Saturday 12/20/08

What follows are the final national ratings for Saturday, Dec. 20 broken out by network overall and by half-hour in the order of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the CW.

Overall

Total Viewers:
Fox: 5.31 million, CBS: 4.93, ABC: 3.99, NBC: 3.73

Adults 18-49:
Fox: 1.6 rating/6 share, CBS: 1.5/ 5, ABC: 1.2/ 4, NBC: 1.0/ 3

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8:00 p.m.

ABC – A Charlie Brown Christmas (R)
Viewers: 3.65 million (#3), A18-49: 0.9 rating/3 share (#3)

CBS – Movie: Elf (R)
Viewers: 3.83 million (#2), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#2)

NBC – Crusoe
Viewers: 2.88 million (#4), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#4)

Fox – Cops (R)
Viewers: 4.80 million (#1), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#1)

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8:30 p.m.

ABC – A Charlie Brown Christmas (R)
Viewers: 3.83 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#3)

CBS – Movie: Elf (R)
Viewers: 4.52 million (#2), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#2)

NBC – Crusoe
Viewers: 2.91 million (#4), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#4)

Fox – Cops (R)
Viewers: 5.29 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1)

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9:00 p.m.

ABC – Movie – Cat in the Hat (R)
Viewers: 3.91 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#3)

CBS – Movie: Elf (R)
Viewers: 4.95 million (#2), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#2)

NBC – WEE Salute to the Troops
Viewers: 3.32 million (#4), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#4)

Fox – America’s Most Wanted
Viewers: 5.62 million (#1), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#1)

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9:30 p.m.

ABC – Movie – Cat in the Hat (R)
Viewers: 4.10 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#3)

CBS – Movie: Elf (R)
Viewers: 5.36 million (#2), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#1)

NBC – WEE Salute to the Troops
Viewers: 3.45 million (#4), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#4)

Fox – America’s Most Wanted
Viewers: 5.53 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#2)

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10:00 p.m.

ABC – Movie – Cat in the Hat (R)
Viewers: 4.18 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#1t)

CBS – 48 Hours Mystery
Viewers: 5.19 million (#1), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#1t)

NBC – Law & Order: SVU (R)
Viewers: 4.57 million (#2), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#3)

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10:30 p.m.

ABC – Movie – Cat in the Hat (R)
Viewers: 4.20 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#2)

CBS – 48 Hours Mystery
Viewers: 5.77 million (#1), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#1t)

NBC – Law & Order: SVU (R)
Viewers: 5.24 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#1t)

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

What a boring night!

Low ratings across the board, but there's an excuse this time: holidays!

This day in history...

Saturday 12/22/07:

ABC:
8:00pm Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events (movie): 4.41 million viewers, 1.4 A 18-49
10:00pm Women's murder Club (R): 3.89, 0.8

CBS:
8:00pm Elf (movie): 5.56, 1.6
10:00pm 48 Hours Mystery: 5.79, 1.5

NBC:
8:00pm SNL: The Best of 2006-2007 Season (R, special): 2.89, 0.9
9:30pm SNL Goes Commercial (R, special): 4.02, 1.6

Fox:
8:00pm Cops: 5.57, 1.9
9:00pm America's Most Wanted: 4.02, 1.6

----------

Saturday 12/23/06:

ABC:
8:00pm The Sound of Music (movie): 9.06, 2.7

CBS:
8:00pm NCIS (R): 6.22, 1.4
9:00pm The Unit (R): 4.38, 1.0
10:00pm 48 Hours Mystery: 4.88, 1.4

NBC:
8:00pm Dateline (R, 2 hours): 5.74, 1.6
10:00pm Law & Order (R): 7.24, 2.1

Fox:
8:00pm Cops: 5.25, 2.0
9:00pm America's Most Wanted: 5.81, 2.1

Well, that was ugly. You would think that bad weather and the economy would have kept more people at home last night.

Nice to see you back Marc.

Networks really should look at scheduling originals on Saturdays again b/c I think with all the people at home last night, something could've gotten 8-10 million viewers easily or maybe even more. People see the same old, same old reruns on the broadcast networks on Saturdays and are not going to watch it because of it.

