Prime-Time Ratings:
Monday 3/17/08

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

-Total Viewers:
ABC: 14.93 million, CBS: 10.61, NBC: 8.17, Fox: 6.34, CW: 1.68

-Adults 18-49:
ABC: 4.4 rating/12 share, CBS: 3.9/10, NBC: 2.5/ 7, Fox: 2.0/ 5, CW: 0.7/ 2

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Two and a Half Men (CBS)

-Honorable Mention:
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), How I Met Your Mother (CBS), The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)

-Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):
My Dad is Better Than Your Dad (CBS), Canterbury’s Law (Fox), Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (CW)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Considering that the majority of last night’s programming was original (new episodes of CBS’ two-hour comedy block returned; ABC kicked-off new seasons of Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor), considerable year-to-year network losses are concerning. Did the recent writers strike cause permanent damage?

The sixth-season premiere of Dancing with the Stars (time flies!) led ABC to Monday victory, withan advantage over second-place CBS of 3.32 million viewers and 13 percent among adults 18-49. Next was NBC, followed by Fox and lowly the CW. A 90-minute edition of Dancing with the Stars was well above any other show on the evening, with a hefty 20.90 million viewers and a 5.5 rating/15 share among adults 18-49 from 8-9:30 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
8:00 p.m. Viewers: 19.95 million, A18-49: 5.1/15
8:30 p.m. Viewers: 21.90 million, A18-49: 5.9/16
9:00 p.m. Viewers: 20.84 million, A18-49: 5.5/14

My pick for the first male contestant to depart: Penn Gillette.

The news was promising on CBS, meanwhile, with the return of laugh-out-loud The Big Bang Theory at a second-place 9.11 million viewers and a 3.7/11 among adults 18-49 in its new 8 p.m. home. If you are not watching The Big Bang Theory you are missing the funniest new sitcom in years. Emmy voters, have you noticed Jim Parsons?

The Big Bang Theory led into the relocated How I Met Your Mother, with an improved 9.73 million viewers and a 4.3/11 in the demo at 8:30 p.m. Also in the 8 p.m. hour was week two of Fox’s Canterbury’s Law (Viewers: #3, 5.66 million; A18-49: #3, 1.7/ 5), NBC’s non-scripted My Dad is Better Than Your Dad (Viewers: #4, 4.68 million; A18-49: #4, 1.5/ 4), and a repeat of the CW’s Gossip Girl (Viewers: 1.25 million; A18-49: 0.6/ 2). One week earlier, Canterbury’s Law opened with 7.72 million viewers and a 1.7/ 5 in the demo.

CBS’ Two and a Half Men held up well opposite the final half-hour of Dancing with the Stars, with a solid (and second place) 14.03 million viewers and a 5.4/13 among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. Good episode, Jon Cryer! Minus Dancing with the Stars in the competitive mix, lead-out The New Adventures of Old Christine won the 9:30 p.m. time period in the demo, with a 4.3/11 (and a second-place 11.45 million viewers). That put retention out of Two and a Half Men of 82 percent in total viewers and 80 percent among adults 18-49.

Also airing from 9-10 p.m. was NBC’s Deal or No Deal (Viewers: #3, 9.93 million; A18-49: #3, 2.9/ 7 – a considerable improvement from lead-in My Dad is Better Than Your Dad), Fox’s New Amsterdam (Viewers: #4, 7.30 million; A18-49: #4, 2.3/ 6), and the CW’s Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (Viewers: #5, 1.57 million; A18-49: #5, 0.7/ 2). Worth noting for New Amsterdam was growth of 35 percent among adults 18-49 out of Canterbury’s Law.

Over at ABC, a new season of The Bachelor (will this nonsense ever end?) opened with 8.96 million viewers and a 3.3/ 9 among adults 18-49 from 9:30-11 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

The Bachelor (ABC)
9:30 p.m. Viewers: 9.74 million (#3), A18-49: 3.3/ 8 (#3)
10:00 p.m. Viewers: 8.90 million (#3), A18-49: 3.4/ 9 (#1)
10:30 p.m. Viewers: 8.24 million (#3), 18-49: 3.2/ 9 (#1)

While The Bachelor deserves accolades for winning the 10 p.m. hour among adults 18-49, the retention out of Dancing with the Stars was weak (and ABC can do better at this point).

