Fox Midseason Schedule Changes

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERMonday, December 21, 2009 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:Hi’Ya, Mr. B_______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Ratings:Weekend Highlights Friday 12/17/09Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr NBC 3.9/ 7ABC 3.7/ 7CBS 3.3/ 6Fox 1.4/ 2CW 1.0/ 2 -Total Viewers:NBC: 5.92 million, CBS: 5.54, ABC: 5.40, Fox: 2.10, CW: 1.46 -Adults 18-49:ABC and CBS: 1.4 rating/5 share each, NBC: 1.3/ 4, Fox: 0.7/ 2, CW: 0.6/ 2 -------------------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 27 percent at this same point last year to approximately 33 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Friday’s Winners (keep in mind that the expectations are lower on Friday):Nothing -Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats):The night overall ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:NBC was the most-watched network on this typically low-rated Friday, while ABC and CBS tied for first among adults 18-49. NBC opened the evening with a repeat of Law & Order (Viewers: #2, 6.20 million; A18-49: #2, 1.2/ 4 at 8 p.m.), followed by Dateline (Viewers: #1, 5.99 million; A18-49: #1t, 1.4/ 4) and The Jay Leno Show (Viewers: #2, 5.56 million; A18-49: #2, 1.4/ 5) from 9-11 p.m. This is one of the few times Leno actually held its lead-in. CBS got some mileage out of repeat holiday specials Frosty the Snowman (Viewers: #1, 7.00 million; A18-49: #1, 2.1/ 8) and Frosty Returns (Viewers: #1, 6.51 million; A18-49: #1, 1.9/ 7) from 8-9 p.m. That led into repeats of Medium (Viewers: #3, 4.51 million; A18-49: #3, 1.2/ 4) and Numb3rs (Viewers: #3, 5.35 million; A18-49: #3, 1.2/ 4) from 9-11 p.m. ABC kicked-off this third Friday in December with Supernanny (Viewers: #3, 4.10 million; A18-49: #3, 1.1/ 4), which is not capable of anchoring the evening, followed by two episodes of veteran 20/20, which fared as follows: 20/20 (ABC)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.39 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#1)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 6.72 million (#1), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#1) Elsewhere, Fox burned off two more episodes of canceled Dollhouse (Viewers: #4, avg. 2.10 million; A18-49: #4, avg. 0.7/ 2 from 8-10 p.m.), while the last two encore telecasts of The CW’s week-long marathon of The Vampire Diaries was last with an average of 1.46 million viewers and a 0.6/ 2 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m. As always, there is very little of note on troubled Friday. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Saturday 12/19/09Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr Fox 3.1/ 5ABC 2.6/ 5CBS 2.5/ 4NBC 1.8/ 3 -Total Viewers:Fox: 4.89 million, ABC: 4.37, CBS: 4.05, NBC: 2.89 -Adults 18-49: Fox: 1.5 rating/5 share, ABC and CBS: 1.1/ 3 each, NBC: 0.8/ 3 ---------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 27 percent at this same point last year to approximately 33 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Saturday’s Winners:Nothing -Saturday’s Losers (excluding repeats):The night overall ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:There is not much you can say when the top-rated network, Fox in this case, wins the evening with a mere 4.89 million viewers and a 1.5 rating/5 share among adults 18-49. With that in mind, Fox aired its perennial combination of Cops (two repeats, Viewers: #1, avg. 4.69 million; A18-49: #1, avg. 1.4/ 5) and America’s Most Wanted (Viewers: #1, 5.09 million; A18-49: 1.6/ 5), which are two shows that will probably outlive all of us. In the battle of the repeat theatricals from 8-10 p.m., both The Santa Claus on ABC and Elf on CBS fared modestly as follows: Saturday 8-10 p.m.ABC - The Santa Clause (R)Viewers: 4.66 million; A18-49: 1.2/ 4 CBS – Elf (R)Viewers: 3.70 million; A18-49: 1.1/ 4 CBS capped off the evening with long-running 48 Hours Mystery (Viewers: #1, 4.76 million; A18-49: #1t, 1.3/ 3 at 10 p.m.), while ABC aired a repeat of Castle (Viewers: #3, 3.79 million; A18-49: #3, 1.0/ 3). Barely visible, meanwhile, was NBC with its line-up of a repeat of holiday special A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (Viewers: #4, 2.30 million; A18-49: #4, 0.6/ 2), original special WWE Salute to the Troops (Viewers: #4, 2.39 million; A18-49: #4, 0.8/ 3) and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU (Viewers: #2, 3.99 million; A18-49: #1t, 1.1/ 4). As I say every week, what a lousy night of network television! This is depressing, isn’t it? Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Sunday 12/20/09 HH Rtg/Shr NBC 9.0/15CBS 7.5/12Fox 7.5/12ABC 3.7/ 6 ---------- -Note: The year-to-year overnight comparisons are not available today. ---------- 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, December 20, 2009. