CBS Dominates on Idol-Less Tuesday

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERWednesday, March 25, 2009 Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:CBS Dominates This Idol-Less Tuesday National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of March 16, 2009 Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: So Long, Minneapolis ______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:CBS Dominates This Idol-Less Tuesday Tuesday 3/24/09 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 9.6/15ABC 7.6/12NBC 5.9/ 9Fox 2.8/ 4CW 1.2/ 2 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Tuesday, March 25, 2008):CBS: +118, NBC: + 7, CW: no change, ABC: -12, Fox: -77 ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Tuesday 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 Tuesday, March 24, 2009. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:NCIS (CBS), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), The Mentalist (CBS) -Honorable Mention:The Biggest Loser (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):Reaper (CW) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: CBS led this atypical Tuesday in the overnights, with a 26 percent advantage over second-place ABC. Third overall was NBC, followed by Fox and distant the CW. Keep in mind, of course, that American Idol on Fox was pre-empted for President Obama in prime time (hence the network’s fourth-place position). The two-hour Idol performance show airs tonight. Coverage of President Obama addressing the country in the 8 p.m. hour fared as follows: Tuesday 8 p.m.ABC: 6.6/11 NBC: 6.0/10CBS: 5.7/10Fox: 2.8/ 5 Combined, that totaled a hefty 21.1 rating/36 share in the overnights from 8-9 p.m. But don’t forget that overnight results for any live coverage are always approximate. Despite the absence of American Idol, the CW’s last-place Reaper only scored a 1.7/ 3. To the few fans watching, I would not anticipate a third season. CBS moved into the overnight winner’s circle at 9 p.m., care of a later edition of NCIS at a rock-solid 11.3/17. Second was the live Dancing With the Stars Results Show at a healthy 10.4/16. While I understand that ousted Denise Richards is not exactly a fan favorite, how could Steve Wozniak still be in this competition? Come on now. What gives? Are you voting for the worst instead of the best? With a double elimination next week, this has to be it for him. Third in the 9 p.m. hour was the first half of NBC’s The Biggest Loser (5.5/ 8), followed by a repeat of Fox’s House (2.9/ 4), and a repeat of the CW’s 90210 (0.8/ 1). As I say every week, The Biggest Loser always generates interest among adults 18-49 (and is worthy of honorable mention). CBS remained the network to beat at 10 p.m., with a later edition of The Mentalist at an impressive 11.7/19. Next was the second half of NBC’s The Biggest Loser (6.2/10), followed by ABC’s Primetime: What Would You Do? at a 5.8/ 9. Overall, The Biggest Loser averaged a 5.8/ 9 from 9-11 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows: The Biggest Loser (NBC) 9:00 p.m.: 5.5/ 8 (#3) 9:30 p.m.: 5.4/ 8 (#3)10:00 p.m.: 6.1/10 (#3)10:30 p.m.: 6.3/10 (#2) Source: Nielsen Media Research data _______________________________________________________________________________________ National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of March 16, 2009 Three nights of the ongoing (and above average) NCAA Basketball Tournament on CBS (Thursday through Saturday, plus a prime-time overrun on Sunday) led the network to another weekly win in households and total viewers, based on the week of March 16. But Fox, the home of American Idol, cannot be beat in the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. CBS built my margins of 4 to 30 percent in the five surveyed categories from one year earlier (which also included basketball), while Fox posted minor increases. Elsewhere, ABC finished third across the board at levels close to the year-ago week, while fourth-place NBC dipped in four of the categories (excluding a seven percent increase among adults 18-34). Next was sinking the CW, which declined by as much