Prime-Time Ratings:
Sunday 5/11/08

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

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 11.76 million, ABC: 11.49, Fox: 4.76, NBC: 3.97, CW: 1.19

-Adults 18-49:
ABC: 4.0 rating/11 share, CBS: 3.6/10, Fox: 2.3/ 6, NBC: 1.1/ 3, CW: 0.5/ 1

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Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 13 percent at this same point last year to approximately 23 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted.

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
60 Minutes (CBS), Survivor: Micronesia (CBS), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), Desperate Housewives (ABC), Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

-Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):
America’s Favorite Mom (NBC), Everybody Hates Chris (CW), Aliens in America (CW)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
It was a Sunday of mixed leadership, with CBS inching past ABC by 270,000 viewers and ABC No. 1 among adults 18-49 -- 11 percent above CBS. Third overall in total viewers and adults 18-49 was Fox, followed by NBC and cellar-dweller the CW, which is handing Sunday over to Media Rights Capital next season.

Older skewing 60 Minutes on CBS was first from 7-8 p.m. in total viewers (10.36 million) and second among adults 18-49, with a 1.9 rating/6 share in the demo. ABC’s veteran America’s Funniest Home Videos was just the opposite at 7.78 million viewers (#2) and a first-place 2.4/ 8 among adults 18-49.
Also in the 7 p.m. hour was uneventful NBC special America’s Favorite Mom (Viewers: #3, 5.13 million; A18-49: #4, 1.3/ 4), repeats of Fox’s King of the Hill (Viewers: #4, 2.38 million; A18-49: #4, 1.1/ 4) and The Simpsons (Viewers: #4, 3.71 million; A18-49: #3, 1.8/ 6), and a repeat of America’s Next Top Model on the CW (Viewers: #5, 985,000; A18-49: #5, 0.4/ 1).

CBS got some traction out of the two-hour season-finale of Survivor: Micronesia, which averaged 12.92 million viewers and a 4.4/12 from 8-10 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

Survivor: Micronesia (CBS)
8:00 p.m. Viewers: 12.08 million (#1), A18-49: 4.0/12 (#1)
8:30 p.m. Viewers: 12.89 million (#2), A18-49: 4.4/12 (#2)
9:00 p.m. Viewers: 13.16 million (#2), A18-49: 4.5/11 (#2)
9:30 p.m. Viewers: 13.56 million (#2), A18-49: 4.6/11 (#2)

Comparably, the Survivor: Micronesia season-finale was on par from the closing episode of the Fiji edition one year earlier (Viewers: 13.63 million; A18-49: 4.4/14 on May 13, 2007). And the live Survivor: Micronesia reunion at 10 p.m. capped off the evening with 10.84 million viewers (#2) and a 3.9/10 among adults 18-49 (#2). Congratulations, Parvati.

ABC’s 8-11 p.m. combination of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Viewers: #2, 11.93 million; A18-49: #2, 4.0/11), Desperate Housewives (Viewers: #1, 15.24 million; A18-49: #1, 5.5/14) and the season-finale of Brothers & Sisters (Viewers: #1, 11.02 million; A18-49: #1, 4.0/10) came in at typical potent levels. What a pity the great Brothers & Sisters is over already.

NBC filled the 8-10 p.m. block with four repeat episodes of The Office, which was fourth with an average 2.59 million viewers and a 0.9/ 3, followed by a repeat of Law & Order: SVU at a third-place 5.58 million viewers and a 1.6/ 4 in the demo at 10 p.m.

Fox had nothing unusual to report with its 8-10 p.m. line-up of The Simpsons (Viewers: #3, 6.02 million; A18-49: #3, 2.9/ 9), King of the Hill (Viewers: #3, 4.99 million; A18-49: #3, 2.5/ 7), a repeat of Family Guy (Viewers: #3, 5.81 million; A18-49: #3, 2.7/ 7) and American Dad (Viewers: #3, 5.64 million; A18-49: #3, 2.7/ 7). And the CW was buried, as usual, with its last-place combination of Everybody Loves Chris (Viewers: 1.24 million; A18-49: 0.5/ 1), Aliens in America (Viewers: 1.12 million; A18-49: 0.4/ 1), The Game (Viewers: 1.55 million; A18-49: 0.7/ 2) and a repeat of Girlfriends (Viewers: 1.25 million; A18-49: 0.6/ 1). Rumor has it that Everybody Hates Chris and The Game are moving to Friday next season.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

NBC had programming last night? Who knew?

And last year at this time--

quote:

ABC’s aforementioned America’s Funniest Home Videos averaged 7.08 million viewers (#2), with a first-place 2.2/ 9 among adults 18-49 from 7-8 p.m. That led into sagging Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at 8 p.m. (Viewers: #2, 10.22 million; A18-49: #2, 3.7/11), followed by Desperate Housewives (Viewers: #1, 15.75 million; A18-49: #1, 6.0/15) and Brothers & Sisters (Viewers: #2, 11.92 million; A18-49: #1t, 4.3/12) from 9-11 p.m. While Desperate Housewives is still dominant, one year earlier the soon-to-season conclude dramedy netted 21.03 million viewers and an 8.2/18 among adults 18-49, based on the final nationals. Yes…that’s a big drop.

