Lackluster Opening Levels for ABC's Scoundrels and The Gates

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERMonday, June 21, 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:The First Eddie_______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Ratings:Weekend Highlights Friday 6/18/10Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/ShrCBS 3.5/ 7NBC 3.3/ 7ABC 2.2/ 4Fox 1.6/ 3CW 0.7/ 1 -Total Viewers:CBS: 5.45 million, NBC: 4.93, ABC: 3.32, Fox: 2.54, CW: 1.08 -Adults 18-49:CBS and NBC: 1.1 rating/4 share each, ABC: 0.9/ 4, Fox: 0.8/ 3, CW: 0.4/ 2 -------------------- 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:Flashpoint (CBS) -Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Miley Cyrus: Live From London (ABC), Friday Night Lights (NBC), Miami Medical (CBS) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:CBS and NBC shared low-rated leadership on this third Friday in June, with CBS the most-watched network (at just 5.45 million viewers) and CBS and NBC tied for first among adults 18-49. A repeat of relocated Medium opened the evening for CBS with 3.48 million viewers (#1) and a 0.7 rating/3 share among adults 18-49 (#2t) at 8 p.m. That led into Canadian drama Flashpoint (Viewers: #1, 6.95 million; A18-49: #1, 1.4/ 5 at 9 p.m.), which deserves positive mention for the double-digit growth out of the Medium encore, followed by another burn-off episode of Miami Medical (Viewers: #2, 5.93 million; A18-49: #3, 1.1/ 4 at 10 p.m.). Flashpoint was the most-watched show and highest rated in the demo for the evening. NBC aired Friday Night Lights (Viewers: #2, 3.44 million; A18-49: #1, 1.0/ 4 at 8 p.m.), which will never attract a large audience, and another two-hour edition of Dateline, which averaged 5.68 million viewers and a 1.2/ 5 in the demo from 9-11 p.m., building by half-hour as follows: Dateline (NBC) 9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 4.70 million (#2), A18-49: 0.9/ 3 (#2) 9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.60 million (#2), A18-49: 1.1/ 4 (#2)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.82 million (#2), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#1)10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 6.59 million (#1), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#1) Over at ABC, 8 p.m. special, Miley Cyrus: Live From London, was off the charts with just 2.71 million viewers (#4) and a 0.7/ 3 among adults 18-49 (#3t). Stick to Disney Channel, Miley! Next was a repeat of Wife Swap (Viewers: #3, 2.38 million; A18-49: #3t, 0.8/ 3 at 9 p.m.), followed by veteran 20/20 at 4.87 million viewers (#3) and a 1.3/ 4 in the demo (#2) at 10 p.m.Elsewhere, Fox aired repeats of House (Viewers: #3, 2.78 million; A18-49: #2, 0.9/ 4) and The Good Guys (Viewers: #4, 2.30 million; A18-49: #3t, 0.8/ 3). And The CW capped off the night with encore telecasts of Smallville (Viewers: #5, 1.11 million; A18-49: #5, 0.5/ 2) and Supernatural (Viewers: #5, 1.05 million; A18-49: #5, 0.4/ 2). As a reminder, here is what you will be seeing on Friday nights in the fall (with new shows capped and bolded). Keep in mind that Smallville is heading into its final season. ABC 8:00 p.m. SECRET MILLIONIARE (new network) 9:00 p.m. BODY OF PROOF10:00 p.m. 20/20 CBS 8:00 p.m. Medium (new time) 9:00 p.m. CSI: NY (new day and time)10:00 p.m. BLUE BLOODS NBC 8:00 p.m. Who Do You Think You Are? / SCHOOL PRIDE 9:00 p.m. Dateline10:00 p.m. OUTLAW Fox 8:00 p.m. Human Target (new day) 9:00 p.m. The Good Guys (new day and time) CW 8:00 p.m. Smallville 9:00 p.m. Supernatural (new day) Source: Nielsen Media Research data -------------------- Saturday 6/19/10Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr NBC 3.2/ 7CBS 2.8/ 6Fox 2.6/ 5ABC 1.8/ 4 -Total Viewers:NBC: 5.02 million, Fox: 4.17, CBS: 4.10, ABC: 2.82 -Adults 18-49:Fox: 1.2 rating/5 share, NBC: 1.0/ 4, CBS: 0.8/ 3, ABC: 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. --------------- -Saturday’s Winners: Nothing -Saturday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Movie: She’s the Man (ABC), Three Rivers (CBS) and the night overall ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:NBC led the low-rated Saturday troops in total viewers care of U.S. Open Golf with 5.02 million viewers and a second-place 1.0 rating/4 share among adults 18-49 from 8-11 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown: U.S. Open Golf (NBC) 8:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.42 million (#1), A18-49: 1.0/ 5 (#1t) 8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.52 million (#1), A18-49: 1.1/ 5 (#2) 9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.10 million (#1), A18-49: 1.0/ 4 (#2) 9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 4.76 million (#1), A18-49: 1.0/ 4 (#2)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 4.79 million (#2), A18-49: 1.1/ 4 (#2)10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 4.54 million (#2), A18-49: 1.1/ 4 (#2) Fox finished first for the evening among adults 18-49 with its perennial combination of Cops (original and repeat – Viewers: #2, avg. 4.00 million; A18-49: #1, avg. 1.2/ 6) and America’s Most Wanted (Viewers: #2, 4.34 million; A18-49: #1, 1.3/ 5). Elsewhere, CBS burned-off another original episode of medical drama Three Rivers (Viewers: #3, 3.04 million; A18-49: #4, 0.5/ 2 at 8 p.m.), followed by two repeat episodes of 48 Hours Mystery as follows: 48 Hours Mystery R (CBS) 9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 3.78 million (#3), A18-49: 0.7/ 3 (#3t)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.49 million (#1), A18-49: 1.2/ 5 (#1) ABC capped off the depressing night with Amanda Bynes theatrical She’s The Man (Viewers: #4, 2.45 million; A18-49: #3t, 0.6/ 2 from 8-10 p.m.), which was virtually invisible, followed by a repeat of Castle at a third-place finish in both total viewers (3.56 million) and adults 18-49 (#3: 0.8/ 3) at 10 p.m. Fans of Amanda Bynes will not be happy to hear that she has retired from acting. The networks, unfortunately, refuse to step up to the plate on Saturday and will fill the night with same programming in fourth quarter 2010 as follows: ABC 8:00 p.m. Saturday Night Football CBS 8:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday (drama repeats) 9:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday (drama repeats)10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC 8:00 p.m. Encore programming 9:00 p.m. Encore programming10:00 p.m. Encore programming Fox 8:00 p.m. Cops 9:00 p.m. America’s Most Wanted Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Sunday 6/20/10 HH Rtg/Shr NBC 6.2/11CBS 4.0/ 7ABC 3.1/ 6Fox 1.9/ 3 ---------- -Note: The year-to-year overnight comparisons were 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, June 20, 2010. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:U.S. Open Golf (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats): ‘Til Death (Fox), Sons of Tucson (Fox), Minute to Win It (NBC), Scoundrels (ABC), The Gates (ABC), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC) -----------Ratings Breakdown: More coverage of U.S. Open Golf led NBC to overnight Sunday victory, with a hefty 55 percent advantage over second-place CBS. Despite debuting scripted dramas Scoundrels and The Gates, ABC finished a lackluster third, followed by fourth-place Fox. U.S. Open Golf stood well above the competition, with an 8.4 rating/16 share in the overnights from 7-9:30 p.m. and the half-hour breakdown as follows: U.S. Open Golf (NBC)7:00 p.m.: 8.1/17 (#1)7:30 p.m.: 8.1/17 (#1)8:00 p.m.: 8.3/16 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 9.0/16 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 8.6/15 (#1) Despite the ample lead-in support, a half-hour edition of game show Minute to Win It dipped to a mere 2.5/ 4 in the overnights (#3) at 9:30 p.m., followed by Law & Order: Criminal Intent (which already aired on USA) and a third-place 2.6/ 5 at 10 p.m. In series-premiere news, ABC’s aforementioned Scoundrels kicked-off a distant second in the 9 p.m. hour, with a 3.6/ 6. While this did build by 12 percent from the 8:30 p.m. portion of repeat lead-in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (3.2/ 6), this is certainly nothing to boast about given the ample promotion. Scoundrels led into the debut of The Gates, which finished second in the overnights behind a repeat of CBS’ canceled Cold Case (3.5/ 6) with a 3.3/ 6 at 10 p.m. While I do give credit to ABC for trying to launch original scripted fare in the summer, the audience did not respond as predicted. And that is because viewers are programmed to believe the “Gone Fishing” sign is up at the broadcast networks effective Memorial Day weekend through the official start of the new season. Earlier in the evening on ABC were repeats of America’s Funniest Home Videos (#3: 2.7/ 6) and aforementioned Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (#3: 3.0/ 6) from 7-9 p.m. CBS opened the night, of course, with granddaddy 60 Minutes (#2: 5.8/12 at 7 p.m.), followed by repeats of ongoing special I Get That a Lot (#2: 3.4/ 7) and two episodes of aforementioned Cold Case (9 p.m.: #2, 3.3/ 6 – 10 p.m.: #1, 3.5/ 6). In series-finale news, Fox sitcom ‘Til Death departed with a mere (and very last-place) 1.1/ 2 in the overnights at 7 p.m. That led into a burn-off episode of canceled Sons of Tucson (#4: 0.9/ 2 at 7:30 p.m.), followed by repeats of The Simpsons (#4: 2.0/ 4), The Cleveland Show (#4: 2.1/ 4), Family Guy (#4: 2.9/ 5) and American Dad (#4: 2.4/ 4) from 8-10 p.m. As a reminder, here is what