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:60 Minutes (CBS), Football Night in America, part 3 (NBC), Sunday Night Football: Minnesota vs. Carolina (NBC), The OT (Fox), Survivor: Samoa Season Finale (CBS) -Keep a Positive Eye Among Adults 18-49:The Simpsons R (Fox), Family Guy R (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Football Night in America, parts one and two (NBC), Movie: Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause (ABC)-----------Ratings Breakdown:Football-ignited NBC closed the week on a typically winning note, with the Minnesota vs. Carolina match-up at an estimated 12.0 rating/19 share in the overnights for the prime-time portion from 8:30-11 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown: Sunday Night Football (NBC)8:30 p.m.: 11.3/18 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 12.0/19 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 11.8/19 (#1)10:00 p.m.: 12.2/20 (#1)10:30 p.m.: 12.5/21 (#1) Earlier in the evening on NBC was pre-game Football Night in America as follows: 7:00 p.m. – part one: 1.7/ 3 (#4)7:30 p.m. – part two: 2.7/ 4 (#4)8:00 p.m. – part three: 7.6/12 (#2) Keep in mind, of course, that results for any live sporting event are always approximate. Since second-place CBS is also estimated due to the approximate 20-minute late start for its primetime line-up, here are the results for the Eye net by half-hour: CBS/Sunday7:00 p.m. – Football/60 Minutes: 9.1/15 (#2)7:30 p.m. – 60 Minutes: 9.3/15 (#2)8:00 p.m. – 60 Minutes/Survivor: Samoa (season finale): 7.7/12 (#1)8:30 p.m. – Survivor: Samoa (season finale): 6.9/11 (#2)9:00 p.m. – Survivor: Samoa (season finale): 6.9/11 (#2) 9:30 p.m. – Survivor: Samoa (season finale): 6.9/11 (#2)10:00 p.m. – Survivor: Samoa (season finale)/Survivor: Samoa Reunion: 6.9/11 (#2)10:30 p.m. – Survivor: Samoa Reunion: 6.0/10 (#2) Consider a 6.9/11 the approximate overnight results for two-hour season-finale of Survivor: Samoa. Comparably, this was an improvement of 11 percent from the Survivor: Tocantins season-ender on Sunday, May 17, 2009. As for Natalie winning, I certainly did not see that coming, did you? Russell (who is expected back as the “Heroes” vs. “Villains” do battle next season) clearly deserved to win. ABC opened this third Sunday in December with a repeat of America’s Funniest Home Videos a distant third-place 4.0/ 7 in the overnights from 7-8 p.m. That led into movie Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause at a lackluster 4.0/ 6 from 8-10 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown: Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause (ABC)8:00 p.m.: 3.9/ 6 (#4)8:30 p.m.: 3.7/ 6 (#4)9:00 p.m.: 4.1/ 6 (#3t)9:30 p.m.: 4.4/ 7 (#3) A repeat of Desperate Housewives closed the night for ABC with a mere (and very last place) 2.9/ 5 at 10 p.m. Fox, meanwhile, got off to a roaring start with an approximate 30-minute primetime football overrun at a dominant 13.9/24 at 7 p.m., followed by post-game The OT at a 14.5/24 at 7:30 p.m. That led into repeats of The Simpsons (#3: 5.4/ 9). The Cleveland Show (#4: 3.9/ 6), Family Guy (#3t, 4.1/ 6) and American Dad (#4: 3.5/ 5) from 8-10 p.m. Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not -Growing Ellen:Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show continues to flex its muscle this season, ranking as the No. 2 talker behind CBS Television Distribution’s Oprah in women 25-54 (1.6 rating, tied with CBS’ Dr. Phil and Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz), with gains of 14 percent from one year earlier. Ellen has also increased by eight percent in women 18-49 (1.3). Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Monday 12/21/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (R) 9:00 p.m. Find My Family10:00 p.m. Castle (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (R) 8:30 p.m. Accidentally on Purpose (R) 9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men (R) 9:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory (R)10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. The Sing-Off (season finale, two hours)10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show Fox: 8:00 p.m. House (R) 9:00 p.m. Lie To Me (R) CW: 8:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (R) 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (R) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -CBS Slots Undercover Boss After The Super Bowl:Upcoming Undercover Boss, a hidden camera reality series featuring an executive who goes undercover in disguise at the company he works for to get a real look at the people working there, has landed the cushy post-Super Bowl