as 20 (in total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54), followed by last-place MyNetworkTV, which remained on the plus side as a result of Friday Night Smackdown! There was one series-premiere this week, ABC sitcom Better Off Ted, which opened with a lackluster 5.50 million viewers (#60t) and a 2.1 rating/6 share among adults 18-49 (#49t) in the Wednesday 8:30 p.m. time period. Comparably, that was just about equal to lead-in Scrubs (Viewers: 5.62 million; A18-49: 2.2/ 7), which is expected to conclude this spring. And the aforementioned basketball tournament on CBS performed by night as follows: NCAA Basketball Tournament (CBS)Thursday – Viewers: 9.64 million; A18-49: 3.6/10Friday – Viewers: 8.40 million; A18-49: 3.0/10Saturday – Viewers: 10.42 million; A18-49: 3.7/13 Here are the final national ratings for the week of March 16, 2009 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the new midseason series report card and the top 30 rated programs of the week. As expected, week two of NBC’s already lackluster Kings dipped considerably. -Households:CBS: 7.1 rating/12 share (+29 percent), Fox: 6.0/10 (no change), ABC: 5.9/10 (+ 2), NBC: 3.7/ 6 (-23), CW: 1.3/ 2 (-19), MNTV: 1.1/ 2 (+37) -Total Viewers: CBS: 11.49 million (+30), Fox: 10.28 (+ 2), ABC: 9.17 (no change), NBC: 5.74 (-20), CW: 1.94 (-20), MNTV: 1.86 (+58) -Adults 18-49:Fox: 3.8 rating/11 share (+ 3), CBS: 3.4/10 (+13), ABC: 2.7/ 8 (- 7), NBC: 2.0/ 6 (- 5), CW: 0.8/ 2 (-20), MNTV: 0.6/ 2 (+20) -Adults 25-54:Fox: 4.4/11 (+ 5), CBS: 4.1/11 (+17), ABC: 3.3/ 8 (- 3), NBC: 2.4/ 6 (- 8), CW: 0.8/ 2 (-20), MNTV: 0.7/ 2 (+40) -Adults 18-34:Fox: 3.2/10 (+ 7), CBS: 2.6/ 9 (+ 4), ABC: 2.2/ 7 (no change), NBC: 1.5/ 5 (+ 7), CW: 0.9/ 3 (-18), MNTV: 0.5/ 2 (+25) -------------------- New Midseason Series Scorecard (excluding repeats) Castle (ABC) – Monday 10 p.m. Viewers: 10.97 million (#21), A18-49: 2.9/ 8 (#39t) Lie to Me (Fox) – Wednesday 8 p.m. Viewers: 10.26 million (#25), A18-49: 3.1/10 (#33t) Better Off Ted (ABC) – Wednesday 8:30 p.m. (premiere) Viewers: 5.50 million (#60t), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#49t) Kings (NBC) – Sunday 8 p.m. Viewers: 4.60 million (#67), A18-49: 1.3/3 (#73t) Dollhouse (Fox) – Friday 9 p.m. Viewers: 4.14 million (#71), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#67t) Howie Do It (NBC) – Friday 8 p.m. Viewers: 3.97 million (#72), A18-49: 1.0/ 4 (#84) The Chopping Block (NBC) – Wednesday 8 p.m. Viewers: 3.40 million (#79), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#77t) -------------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 23.70 million, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 21.89, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 21.22, 60 Minutes (CBS): 17.04, NCIS (CBS): 15.84, The Mentalist (CBS): 15.49, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 14.75, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 14.61, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 14.12, Criminal Minds (CBS): 13.74, CSI: Miami (CBS): 13.61, House (Fox): 13.13, CSI: NY (CBS): 12.79, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC): 12.74, The Amazing Race (CBS): 12.42, Without a Trace (CBS): 11.87, NCAA Post Game (CBS): 11.78, Rules of Engagement (CBS): 11.42, Cold Case (CBS): 11.41, 24 (Fox): 11.36, Castle (ABC): 10.97, NCAA Basketball Championship – Saturday (CBS): 10.78, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 10.74, Bones (Fox): 10.52, Lie to Me (Fox): 10.26, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 10.15, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 9.91, Private Practice (ABC): 9.74, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 9.69, ER (NBC): 9.47 -Adults 18-49:American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 8.7 rating/21 share, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 8.1/22, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 5.3/14, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 5.0/13, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 5.0/12, House (Fox): 4.9/13, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 4.8/12, Lost (ABC): 4.3/11, Rules of Engagement (CBS) and The Office (NBC): 4.0/10 each, 60 Minutes (CBS): 3.9/11, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 3.9/10, NCAA Basketball Championship – Saturday (CBS): 3.8/13, CSI: Miami (CBS): 3.8/10, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 3.7/11, 24 (Fox) and Family Guy (Fox): 3.7/ 9 each, The Amazing Race (CBS): 3.6/ 9, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 3.5/10, Private Practice (ABC): 3.5/ 9, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 3.4/ 9, NCAA Basketball Championship – Thursday (CBS): 3.3/11, CSI: NY (CBS): 3.3/ 9, The Mentalist (CBS), Criminal Minds (CBS) and Hell’s Kitchen (Fox): 3.3/ 8 each, The Biggest Loser (NBC), ER (NBC) and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 3.2/ 9 each, 30 Rock (NBC): 3.2/ 8 Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)______________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Record The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family:ABC Family breakout hit The Secret Life of the American Teenager concluded the second half of its first season on Monday, March 23 with 4.5 million viewers and 2.4 million key females 12-34 at 8 p.m. Comparably, that finished as the most-watched telecast ever (tied with the first-half season-ender), while reaching a new zenith in the demo for the cable net. And, competitively, Secret Life was the top-rated telecast among females 12-34 in all of television for the night, and cable’s top performer in total viewers, adults 18-34 (1.4 million), women 18-34 (1.1 million), adults 18-49 (2.0 million), women 18-49 (1.7 million) and viewers 12-34 (2.9 million). Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Wednesday 3/25/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Scrubs 8:30 p.m. Better Off Ted 9:00 p.m. Lost 10:00 p.m. Life on Mars CBS: 8:00 p.m. Survivor: Tocantins (clips show) 9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds 10:00 p.m. CSI: NY NBC: 8:00 p.m. The Chopping Block 9:00 p.m. Life 10:00 p.m. Law & Order Fox: 8:00 p.m. American Idol (two hours) CW: 8:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model 9:00 p.m. 90210 (R) MTNV 8:00 p.m. World’s Funniest Moments 9:00 p.m. Shaken Not Stirred: Ice-T ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -More Bones:No, it is not an official pick-up for 2009-10…yet. But Fox has ordered six new scripts for forensic crime solving drama Bones for next season, which all but guarantees an official renewal. -Band of Brothers Heads to Spike TV:Band of Brothers, the Emmy winning 10-part HBO miniseries, will air on male-driven cable net Spike TV in third quarter 2009. -George Lopez on TBS in Late Night:Former sitcom star George Lopez, who was recently pitched by Warner Bros./Telepictures in syndication for a first-run late night talk show strip, has found a new home: TBS. The upcoming talk show, which will have a “street party atmosphere,” will run on TBS Mondays through Thursdays at 11 p.m. ET, beginning in November 2009. The Lopez project will mark TBS’ first attempt at an after hours talker. -Bob Barker Makes a Guest Appearance on The Price is Right:Former The Price is Right host Bob Barker (who, in my opinion, is sorely missed) will return to the game show that made him famous to promote his new autobiography, Priceless Memories. Barker will participate in the Showcase Showdowns and will give the book away to everyone in the audience. The episode airs on Thursday, April 16. -Speaking of Books:Comedian, writer, producer and actress Carol Leifer (a quadruple threat!) will be appearing Oprah today and The View on Friday promoting her book, When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win. Said the great Garry Shandling: “This is a book about the unpredictability of life and finding yourself that is written by a very, very funny woman. Read this now before it's made into a movie, so you can join me in saying, I liked the book better!” Added late night host Bill Maher: “This book reflects the wise, knowing person Carol has become, and the hysterically funny one she always was. I recommend it highly - it’s strong