Capping off 10 p.m. hour was NBC’s Medium (Viewers: #1, 9.89 million; A18-49: #2, 3.2/ 9) and a repeat of CBS’ CSI: Miami (Viewers: #2, 9.66 million; A18-49: #3, 3.0/ 8).

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

We can now officially call New Amsterdam a 'flop'.

quote:

Capping off 10 p.m. hour was NBC’s Medium (Viewers: #1, 9.89 million; A18-49: #2, 3.2/ 9)

Marc, I don't watch Medium. However, building on its DOND lead-in and beating The Bachelor, which had the benefit of DWTS as a lead-in and a 28 minute head-start deserves being on the winner list in my book.

Also, as I mentioned in the other thread, the first elimination on DWTS will be a double-elimination next Tuesday.

Surprised DTWS did so well with the lackluster contestants this season.

1. Excellent numbers for CBS, it really paid off returning with new episodes

2. Nielsen numbers are sometimes strange. How on Earth can CL lose over 2 million with the demo remaining the same

3. Bye bye CL and NA

CANTERBURY wasn't DOA last week but it is now.
I'm glad PRISON BREAK & TERMINATOR are on hiatus so as not to be crushed by DWTS.

Disagree on BBT. It's wretched. I couldn't suspend disbelief that the hot girl would ever speak to the nerds again after they broke into her apartment to clean it up. She'd have at best served a restraining order and worst arrested. My vote for SAMANTHA WHO as the funniest sitcom in year. Looking forward to its return.

So much for HIMYM's "bubble" status. Couldn't have imagined those kinds of numbers, and it is a bona fide "winner" in my book. And Big Bang returned within a couple hundred K of where it was when its originals ended, despite the tougher slot.

quote:

The news was promising on CBS, meanwhile, with the return of laugh-out-loud The Big Bang Theory at a second-place 9.11 million viewers and a 3.7/11 among adults 18-49 in its new 8 p.m. home. If you are not watching The Big Bang Theory you are missing the funniest new sitcom in years. Emmy voters, have you noticed Jim Parsons?

The Big Bang Theory led into the relocated How I Met Your Mother, with an improved 9.73 million viewers and a 4.3/11 in the demo at 8:30 p.m.

Wowza. I wonder if (but hope against) the levels will return to "normal" (what is normal?) next week, after the initial glow of "OMG, new sitcoms/scripted TV!" wears off. Then again, HIMYM has that big stunt-cast.

HIMYM hit a season high in the cushy timeslot.

As expected, the timeslot switch reveals the same thing that CW failed to learn about Girlfriends vs. The Game. The new show wasn't really stronger, it just had a better timeslot. I think CBS will be encouraged by the numbers, though, and will choose to bring both back with one of them anchoring a new night of comedy.

quote:

The Big Bang Theory at a second-place 9.11 million viewers and a 3.7/11 among adults 18-49 in its new 8 p.m. home.
How I Met Your Mother, with an improved 9.73 million viewers and a 4.3/11 in the demo at 8:30 p.m.

Both are above the season averages for new episodes.

Pretty good for coming back after the writers strike and going head-to-head against the DWtS Premiere.

Are those numbers good enough for Chrsitine?

quote:

Originally posted by KSO:
Surprised DTWS did so well with the lackluster contestants this season.

Tonight's female contestants are much better and much more appealing. But yeah, the tone of DWTS was off last night -- everything was slightly off, so it's a good sign it held up this well.

quote:

We can now officially call New Amsterdam a 'flop'.

I'm actually surprised at how it's holding up. It's really DULL. Who's watching?

Seriously, with such a weak lead-in, and nowhere near the promotion OR production budget SCC had, it's not doing that badly. I mean, considering that it really is bad. But so's SCC.

If NA is a flop, SCC is a MEGA-flop.

quote:

Originally posted by spotupj:
So much for HIMYM's "bubble" status. Couldn't have imagined those kinds of numbers, and it is a bona fide "winner" in my book. And Big Bang returned within a couple hundred K of where it was when its originals ended, despite the tougher slot.

I'm (pleasantly) shocked at HIMYM gaining a full point in the demo over its season premiere in September. And this despite going up against DWTS' biggest half-hour (by the way... why is that? I don't recall other reality shows peaking in the middle... or is it due to facing 2.5 Men?)

quote:

Originally posted by robert:
2. Nielsen numbers are sometimes strange. How on Earth can CL lose over 2 million with the demo remaining the same

Old people like DwtS.