Most Prime-Time Shows Doing as Well as Expected

Although ratings for the first three weeks of the new broadcast TV season are mostly down, the networks may not yet be facing make-goods, because viewing patterns for most shows are in line with predictions made by the media buying agencies prior to their upfront buys.

While no buyers would discuss the criteria on which they base their deals with the networks, media-agency research execs who put together share estimates for both new and returning shows say they do so specifically to give their buyers guidance in determining what guarantees to get for each show.