enough for a man...but made for a woman. I couldn’t put it down.” For more information, on http://www.amazon.ca/When-You-About-Your-Terrorists/dp/0345502965 --------------- -Hallmark Channel Announces 2009-10 Programming Initiatives:Citing an overall theme of “predictability in an unpredictable world,” the home of family-driven programming, Hallmark Channel, has unveiled an aggressive slate of 35 original made-for movies for the 2009-10 season. Titles slated to debut in the Saturday 9-11 p.m. block include Mrs. Miracle, the story of a magical housekeeper who arrives at Christmastime; A Soldier’s Love Story, which focuses on the impact of a young boy’s letter to a soldier serving overseas; romantic dramedy Uncorked; Shadow on the Mesa, about a half-Indian gunfighter who meets the white father he never knew; and the holiday-driven Christmas in Canaan, The Christmas Gift and The Night Before The Night Before Christmas, the whimsical tale of a family trying to save the annual traditional. Spin-off Hallmark Movie Channel, meanwhile, has formed a partnership with the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & TV of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to showcase short films submitted by the student body and alumni filmmakers. Judged under the branded banner of “Film Positive,” 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin will participate as one of the judges to determine if the film is worthy to air. And Hallmark Channel has confirmed that it remains ranked second among all cable networks in prime-time households for C3 audience retention, with 95.1 percent retention in fourth quarter 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research. First was Nick at Nite, at 95/7 percent. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:So Long, Minneapolis What city did Phyllis Lindstrom move to after she left Minneapolis? AtlantaBostonPhoenixSan Francisco Tampa The answer to yesterday’s question… Remember the episode of The Honeymooners when Ralph and Norton went on TV to sell a product? What was the name of it?Easy All HomemakerThe Handy Dandy Kitchen AidThe Handy Housewife HelperPresto-Matic Vacuum Cleaner Uncle Elmo’s Salad Dressing Is: c) The Handy Housewife Helper, which included a bottle opener, screwdriver, combination Boy Scout knife and glass cutter, corkscrew, combination nail-clipper and corn remover, scissor sharpener, razor, can opener, self-propelled spear fishing attachment, pencil sharpener, fish scaler, tweezer, combination potato peeler and apple corer, cheese grater and skate key. Thank you, Bob Ingersoll. And, according to movies.msn.com: Ralph's latest get-rich-quick scheme involves raising $200 to purchase 2,000 "Handy Housewife Helpers," thereby cornering the Brooklyn franchise for this not exactly in demand gadget. Alice refuses to bankroll Ralph's scheme, citing his various other "surefire" business enterprises, including no-calorie pizza and wallpaper that glows in the dark. Thus, Ralph enlists Ed in his newest venture, whereupon the two buddies purchase air time on a local TV station to advertise the Handy Housewife Helper to the eager public. Playing respectively "The Chef of the Past" and "The Chef of the Future," Ed and Ralph go through the rehearsal of their commercial with the greatest of ease -- but when airtime actually comes, Ralph panics at the notion of being seen by millions of "Late Late Show" aficionados. Though the script by Marvin Marx and Walter Stone contains some hilarious verbal bits ("Can it core -- a -- apple?"), some of the episode's funniest moments were completely ad-libbed, notably Ralph's reaction to a malfunctioning prop ("Maybe we oughta say somethin' about spear-fishing") and the collapsing set at fadeout time ("Now back to Charlie Chan!"). -Current kudos goes to:Gerry Bixenspan, Mark Braff, Paul Certo, Tom Condosta, Harold Cooper, Reid Davis, Jerry Gibbons, Kerry Hughes, Bob Ingersoll, Deb Kainer, Synda Kollman, Mark Morano, Gordon Purcell, Neal Sabin

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CBS Dominates on Idol-Less Tuesday

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