1/19) led into post game The OT at 9.14 million viewers (#2) and a first-place 4.0/12 among adults 18-49 in the 7:30 p.m. half hour. And that led into the following season premieres:

8:00 p.m. The Simpsons – Viewers: 9.43 million (#2), A18-49: 4.7/12 (#2)
8:30 p.m. King of the Hill – Viewers: 7.74 million (#3), A18-49: 3.7/ 9 (#2)
9:00-10 p.m. Family Guy – Viewers: 10.86 million (#3), A18-49: 5.5/13 (#1)

Last fall, The Simpsons opened the season with 11.63 million viewers and a 5.3/14 in the demo, with Family Guy at 9.93 million viewers and a 4.8/11 among adults 18-49, based on the final nationals. Both shows, no doubt, look healthy in the upcoming season.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

If the CW cares at all about Life is Wild, they will pull CW Now and Online Nation or put them on in the easy view block. Perhaps another option would be to move the Top Model repeat to 7pm and the newsmagazines to 9pm after Life is Wild.

So far not so great for returning shows. The true test will be this week when the big guns return and then we will see if the spring slide continues thru fall.

I Agreen with You about CW!
And Cold Case Only 12.3!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:
If the CW cares at all about Life is Wild, they will pull CW Now and Online Nation or put them on in the easy view block. Perhaps another option would be to move the Top Model repeat to 7pm and the newsmagazines to 9pm after Life is Wild.

Weaker lead in for Cold Case. Perhaps Viva Laughlin will generate interest and improve the numbers for Cold Case. As for Shark, this program is very overated and its older skewing demos and reportedly high cost could do it in.

quote:

Originally posted by Seth Plate:
I Agreen with You about CW!
And Cold Case Only 12.3!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:
If the CW cares at all about Life is Wild, they will pull CW Now and Online Nation or put them on in the easy view block. Perhaps another option would be to move the Top Model repeat to 7pm and the newsmagazines to 9pm after Life is Wild.

cold case needs a good lead in

Marc, the insider is not on the site yet today. also, have not been receiving my email copy. do we need to re-subsribe?

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Berman:
In series-premiere news, the initial results were grim for half-hour CW newsmagazines CW Now and Online Nation.

I only caught a couple of minutes of each of these shows, but from what I saw, they should have a bigger audience. There is no reason that Online nation should not draw as many viewers as America's Funniest Home Videos, for example. The hurdle for the CW is how to get the public to even sample their channel.

Meanwhile, it looks like America's Next Top Model may be the Top show on CW for the week, for Wednesday nights, AND for Sunday nights on a regular basis.

quote:

Originally posted by tv avenger:
So far not so great for returning shows.

Expect the trend to continue for nearly all returning shows, regardless of timeslot, regardless of network. These are the times we live in.

WOW! Those demo numbers for Family Guy are very impressive. Will the viewers stick around after the Star Wars episode?

I would like to see COLD CASE tried out at either Tuesday at 9PM or take the 10PM on Thursday slot. It's a far better show than either THE UNIT or WITHOUT A TRACE...especially THE UNIT and deserves more of a plum spot.

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:
Weaker lead in for Cold Case. Perhaps Viva Laughlin will generate interest and improve the numbers for Cold Case. As for Shark, this program is very overated and its older skewing demos and reportedly high cost could do it in.

quote:

Originally posted by Seth Plate:
I Agreen with You about CW!
And Cold Case Only 12.3!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:
If the CW cares at all about Life is Wild, they will pull CW Now and Online Nation or put them on in the easy view block. Perhaps another option would be to move the Top Model repeat to 7pm and the newsmagazines to 9pm after Life is Wild.

Sorry but I don't think VIVA is going to be around long enough to provide a lead in for COLD CASE...in fact I'm going with the crowd that thinks it DEAD ON ARRIVAL..what with football, the very concept and shuffling of creative team.

Poor CW. It is partly name recognition, partly where it is available and mostly the inability to program correctly. The idea of putting the encore first then following it with Life is Wild and finishing off with ON and CWNow later in the night might be better.

If this keeps up Life is Wild is dead on arrival and so is One Tree Hill if they try and put it on Sunday night.

Sunday is niche programming, it has to be given all the heavy duty crime time, drama and football on television then. Go back to the sci fi/fantasy angle and you will start finding more people that night. It would be very easy to go with Reaper, Supernatural, the witch pilot this year. Or even go back to the well that has been successful for the netlets in the past, Star Trek, Whedon. Even that godforsaken Charmed spinoff their fans clamor for so much.

If 3 nights of original programming are any sign of things to come (obvioulsy it is early), CBS ratings are going to be way down this season. Firs Kid Nation opened to low numbers, especially considering the publicity it was getting, then Survivor plummeted from last falls debut, and now the Sunday primieres tanked compared to last season.

And CBS has not even debuted its ridiculous lineup of new dramas, which are all but guaranteed to be given the ole CBS 3 and out. (Cane? Viva Laughlin? Moonlight? Come on CBS.. you could do no better than that?)

As I have mentioned before, the CBS crime drams are getting very old and CBS has not come up with anything to replace them. I fully expect the numbers for the CSI trio to also move downward sharply. Will this be the year CBS falls to 4th in the demo? Maybe not, because CBS is able to hold up with repeats while the other networks do not, but maybe in 1 or 2 more years unless they come up with something new that is worth watching.

because Nielsen is behind the times in tracking viewers...

quote:

Originally posted by Obveeus:

quote:

Originally posted by tv avenger:
So far not so great for returning shows.

Expect the trend to continue for nearly all returning shows, regardless of timeslot, regardless of network. These are the times we live in.