For FOX this is just simply the best destination night of the week for the last 15 years since COPS & AMW hooked up together. COPS has done a great job as a repeater over the years on FOX and in syndication and last night. AMW got alot of buzz from the late Adam Walsh case and the numbers were the usual with a high 1.7 demo on a Saturday night. I see this night still around 20 years from now. I think they just need another reality show to fill that 8:30pm timeslot after COPS to boost AMW's numbers over 6 million viewers.

CBS got a good showing out of ELF and its been played on there multiple times including its cable deal with USA. 48 Hours was pretty weak last night, but still got decent viewership and demos.

ABC got a solid showing out of Charlie Brown and feature the Cat in the Hat.

NBC had a decent night, but Crusoe is a huge loser. WWE Tribute to the Troops did a great job in the ratings considering alot of markets displayed infomercials during that hour and this isn't a show that some WWE fans like to watch like Raw or Smackdown! Plus its up from the low rated Saturday Night Main Event back in August. The usual viewership from SVU.

The CW affiliates are happier with what they're getting on Saturdays then they are the rest of the week when The Can't Watch Network can't program.

Final standings for Games #84 & #85 have been posted!

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quote:

Originally posted by BlueLick:
The CW affiliates are happier with what they're getting on Saturdays then they are the rest of the week when The Can't Watch Network can't program.

I highly doubt my CW affiliates are happier with King of Queens repeats and Cheaters repeats. Then we get lovely stuff like The Shield repeats.

quote:

Originally posted by BlueLick:
Networks really should look at scheduling originals on Saturdays again b/c I think with all the people at home last night, something could've gotten 8-10 million viewers easily or maybe even more. People see the same old, same old reruns on the broadcast networks on Saturdays and are not going to watch it because of it.

Yeah, maybe something will get 8 million. That doesn't mean it can make a profit. I doubt anything put there will get more than a low 2. Even though it could probably get a slightly better ad rate a repeat costs nothing. That's why networks don't program Saturdays. There is no money to be made.

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by BlueLick:
The CW affiliates are happier with what they're getting on Saturdays then they are the rest of the week when The Can't Watch Network can't program.

I highly doubt my CW affiliates are happier with King of Queens repeats and Cheaters repeats. Then we get lovely stuff like The Shield repeats.

My local CW affiliate programs on Saturdays 'Lost' encores, 'Legend of the Seeker' and 'Boston Legal' encores, all of which I'm sure do vastly better numbers than The CW Friday or Sunday line-ups.

quote:

Originally posted by dumont:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by BlueLick:
The CW affiliates are happier with what they're getting on Saturdays then they are the rest of the week when The Can't Watch Network can't program.

I highly doubt my CW affiliates are happier with King of Queens repeats and Cheaters repeats. Then we get lovely stuff like The Shield repeats.

My local CW affiliate programs on Saturdays 'Lost' encores, 'Legend of the Seeker' and 'Boston Legal' encores, all of which I'm sure do vastly better numbers than The CW Friday or Sunday line-ups.

Legend of the Seeker airs on ABC here. Boston Legal...I'm not sure that airs anywhere. Lost encores I'm unaware of.

CBS Victory Seems Inevitable in Week 13

After six nights of Week 13, CBS leads in A18-49 with a 2.86 average, while NBC (the only net with a shot at first depending on how well Sunday football does) is second in A18-49 with a 2.11 average in A18-49, FOX is third with 1.77, Univision has climbed into fourth with a 1.55, ABC has fallen to fifth with a 1.52, The CW is sixth with a 0.62, while MyNetworkTV trails with 0.44 in A18-49.

In viewers, CBS has a dominating average of 11,301,000 viewers, while NBC is second, FOX third, ABC fourth, Univision fifth, The CW sixth and MyNetworkTV seventh, though MyNet is expected to climb to sixth once 'WWE Friday Night Smackdown' numbers are released on Monday.

