ABC Opens Week on a Winning Note

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERTuesday, March 30, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:Dominant ABC in a League of Its Own Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time:“With a Little Help from My Friends”____________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:Dominant ABC in a League of Its Own Monday 3/29/10 HH Rtg/Shr ABC 13.8/21CBS 5.5/ 9Fox 5.0/ 8NBC 3.9/ 6CW 1.4/ 2 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Monday, March 30, 2009):ABC: +29, NBC: no change, CW: -12, CBS: -26, Fox: -28 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), Castle (ABC) -Honorable Mention:Two and a Half Men R (CBS), The Big Bang Theory R (CBS) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Chuck (NBC), Life Unexpected (CW), Trauma (NBC), Gossip Girl (CW) ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Monday will be posted at PIFeedback by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Monday, March 29, 2010. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: ABC danced its way to a major overnight victory on this final Monday in March, beating repeat-populated CBS by a whopping 151 percent. Third overall was Fox, followed by NBC and The CW. Blockbuster Dancing With the Stars averaged a 15.6 rating/24 share in the overnights from 8-10 p.m., building by half-hour as follows: Dancing With the Stars (ABC)8:00 p.m.: 14.3/23 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 15.4/23 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 16.0/24 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 16.9/25 (#1) Compared to one year earlier (12.7/19 on March 30, 2009), Dancing With the Stars increased by an unprecedented 23 percent in the overnights. As for who is potentially leaving tonight, my picks for the bottom two: angry Chad Ochocinco and awful, awful, awful Kate Gosselin. Most likely to be signing off: Chad Ochocinco. Hero Buzz Aldrin got the lowest score overall, but could be saved due to the sentimental vote. As for Pamela Anderson: move over Marilyn! Thanks to Dancing With the Stars, ABC’s Castle won the 10 p.m. hour, with a 10.0/17 in the overnights. But retention out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Dancing was only 59 percent. Other than Rules of Engagement, CBS was in all repeats last night as follows: CBS/Monday8:00 p.m. – How I Met Your Mother (R): 4.0/ 6 (#3)8:30 p.m. – Rules of Engagement: 4.9/ 7 (#2)9:00 p.m. – Two and a Half Men (R): 7.3/11 (#2)9:30 p.m. – The Big Bang Theory (R): 6.4/ 9 (#2)10:00 p.m. – CSI: Miami (R): 5.1/ 8 (#2) Over at Fox, an encore telecast of House (#3: 3.9/ 6) anchored the evening, followed by soon-to-conclude 24 at a third-place 6.2/ 9 in the overnights at 9 p.m. As reported yesterday, 24 will be officially ending with a two-hour episode on Monday, May 24. NBC had a typically lackluster Monday with its combination of Chuck (#3: 4.2/ 7), which should be calling its quits after this season; Trauma (#4: 3.0/ 5), which is waiting for the axe to swing at any given moment; and Law & Order (#3: 4.5/ 8), which did manage to build out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Trauma (3.1/ 5) by 45 percent. That said, there is every reason to believe the veteran crime solve will be back for a record 21st season next fall. The CW, as always, did not resonate in the overnights with its scripted line-up of Life Unexpected (#5: 1.5/ 2) and already renewed Gossip Girl (#5: 1.4/ 2). But based on the fan outpour, Life Unexpected is worthy of a second season. Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not -Kids Choice Awards Scores on Nickelodeon:The 23rd Annual Kids Choice Awards on Nickelodeon, hosted by Kevin James, rose to its second best performance to-date, with 7.6 million total viewers and 3.7 million kids 2-11 on Saturday, March 27 from 8-9:30 p.m. A record 118 million votes were cast. Leading out of The Kids Choice Awards was the debut of new Dan Schneider sitcom Victorious, which opened with 5.7 million viewers and 2.7 million kids 2-11 at 9:30 p.m. Comparably, that was the second largest live-action series premiere in Nickelodeon’s history (behind Big Time Rush).-Above Average Undercover Boss:Based on the live plus same ratings, Sunday’s edition of CBS midseason hit Undercover Boss rose to 16.11 million viewers, with a 4.9 rating/13 share among adults 18-49 from approximately 8:30-9:30 p.m. ET. Comparably, this was the night’s top-rated program of the evening, with its best performance since previewing after the Super Bowl on Feb. 7. Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Tuesday 3/30/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars 9:00 p.m. Lost10:00 p.m. V (return) CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. NCIS: Los Angeles (R)10:00 p.m. The Good Wife (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. The Biggest Loser (two hours)10:00 p.m. Parenthood Fox: 8:00 p.m. American Idol (two hours) CW: 8:00 p.m. 90210 9:00 p.m. Melrose Place ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -The Walking Dead on AMC:Cable net AMC, the growing home of original scripted series, has ordered six episodes of The Walking Dead, which is based on the comic book series and will premiere in October 2010 during “Fearfest,” the annual themed marathon of thriller and horror films. The Walking Dead explores the story of the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies. -Friday Night Lights Return Date Pushed Back One Week:Critically acclaimed NBC drama Friday Night Lights, which was scheduled to open season four on Friday, April 30 at 8 p.m. has been pushed back one week to May 7. As additional episode of recent non-scripted entry Who Do You Think You Are? will air on the 30th. -ABC Family This Summer:Feel good ABC Family has unveiled its upcoming summer 2010 schedule, including the start dates for original scripted series Pretty Little Liars (Tuesday, June 8, 8 p.m. ET), Huge (Monday, June 28, 9 p.m. ET) and Melissa & Joey (August: date TBA). Pretty Little Liars follows four estranged best friends who are reunited one year later after their best friend goes missing. Huge follows the lives of seven teens and the staff at a weight loss camp. And Melissa & Joey is a comedy with Sabrina, the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart as the grown-up former wild child of a political family who receives domestic help from her “many” Joey Lawrence. Also upcoming at ABC Family this summer are new seasons of The Secret Life of the American Teenager (beginning on Monday, June 7, 8 p.m. ET) and Make It or Break It (Monday, June 28, 10 p.m. ET); original July made-for Revenge of the Bridesmaids; and annual 10-day programming event Campus Crush, which airs from Sunday, August 1 through Tuesday, August 10 and features the television movie premiere of Wild Child. ---------- -Mark Your Calendars:USA scripted dramas Burn Notice and Royal Pains will return on Thursday, June 3 in the 9-11 p.m. block.________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:“With a Little Help from My Friends” Who played Karen’s young husband on sitcom The Wonder Years? David BoreanazMatthew BroderickRob LoweEric McCormackDavid Schwimmer The answer to yesterday’s question: Which one of the following TV characters would be the least likely to leave early for a Passover Seder? Lennie Briscoe Stretch CunninghamLilith SterninCharlene Frazier Stillfield Jason Walton Is: d) Charlene Frazier Stillfield, who was not of the Jewish faith on sitcom Designing Women. To the masses who answered Jason Walton of The Waltons, Jason married Toni Hazleton, who was indeed Jewish. As for the others: -Lennie Briscoe: Law & Order-Stretch Cunningham: All in the FamilyLilith Sternin: Cheers -Current kudos goes to:Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield, John Ferlazzo, Maureen Goldman, Bob Ingersoll, Greg Janover, Michael Murphy, Aaron Paquette, Jodi Perris, Gordon Purcell, Joe Rubi, Neal Sabin (2x)

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ABC Opens Week on a Winning Note

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