Prime Time Ratings:
Friday 9/07/07

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

-Total Viewers:
NBC: 4.90 million, ABC: 4.89, CW: 4.62, Fox: 3.80, CBS: 3.17

-Adults 18-49:
ABC: 1.5 rating/5 share, CW: 1.4/ 5, NBC: 1.3/ 4, CBS and Fox: 1.0/ 3 each

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-Ratings Breakdown:
ABC and NBC split leadership on this typically bland summer Friday. NBC was first in households and total viewers; ABC No. 1 among adults 18-49. Normally dominant CBS nose-dived to last-place as a result of annual special Fashion Rocks.

ABC opened the evening on a dominant note care of an 8 p.m. half-hour repeat edition of America’s Funniest Home Videos at 5.28 million viewers and a 1.5 rating/6 share among adults 18-49. That led into a repeat of animated special, Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown with 4.22 million viewers (#3) and a second-place 1.3/ 5 among adults 18-49 at 8:30 p.m.

Also in the 8 p.m. hour was a repeat of NBC’s 1 vs. 100 (Viewers: #1, 5.41 million; A18-49: #2, 1.3/ 5), and a repeat of CBS’ Jericho (Viewers: #5, 2.91 million; A18-49: #5, 0.7/ 3). Both hours return in midseason. Airing from 8-10 p.m. were the CW’s Friday Night Smackdown! (Viewers: #3, 4.62 million; A18-49: #2, 1.4/ 5) and movie Hollywood Homicide on Fox (Viewers: #4, 3.80 million; A18-49: #4t, 1.0/ 3). Worth noting for Friday Night Smackdown! was growth by half-hour as follows:

Friday Night Smackdown!
8:00 p.m. Viewers: 3.87 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 5 (#2t)
8:30 p.m. Viewers: 4.46 million (#3), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#2t)
9:00 p.m. Viewers: 4.98 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1)
9:30 p.m. Viewers: 5.19 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1)

Airing in the 9 p.m. hour behind the second hour of Smackdown! was a repeat of NBC’s Las Vegas (Viewers: #2, 4.03 million; A18-49: #3t, 1.1/ 4), two repeats of the canceled George Lopez (Viewers: #4, avg. 3.78 million; A18-49: #2, avg. 1.3/ 4), and aforementioned two-hour CBS special Fashion Rocks, which sunk to 3.30 million viewers and a 1.1/ 4 among adults 18-49 from 9-11 p.m. Last year’s Fashion Rocks special averaged a similarly disappointing 3.72 million viewers and a 1.5/ 5 in the demo on Sept. 8, 2006, according to the final nationals.

First in the 10 p.m. hour was ABC’s 20/20 (Viewers: #1, 6.13 million; A18-49: #1, 1.9/ 6), which heads to 8 p.m. next season, and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU (Viewers: #2, 5.27 million; A18-49: #2, 1.4/ 5).

Now I am off to celebrate two birthdays today: mine and my daughter Jackie.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Come join us in the TV Talk chat room right now and chat some TV.

Happy Birthday, Marc! Enjoy the day!

Best wishes on yours and your daughters birthday, Marc, and a healthy and happy year ahead.

A nice surprise win for ABC last night. A not-so-nice surprise low set of numbers for CBS, especially Jericho at 8 getting just 0.7 A18-49.

Thank you!

Enjoy your day Marc.

I'll say his about Vince McMan of WWE and WWF fame; he may be a *'hole as a human being, but he seems to be connected with what the much sought after young male viewers want to see.

Happy Birthday to you and your daughter, Marc! Have a nice day!

I'll second that. Congrats to you and your daughter Marc!

quote:

Originally posted by Monzo:
Happy Birthday to you and your daughter, Marc! Have a nice day!

Happy Birthday!

Thank you all!

Marc, Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Hope you and your daughter are enjoying your respective birthdays!

As for the ratings, no show cracked a 2 in the demo. And it was just a few Friday's ago that HSM2 was shattering records. Not good for the broadcast nets at all.

quote:

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 3.17

-Adults 18-49:
CBS: 1.0/ 3

I knew that Horrible Combination of Jericho and Fashion Rocks would sink CBS

Hope yours and your daughters birthday was awesome!!!! Because it's on the same day do you 2 do something special?

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. My daughter turned 16 and we took she and her friends into the city to see a taping of Regis & Kelly, lunch and a visit to the wax museum. She had her big bash three years ago when she turned 13. And it was a nice day. Still unbelievable that we have the same birthday.

By the way, here is my assessment of guest lecturing at the University of Arizona:

University of Arizona:
What These Students Are Watching on TV

Well, folks, I am home. And I am jet-lagged after two extraordinary days of guest lecturing for the Media Arts Department at the University of Arizona. I spoke at two of Dr. Kevin Sandler’s classes about my favorite subject, television, and did my annual fall prime-time presentation to about 150 students. Needless to say, I learned a great deal about the viewing habits of today’s college student. If there is a lesson to be learned, it is this: never expect the expected.

To my surprise, the typical college viewer is not necessarily a fan of non-scripted programming. They don’t watch Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor or Big Brother, and they shook their heads in dismay when I talked about the recent network summer landscape. Other than NBC’s The Office or Scrubs, they are not big fans of network sitcoms, and they show a tremendous preference for shows on cable -- FX and HBO, in particular. Some of the common responses to what shows they do enjoy included FX’s Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me; HBO’s Entourage and Flight of the Conchords; and Showtime’s Weeds. When I reminisced about some of my favorite shows from yesteryear -- thirtysomething, St. Elsewhere and The White Shadow -- they looked at me like I had two heads!

As to what new network shows, if any, they are excited about next season, I can tell you one show they definitely will not be watching: ABC’s Cavemen. But they were more optimistic about the alphabet net’s Pushing Daisies, which was of the three shows they screened for my class. The others were Cavemen and Fox sitcom Back to You, which they were mixed on. Regarding the one show the majority said they loved, and still miss, that is Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. “They don’t make shows like they used to,” said one disgruntled student.

As I prepare today’s column under a cloud of confusion (can anyone really sleep on the red-eye flight?), I will remember this teaching gig as truly inspirational. Thank you, Dr. Sandler and everyone at the Media Arts Department at the University of Arizona. Had there not been a mirror in my room, I would have felt like one of those students. Only this time, I was without the groovy shirt and bell-bottoms!