So it could always be worse, DH fans.

Pathetic numbers. I'm very curious to see if DH will rebound in fall, but yesterdays' numbers are very bad for DH

quote:

Originally posted by robert:
Pathetic numbers. I'm very curious to see if DH will rebound in fall, but yesterdays' numbers are very bad for DH

With the drops that shows like GA have taken after the strike, the failure of most of the second year dramas (OR, MIT, etc.), and questionable renewals for shows like PD and DSM that were consistently loosing viewers before the strike, I don't think ABC is all that worried about DH. Its numbers aren't as good as they were two seasons ago, but they aren't far off from last season.

Holly, there is no way ABC is happy that one of their highest-rated and most expensive shows is getting ratings like these--and shows every indication that its audience will continue to drop next season, and the season after that.

This isn't really about whether they renew it--they already have. It's about whether the business model they are using is viable. They are paying for a megahit--and what they've got is a solid but wholly unremarkable success, that is losing steam with every episode they air.

If this was a new show, with a new budget, they'd be delighted with these numbers, obviously. But it's not--it's a show absolutely EVERYONE has heard of, even if they've never seen it. It's a show that loses audience every year, while its production budget keeps climbing inexorably upwards.

Ask yourself--if DH fell this far from last season, where will it be a year from now? How low would it have to go for you to stop talking about how deliriously happy the network is that its ratings are falling?

and survivor gets double the 18-49 rating than what CBS usually has on at that time. so a 10% drop or so is expected. Next week's 2 hour finale will do much better I'm sure

quote:

Originally posted by Holly:

quote:

Originally posted by robert:
Pathetic numbers. I'm very curious to see if DH will rebound in fall, but yesterdays' numbers are very bad for DH

With the drops that shows like GA have taken after the strike, the failure of most of the second year dramas (OR, MIT, etc.), and questionable renewals for shows like PD and DSM that were consistently loosing viewers before the strike, I don't think ABC is all that worried about DH. Its numbers aren't as good as they were two seasons ago, but they aren't far off from last season.

I'm not saying they're excited, particularly about the .5 drop in the demo (viewer numbers really aren't off by much). I'm just saying they have bigger fish to fry right now.

not considering its competition and that it was Mother's Day.

quote:

Originally posted by robert:
Pathetic numbers. I'm very curious to see if DH will rebound in fall, but yesterdays' numbers are very bad for DH

You are so right pisher. ABC should immediatley cancel Desperate because its ratings have dropped and all the other network shows have seen their ratings go up.lol. What a joke.

quote:

Originally posted by pisher:
And last year at this time--

quote:

ABC’s aforementioned America’s Funniest Home Videos averaged 7.08 million viewers (#2), with a first-place 2.2/ 9 among adults 18-49 from 7-8 p.m. That led into sagging Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at 8 p.m. (Viewers: #2, 10.22 million; A18-49: #2, 3.7/11), followed by Desperate Housewives (Viewers: #1, 15.75 million; A18-49: #1, 6.0/15) and Brothers & Sisters (Viewers: #2, 11.92 million; A18-49: #1t, 4.3/12) from 9-11 p.m. While Desperate Housewives is still dominant, one year earlier the soon-to-season conclude dramedy netted 21.03 million viewers and an 8.2/18 among adults 18-49, based on the final nationals. Yes…that’s a big drop.

So it could always be worse, DH fans.

DH took a hit with Survivor.

I think ABC is desperate seeing those numbers for DH and GA. If these 2 shows are doing so poorly there's nothing that can save ABC's fall lineup. PD, DSM, ES are poorly rated shows but they can deal with that by canceling them. But when you "crown jwels" are fading that's when you're in big big trouble. Just ask NBC about it

quote:

Originally posted by vlis:
not considering its competition and that it was Mother's Day.

quote:

Originally posted by robert:
Pathetic numbers. I'm very curious to see if DH will rebound in fall, but yesterdays' numbers are very bad for DH

Here we go again with the excuses. And last week what was? Pet's Day?

And DH keeps dropping like a stone... beautiful!
I know Marc Cherry is planning to milk three more years out of this show. I wonder if DH won't be foreclosed earlier than that...

no excuse; just explaining the week to week decline for those not smart enough to realize it

quote:

Originally posted by robert:

quote:

Originally posted by vlis:
not considering its competition and that it was Mother's Day.

quote:

Originally posted by robert:
Pathetic numbers. I'm very curious to see if DH will rebound in fall, but yesterdays' numbers are very bad for DH

Here we go again with the excuses. And last week what was? Pet's Day?