slot on Sunday, Feb. 7. One week later, Undercover Boss will air in its regularly scheduled Sunday 9 p.m. hour out of The Amazing Race and into Cold Case, which moves back to 10 p.m. -Fox Midseason Schedule Changes:Upcoming Fox drama Human Target, the story of a private detective and bodyguard who operates by impersonating his clients in order to eliminate threats to his boss, will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. into American Idol beginning on January 27. The original plan was Wednesday at 9 p.m. out of Idol. Human Target previews on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., with episode two scheduled on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 9 p.m. (out of Idol). Also at Fox, upcoming comedy Sons of Tucson, the tale of three teenage brothers who hire a seemingly nice, but misguided man to pretend to be their father after their real Dad is sent to prison for a white collar crime, will debut on Sunday, March 14 at 9:30 p.m. (in place of American Dad, which takes a break). Sons of Tucson was originally scheduled Sundays at 8:30 p.m. in place of The Cleveland Show, which was supposed to shift to 9:30 p.m. -ABC Expected to Conclude Scrubs and Better Off Ted in January:Yes, it looks like long-running Scrubs will finally be ending. ABC will air back-to-back episodes of both the re-tooled version of Scrubs and sophomore comedy Better Off Ted on Tuesday in January, taking them each through their 13 episode orders. The final season of Lost takes over the Tuesday 9 p.m. hour on February 2. -Coming Up on Disney XD:Kids magnet Disney XD has ordered a new live action comedy for fall 2010 called Pair of Kings, which focuses on two fraternal twins in Chicago who, unbeknownst to them, are the successors to the throne of The Island of Kinkou. Mitchel Musso (Hannah Montana) and Doc Shaw (The Suite Life on Deck) star, and production is set to begin on Hollywood in March 2010. -Guy Fieri Named Host of NBC’s Perfect 10:Upcoming NBC reality/competition Perfect 10, where contestants complete in 10 games in 10 minutes to win a grand prize of one million dollars, has named Guy Fieri as host. Fieri is the winner of the second season of The Next Food Network Star. -Sad News:Young actress Brittany Murphy, who is best remembered in 1995 theatrical Clueless and as the voice of Luanne Platter in long-running animated Fox comedy King of the Hill, has died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles on Sunday. She was just 32. Born on Nov. 10, 1977 in Atlanta, Murphy grew up in New Jersey and moved with her mother to the West Coast pursue a career in acting. Early TV roles included regular stints on sitcoms Drexell’s Class and Almost Home, and guest shots on Park Lewis Can’t Lose, Blossom, Frasier, Party of Five, Sister, Sister, Boy Meets World, The Marshal, Seaquest, Murder One and Nash Bridges. More recently, she appeared in theatricals 8 Mile, Just Married and Uptown Girls, to name a few, and was one of the voices in 2006’s animated Happy Feet. She is also one of the co-stars of upcoming Sylvester Stallone movie The Expendables, which will be released in 2010. Said Murphy’s publicist in a statement: “In this time of sadness, the family thanks you for your love and support. It is their wish that you respect their privacy.” _______________________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Hi’Ya, Mr. B What was frazzled George Baxter’s occupation on classic sitcom Hazel? accountant clothing manufacturerdoctorlawyersalesman The answer to Friday’s question… What was the first name of Marcus Welby’s nurse in the long-running 1969 to 1976 medical drama? Callie MaeConsueloMyrnaRosarioSophie Is: b) Consuelo, who was played by Elena Verdugo. -Current kudos goes to:Neil Aronstam, Mary Bancroft, Gerry Bixenspan, Lisa Blatt, Barbara Bloomfield, John Brooker, Kay Copeland, Reid Davis, Sylvia Davis, Sue Doron, Mike Dugger, Bob Eisenstaedt, Bill Evashwick, Mike Jameson, John Ferlazzo, Renee Foley, Arleen Fong, Karen Gardner, Bob Goldman, Maureen Goldman, Geoffrey Gordon, Vicky Gregorian, Reba Grenier, Kevin Harlan, Barb Hemberger, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Ken Jobe, Mary Kalnin, Kathrn Kieser, Synda Kollman, Mark Krause, Steve Kurtzer, Rick Locke, Patty Lynch, Kathy Martin, Mary Ann McAleer, Becky McIntyre, Randi Mendelsohn, Debbie Mirr, Tad O’Rourke, Michael Pendell, Alan Perris, Sandra Pettway, Mary Politano, Francine Purcell, Gordon Purcell, Bob Rall, Tina Rolon, Marilyn Rutkowski, Greg Salerno, Maxine Schulman, David Shall, Mark Maxwell-Smith, Michelle Stanton, Ronnie Tallant, Margaret Thomas, Evan Weinstein, Ted Zawislak

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Fox Midseason Schedule Changes

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