you will be seeing on Sundays this fall (with new shows capped and bolded): ABC 7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos 8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives10:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters CBS 7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes 8:00 p.m. The Amazing Race 9:00 p.m. Undercover Boss10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (new day) NBC 7:00 p.m. Football Night in America (to 8:20 p.m.) 8:20 p.m. Sunday Night Football Fox 7:00 p.m. The OT 8:00 p.m. The Simpsons 8:30 p.m. the Cleveland Show 9:00 p.m. Family Guy 9:30 p.m. American Dad Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Record NBA Finals on ABC:The seventh, and final game of The NBA Finals (L.A. Lakers: 83, Boston Celtics: 79) rose to a record performance on ABC Thursday in total viewers (28.2 million), adults 18-49 (11.4 rating/33 share), adults 25-54 (11.2/30) and adults 18-34 (11.8/38). Comparably, this was primetime’s top rated non-Olympics summer telecast since August 23, 2000 and most-watched NBA Finals since the L.A. Lakers versus Philadelphia in 2001. For the night, ABC beat the four competing networks combined by 1.9 million viewers (18.1 vs. 16.2 million) and 58 percent among adults 18-49 (7.1/22 vs. 4.5/14), with its top summer Thursday in at least 18 years (pre-dating the start of Nielsen’s electronic database, in September 1991). Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Monday 6/21/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. The Bachelorette (two hours) 10:00 p.m. True Beauty CBS: 8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (R) 8:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement (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. Last Comic Standing (R) 9:00 p.m. Last Comic Standing 10:00 p.m. Persons Unknown Fox: 8:00 p.m. Lie to Me 9:00 p.m. The Good Guys CW: 8:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (R) 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (R) Of Note on Cable:-Saving Grace (TNT): 10 p.m. (series finale) _____________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -ABC Pulls Happy Town…Again:ABC has removed recent drama entry Happy Town off the schedule for the second time, with the remaining two original episodes expected to be burned off on a Saturday night in July. Filling the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour will be repeats of Castle on June 30 and July 7. -Also at ABC:Canceled fall drama Eastwick will return to burn-off its final two original episodes on Saturday, July 10 from 9-11 p.m. -More Secret Diary of a Call Girl:Showtime has picked-up comedy Secret Diary of a Call Girl for a fourth, and final season, with an order for eight new episodes. Production will begin in London in August. -Executive Shuffle:PR maven Paul Hewitt, one of the most dedicated people in this business, was upped to SVP/Network Communications at The CW. Paul, who succeeds Paul McGuire (who was just named SVP/Worldwide Corporate Communications with Warner Bros. Entertainment) will oversee and develop communication strategies and media relations for the network, as well as managing the publicity campaigns. Congratulations, Paul! ______________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:The First Eddie The Courtship of Eddie’s Father was a feel-good 1969-72 sitcom with Bill Bixby as Tom Corbett and Brandon Cruz as his son Eddie. But who played the role of Eddie in the 1963 theatrical of the same name? a) Ronny Howardb) Barry Livingston c) Jay North d) Paul Petersen e) Johnny Whitaker The answer to Friday’s question… Which one of the following series was not set in Manhattan? Dave’s World The Equalizer Love & WarSpin City Top Cat Is: a) Dave’s World, which took place in Miami and aired on CBS from 1993 to 1997. -Current kudos goes to:Dave Aiken, Steve Albright, Gerry Bixenspan, Kimay Bloch, Barbara Bloomfield, Rob Brittain, Larry Collins (2x), Tom Condosta, Kristen Conner, Harold Cooper, Roy Cuyler, Audrey Davis, Andy Ehlen, Bob Eisenstaedt, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Maureen Goldman, Kevin Harlan, Barb Hemberger, Michael Holland, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Kathan Jager, Deb Kainer, Kathryn Kieser, Mary Kinoshita, Synda Kollman, Steve Kurtzer, Patty Lynch, Debbie Mirr, Joe Pedri, Ken Penney, Alan Perris, Michael Petok, David Primuth, Gordon Purcell, Liza Reich, Con Rigg, Bruce Robinson, Colleen Roth, Joe Rubi, Russell Schwartz, David Shearer, Maxine Shulman, Michelle Stanton, Ronnie Tallant, Linda Weeks, Abbott Wool, Jeanne Yonkers, Ted Zavales

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Lackluster Opening Levels for ABC's Scoundrels and The Gates

Marc Berman

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