Week 13, Six Nights (4 Finals, 2 FASTnats)
# Network A18-49 (%YOY) Millions of Viewers (%YOY)
====================================================
1. CBS 2.86  (+32%) 11.301 (+39%)
2. NBC 2.11   (-2%)  6.052 (-10%)
3. FOX 1.77  (-12%)  5.543 (-7%)
4. UNI 1.55   (-9%)  4.085 (-16%)
5. ABC 1.52   (+9%)  4.810 (+10%) <- 4 nights
6. CW  0.62  (-28%)  1.556 (-33%) 
7. MNT 0.44   (-5%)  1.393 (+18%) <- 4 nights

YOY = Year-Over-Year increase/decrease to same week last year.

Year-Over-Year 7-Network Demo/Viewer Growth(+)/Erosion(-)
Night A18-49 +/- Viewers +/-
=========================================================
Week 13:
--------
Monday:    A: +13% V:  +6%
Tuesday:   A:  +7% V: +11%
Wednesday: A:  +3% V:  +7%
Thursday:  A: -14% V: -12%
Friday:    A:  -6% V:  +3%
Saturday:  A:  -5% V:  -3%
  

"WWE Tribute to the Troops" is doing fine in my opinion for a Saturday night.

the WWE show was good, and the rating was good for WWE as Raw on USA usally gets a 3.1.

I heard a stat that the Satuday before Xmas is actually the busiest shopping day of the year.

Having been out in it yesterday, I will say it is very true. Everyone and their sister were out doing last minute shopping.

quote:

Originally posted by Ammit:
Well, that was ugly. You would think that bad weather and the economy would have kept more people at home last night.

Nice to see you back Marc.

quote:

Originally posted by himymfan22:

quote:

Originally posted by BlueLick:
Networks really should look at scheduling originals on Saturdays again b/c I think with all the people at home last night, something could've gotten 8-10 million viewers easily or maybe even more. People see the same old, same old reruns on the broadcast networks on Saturdays and are not going to watch it because of it.

Yeah, maybe something will get 8 million. That doesn't mean it can make a profit. I doubt anything put there will get more than a low 2. Even though it could probably get a slightly better ad rate a repeat costs nothing. That's why networks don't program Saturdays. There is no money to be made.

True, but I think at least other unscripted avenues like game shows could do well there with those numbers you mentioned or at least do what 5th Grader and DFTL does on Friday Nights for FOX.

Most of your best scripted shows in history were successful on Saturday Nights and made a ton of money for the networks. Why they went away from it completely is beyond me especially CBS, which could easily succeed with known name procedurals like Cold Case and Without a Trace on Saturdays. I do applaud CBS for trying out that Ashton Kutcher project in two weeks for something that's original and not a repeat.

My thing is let's not go totally repeat on a night that still can draw millions and millions of viewers.

quote:

Originally posted by dumont:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by BlueLick:
The CW affiliates are happier with what they're getting on Saturdays then they are the rest of the week when The Can't Watch Network can't program.

I highly doubt my CW affiliates are happier with King of Queens repeats and Cheaters repeats. Then we get lovely stuff like The Shield repeats.

My local CW affiliate programs on Saturdays 'Lost' encores, 'Legend of the Seeker' and 'Boston Legal' encores, all of which I'm sure do vastly better numbers than The CW Friday or Sunday line-ups.

Affliates do very well Saturday Nights like dumont said. Some affiliates air sports and like KCAL in LA they make up their profits when airing sports b/c of the damage CW does during the week.

King of Queens is still one of syndication's highest rated comedies in each market. Does way better than CW on most nights.

quote:

Originally posted by EricSturrock:
the WWE show was good, and the rating was good for WWE as Raw on USA usally gets a 3.1.

WWE and NBC was probably not expecting much, but this was a successful surprise for them. The growth out of Crusoe with that weak lead-in and they still managed to get a really strong rating for WWE programming.

The WWE has had a great month in their ratings going up on both Raw and SD! really helping out their networks overall numbers.

I expect them to air this special every year. I think NBC should even put a one hour WWE program on here permanently.