CBS Sweeps the Weekend Landscape

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERMonday, April 5, 2010 Primetime Ratings:Weekend Highlights Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time:Rhoda’s Doorman_______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Ratings:Weekend Highlights Friday 4/02/10Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/ShrCBS 6.3/ 8NBC 4.3/ 8ABC 2.8/ 5Fox 2.1/ 5CW 1.0/ 2 -Total Viewers:CBS: 6.54 million, NBC: 6.38, ABC: 4.24, Fox: 3.29, CW: 1.64 -Adults 18-49:NBC: 1.5 raing/5 share, CBS: 1.4/ 5, ABC: 1.3/ 5, Fox: 1.2/ 4, CW: 0.7/ 3 -------------------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 30 percent at this same point last year to approximately 36 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Friday’s Winners:Nothing. Friday is getting weaker every season. -Fading Fast:Ghost Whisperer (CBS), Medium (CBS) -Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Wife Swap (ABC), 20/20 (ABC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:It was a Friday of mixed low-rated leadership, with CBS the most-watched network (at just 6.54 million viewers) and NBC No. 1 among adults 18-49 (with just a 1.5 rating in the demo). Fortunately, the broadcast networks are not giving up on Friday. But programming the evening is becoming more challenging every season. Click here for my feature on Friday night programming, “TV’s Friday Dead Zone.” In series-premiere news, CBS drama Miami Medical won the 10 p.m. hour in total viewers, with 7.54 million, while tying the second half of NBC’s Dateline among adults 18-49, with a 1.6 rating/6 share in the demo. One year earlier, a repeat former occupant Numb3rs scored an almost identical 7.50 million viewers and a 1.6/ 5 in the demo, based on the final nationals. And that, again, was a repeat. So, this by no means is a “winning” performance.” Earlier in the evening on CBS were deteriorating dramas Ghost Whisperer (Viewers: #1: 5.91 million; A18-49: #2, 1.3/ 5) and Medium (Viewers: #2, 6.18 million; A18-49: #4: 1.3/ 5) from 8-10 p.m. Notice how poor both performed in the demo at this pivotal renewal time. In season-premiere news, ABC’s Wife Swap failed to ignite any interest at 8 p.m., with a third-place finish in both total viewers (3.57 million) and adults 18-49 (1.2/ 5). Week two of inspirational lead-out Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution perked up to 4.31 million viewers (#3) and a 1.5/ 5 in the demo at 9 p.m. (#1t). While that dipped by double-digits from one week earlier (Viewers: 7.47 million, A18-49: 2.6/ 8 on March 26, based on the final nationals), it did build from Wife Swap by 740,000 viewers and 25 percent among adults 18-49. Veteran newsmagazine 20/20 capped off the evening for ABC with 4.86 million viewers and a 1.3/ 4 in the demo -- last in both categories at 10 p.m. Over at NBC, recently introduced Who Do You Think You Are? finished first in the 8 p.m. hour in adults 18-49 (1.4/ 6) and second in total viewers, with 5.90 million. Sad, isn’t it, that the dominant program in the demo averages a mere 1.4? The two-hour edition of Dateline followed with 6.62 million viewers and a 1.5/ 5 among adults 18-49 from 9-11 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown: Dateline (NBC)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 6.34 million (#1), A18-49: 1.3/ 5 (#2t)9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 6.80 million (#1), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#3)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 6.50 million (#2), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#2)10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 6.85 million (#2), A18-49: 1.7/ 6 (#1t) Fox populated this first Friday in April with repeats of House (Viewers: #4, 2.85 million; A18-49: #4t, 0.9/ 4) and Kitchen Nightmares (Viewers: #4, 3.61 million; A18-49: #1t, 1.5/ 5). And The CW aired already renewed Smallville (Viewers: #5, 1.99 million; A18-49: #4t, 0.9/ 4), which was below average, and a repeat of America’s Next Top Model (Viewers: #5, 1.28 million; A18-49: #5, 0.5/ 2). Source: Nielsen Media Research data -------------------- Saturday 4/03/10Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr CBS 8.8/17ABC 3.7/ 7Fox 2.8/ 5NBC 2.6/ 5 -Total Viewers:CBS: 15.09 million, ABC: 5.88, Fox: 4.50, NBC: 3.67 -Adults 18-49:CBS: 4.4 rating/15 share, ABC and Fox: 1.4/ 5 each, NBC: 0.9/ 3 --------------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 30 percent at this same point last year to approximately 36 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. --------------- -Saturday’s Winners: NCAA Basketball: Final Four Doubleheader (CBS) -Saturday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Nothing…Other than basketball and America’s Most Wanted, the entire Saturday line-up was in repeats. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:The next time someone tells you the broadcast network are dead on Saturday, remind them of the 15.09 million viewers and the 4.4 rating/15 share among adults 18-49 for The Final Four Doubleheader on NCAA Basketball this week. As I always say, viewers will tune in for television on Saturday when there is something worth watching. Take a look at the half-hour breakdown for basketball: NCAA Basketball: Final Four Doubleheader (CBS)8:00 p.m. – Viewers: 19.36 million (#1), A18-49: 5.2/21 (#1)8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 13.83 million (#1), A18-49: 4.0/15 (#1)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 14.02 million (#1), A18-49: 4.1/15 (#1)9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 15.42 million (#1), A18-49: 4.5/15 (#1)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 13.60 million (#1), A18-49: 4.1/14 (#1)10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 14.40 million (#1), A18-49: 4.4/15 (#1) ABC aired perennial theatrical classic The Ten Commandments, which averaged 5.88 million viewers (#2) and a 1.4/ 5 among adults 18-49 (#2t) from 8-11 p.m. One year earlier, The Ten Commandments was stronger at 6.81 million viewers and a 1.7/ 6 in the demo on April 11, 2009, based on the final nationals. As always, how did you like that classically miscast Edward G. Robinson? Fox aired two repeat episodes of Cops this week (Viewers: #3, avg. 4.16 million; A18-49: #2, avg. 1.3/ 5 from 8-9 p.m.), leading into one of the most important hours in prime-time, America’s Most Wanted (Viewers: #3, 4.84 million; A18-49: #2t, 1.5/ 5 at 9 p.m.). As always, thank you, John Walsh. Last, and very least, was NBC’s repeat combination of Parenthood (Viewers: #4, 2.09 million; A18-49: #4, 0.5/ 2), Law & Order (Viewers: #4, 4.02 million; A18-49: #4, 0.9/ 3) and Law & Order: SVU (Viewers: #3, 4.90 million; A18-49: #3, 1.3/ 4). Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Sunday 4/04/10 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 7.0/12NBC 4.1/ 7ABC 4.0/ 7Fox 2.0/ 3 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Sunday, April 5, 2009):ABC: + 5, NBC: - 2, CBS: -16, Fox: -33 Note: CBS aired The Country Music Awards on the year-ago evening. ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Sunday will be posted at PIFeedback.com by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Sunday, April 4, 2010. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:60 Minutes (CBS), The Amazing Race (CBS), Undercover Boss (CBS) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats): ‘Til Death (Fox), Dateline (NBC), Minute to Win It (NBC), Sons of Tucson (Fox) -----------Ratings Breakdown:CBS closed the week on a winning overnight note, beating distant second-place NBC by a hefty 71 percent. Third overall was ABC, followed by Fox, which took a beating by airing repeats of The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show and Family Guy. CBS finished first in every half-hour with its combination of older skewing granddaddy 60 Minutes (6.4 rating/13 share), The Amazing Race 16 (6.2/11), recent hit entry Undercover Boss (8.6/14), which built by 39 percent out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of The Amazing Race (6.2/10), and expected to soon conclude Cold Case (6.7/11). Retention for relocated Cold Case out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Undercover Boss (72 percent) was a non-impressive 72 percent. For more on Undercover Boss, listen to today’s PIPodcast at www.marcberman.tv. NBC got little mileage out of its non-scripted pairing of Dateline (#3: 2.9/ 6) and Minute to Win It (#3: 3.3/ 6) from 7-9 p.m. But The Celebrity Apprentice perked up to a respectable 5.1/ 8 in the overnights from 9-11 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows: The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)9:00 p.m.: 4.6/ 7 (#3)9:30 p.m.: 4.6/ 7 (#3)10:00 p.m.: 5.7/ 9 (#2)10:30 p.m.: 5.7/10 (#2) Comparably, Celebrity Apprentice was on par with his year-ago performance. While I will not give away the contestant who departed to the viewers who may not have seen the episode yet, hasn’t Sharon Osbourne been sick every week? And isn’t Cindy Lauper as crazy as a loon? ABC kicked off this Easter Sunday with a repeat of America’s Funniest Home Videos (#2: 3.5/ 7 at 7 p.m.), followed by a two-hour edition of tired Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (5.0/ 8 from 8-10 p.m.) and a repeat of Brothers & Sisters (#3: 2.7/ 5 at 10 p.m.), which will be featured next week in a two-hour original installment from 9-11 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)8:00 p.m.: 4.3/ 8 (#2)8:30 p.m.: 4.8/ 8 (#2)9:00 p.m.: 5.2/ 8 (#2)9:30 p.m.: 5.7/ 9 (#2) Fox burned off two more original episodes of sitcom ‘Til Death (#4: avg. 1.2/ 2 from 7-8 p.m.), which should have been canceled two years ago, followed by repeats of The Simpsons (#4: 2.4/ 4), The Cleveland Show (#4: 2.4/ 4) and Family Guy (#4: 2.9/ 5) from 8-9:30 p.m., and recent entry Sons of Tucson, which dipped to a series-low 1.8/ 3 at 9:30 p.m. Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Fox Leads Week of March 29 To-Date:Based on live plus same day ratings through Thursday, April 1, American Idol-ignited Fox leads the troops in both total viewers and adults 18-49. But once results for the NCAA Basketball Final Four Doubleheader on Saturday are factored in, look for CBS to be the most-watched network for the full week when the final results are posted on Wednesday. Here are the tallies from Monday, March 29 through Thursday, April 1: Total Viewers:Fox: 12.73 million, ABC: 10.98, CBS: 9.37, NBC: 6.05, CW: 1.94 Adults 18-49:Fox: 4.2 rating/12 share, ABC: 3.2/ 9, CBS: 2.3/ 7, NBC: 2.1/ 6, CW: 0.9/ 3 Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Monday 4/05/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (two hours) 10:00 p.m. Castle CBS: 8:00 p.m. The Big Bang Theory (R) 8:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement 9:00 p.m. 2010 NCAA Basketball NBC: 8:00 p.m. Chuck 9:00 p.m. Trauma 10:00 p.m. Law & Order Fox: 8:00 p.m. 24 (two hours) CW: 8:00 p.m. Life Unexpected 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl _____________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Lost Night on ABC:Following the series finale of ABC’s Lost on Sunday, May 23, the stars and producers will be featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost at 11:35 p.m. in a one-hour special-Pokemon on Boomerang:Anime favorite Pokemon will debut on cable net Boomerang, the home of classic animation, today at 6:30 p.m. ET. Pokémon’s run on Boomerang will begin with the Adventures of Orange Island edition of the original Pokémon series. -Remembering John Forsythe:One of TV’s legendary actors, John Forsythe, died on Thursday after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 92. Remembered, of course, as tough-as-nails patriarch Blake Carrington on 1980s ABC drama Dynasty, Forsythe is one of the few actors to have three long-running and completely different hit shows on his resume. Twenty four years prior to the start of Dynasty, Forsythe began his five-year run on situation comedy Bachelor Father in 1957. And 14 years after Bachelor Father, Forsythe was the voice behind ABC’s classic Charlie’s Angels, which he revisited in the 2000 and 2003 theatricals. Born John Lincoln Freund on Jan. 29, 1918 in Penns Grove, New Jersey. young John adopted the name Forsythe from his mother’s family and got an early start in radio soaps and on Broadway before signing a movie contract with Warner Bros. After World War II, he helped create the Actors Studio and made the rounds on television in a slew of guest spots including Robert Montgomery Presents, Starlight Theatre, Lights Out, Curtain Call, Suspense and The Philco Television Playhouse. His one notable early theatrical film was Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble With Harry in 1955. In between Bachelor Father and Charlie’s Angels, Forsythe headlined CBS family sitcom From Rome to Love from 1969-71, and he was offered the lead in MASH spin-off Trapper John, M.D., but turned it down. “He was one of the last of the true gentlemen of the acting profession,” said Dynasty co-star Joan Collins in a statement. “I enjoyed our nine years of feuding, fussing and fighting as the Carringtons.” Forsythe is survived by his third wife, Nicole, daughters Page and Brooke, and son Dall. In lieu of flowers, Forsythe's family asked that donations be made to the American Cancer Society. The family said there will be no public service. ______________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Rhoda’s Doorman What was the name of the doorman on Rhoda? a) Carltonb) Henryc) Martind) Nede) Ralph The answer to Friday’s question… Which one of the following series did not feature a cast member from The Mary Tyler Moore Show? BobEverybody Loves RaymondMen in TreesOut of PracticeThunder Alley Is: d) Out of Practice. As for the others: -Bob: Betty White (Sylvia Schmitt)-Everybody Loves Raymond: Georgia Engel (Pat MacDougall)-Men in Trees: John Amos (Buzz Washingon)-Thunder Alley: Ed Asner (Gil Jones) -Current kudos goes to:Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins, John Ferlazzo, Bob Ingersoll, Patty Lynch, Colleen Roth, Maxine Shulman

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CBS Sweeps the Weekend Landscape

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