Mr. TV Remembers Ed McMahon

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERTuesday, June 23, 2009 Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:CBS Wins; Uneventful Results Overall Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time:That’s a Lot of Kids! __________________________________________________________________________ Live from beautiful Toronto, Canada, where I am here for the “Back to Basics” Gala at the Broadcast Research Council of Canada. ___________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:CBS Wins; Uneventful Results Overall Monday 6/22/09 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 5.0/ 8NBC 3.7/ 6ABC 3.6/ 6Fox 3.0/ 5CW 0.6/ 1 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Monday, June23, 2008):NBC: + 9, CBS: - 4, ABC: -16, CW: -33, Fox: -42 ---------- 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, June 8, 2009. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: A night of repeats on CBS dominated in the overnight markets, beating second-place NBC by a considerable 35 percent. CBS’ How I Met Your Mother moved into the 8 p.m. half-hour (its former home) with a 3.9 rating/7 share, which tied the first 30 minutes of ABC’s silly The Bachelorette. That led into repeats of Rules of Engagement (#2) 3.8/ 6), which returns in midseason, Two and a Half Men (#1: 6.2/10), recently relocated The Big Bang Theory (#1: 5.1/ 8) and CSI: Miami (#1: 5.6/10) from 8:30-11 p.m. The retention for The Big Bang Theory out of Two and a Half Men was a respectable 82 percent. Even so, I still personally think The Big Bang Theory should remain in the 8 p.m. anchor spot. NBC kicked-off this fourth Monday in June with a two-hour installment of the inane (but oddly addictive) I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, which scored a mere (and fourth-place) 3.2/ 6 in the overnights from 8-9 p.m. (results in the 9 p.m. hour were not available). To the empty headed people (like me) who spent another two-hours of their lives watching I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, what was the point of bringing back Holly if she would be eliminated the next day? And why did she even qualify to be on the show to begin with if she started late? Are there no rules to this reality/competition? As for perennial reality contestant Stephen Baldwin quitting, that whole thing seemed planned to me, didn’t it? NBC capped off the evening with Dateline with a second-place 4.2/ 7 at 10 p.m. You know it is the summer when Dateline pops up everywhere. Over at ABC was another two-hour installment of The Bachelorette (4.1/ 7 from 8-10 p.m.) and sophomore Here Come the Newlyweds (#3: 2.7/ 5), which is unlikely to be granted a third season. Take a look at the half-hour breakdown for The Bachelorette: The Bachelorette (ABC)8:00 p.m.: 3.9/ 7 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 4.0/ 7 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 4.0/ 7 (#2)9:30 p.m.: 4.4/ 7 (#2) Fox aired repeats of House (#3t: 3.2/ 6) and relocated Lie to Me (#3: 2.7/ 4). And the CW capped off the evening with encore telecasts of Gossip Girl (#5: 0.7/ 1) and One Tree Hill (#5: 0.6/ 1). Don’t forget that Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill flip time periods next season. To whet your appetite for next season, here is the upcoming Monday schedule: ABC 8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (two hours)10:00 p.m. Castle CBS 8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (new time) 8:30 p.m. Accidentally on Purpose (new) 9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men 9:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory (new time)10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami NBC 8:00 p.m. Heroes (new time) 9:00 p.m. Trauma (new)10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show (new) Fox 8:00 p.m. House 9:00 p.m. Lie to Me (new day) CW 8:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (new time) 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (new time) Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not -Soft Start for NBC’s Merlin:The two episode debut of NBC drama Merlin did not impress on Sunday, June 21, according to the preliminary nationals. Opposite all repeats on the Big 4 networks, the first installment of Merlin kicked-off second in both total viewers (5.46 million) and adults 18-49 (1.4 rating/4 share) in the 8 p.m. hour. Comparably, the drama dipped by a hefty 930,000 viewers (5.93 to 5.00 million) and 20 percent among adults 18-49 (1.5/ 5 to 1.2/ 4) at 8:30 p.m. Plus, it was down by 720,000 viewers and 12 percent in the demo from a half-hour portion of lead-in Dateline (Viewers: 6.18 million; A18-49: 1.6/ 6 at 7:30 p.m.). Episode two of Merlin was similarly disappointing at 5.24 million viewers and a 1.4/ 4 among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. Come on now…did anyone really think there would be interest? -Record The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Bravo:The June 18 telecast of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey rose to a record 1.67 million total viewers and 1.13 million adults 18-49, Bravo’s highest rated Thursday telecast ever in both categories. Comparably, Bravo finished second among adults 18-49 in all of basic cable in the 9 p.m. hour. -Fox Dominates Demographically According to the C3 Measure:Based on a report issued from Magna using C3 data (commercial ratings plus three days of DVR playback) from Nielsen Media Research, Fox finished the traditional (Sept. 22, 2008 – May 24, 2009) TV season first in the three key demos –--adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. Take a look at the five network results (with change versus the comparable year-ago period in parentheses): Adults 18-49:Fox: 3.2 rating (- 9), CBS: 2.6 (+ 4), ABC: 2.5 (- 4), NBC: 2.3 (- 8), CW: 0.7 (-22) Adults 25-54:Fox: 2.6 (- 8), CBS: 3.4 (+ 3), ABC: 2.9 (- 6), NBC: 2.6 (-10), CW: 0.7 (-22) Adults 18-34:Fox: 2.8 (-10), ABC: 2.0 (no change), NBC: 1.9 (- 5), CBS: 1.7 (no change), CW: 0.8 (-11) Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Tuesday 6/23/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. The Superstars (premiere, 90 minutes) 9:30 p.m. Better Off Ted10:00 p.m. Primetime Family Secrets (season premiere) CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. The Mentalist (R)10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC: 8:00 p.m. I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! 9:00 p.m. America’s Got Talent (two hours, season premiere) Fox: 8:00 p.m. House (R) 9:00 p.m. Mental CW: 8:00 p.m. 90210 (R) 9:00 p.m. Hitched or Ditched MNTV8:00 p.m. Street Patrol (R) 8:30 p.m. Street Patrol (R) 9:00 p.m. Jail (R) 9:30 p.m. Jail (R) New Program Descriptions -The Scoop:Based on ABC’s classic Wide World of Sports series from yesteryear and filmed in the Bahamas, eight celebrities are paired with eight athletes to compete against each other in different sporting events. The celebrities are David Charvet, Maksin Chmerkovskiy, Dan Cortese, Paige Hemmis, Julio Iglesias, Jr., Joanna Krupa, Ali Landry and Estella Warren. The athletes are Jennifer Capriati, Brandi Chastain, Robert Horry, Jeff Kent, Kristi Leskinen, Lisa Leslie, Bode Miller and Terrell Owens. -The Reality:Considering this sounds like the old Battle of the Network Stars series of specials, it is certainly not a bad idea for a boring summer Tuesday. But since when is a dancer from Dancing With the Stars a celebrity? And too bad Heather Locklear is no longer competing. ________________________________________________________________________ Remembering Ed McMahon Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s perennial sidekick on NBC’s The Tonight Show died today at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Hospital. He was 86. According to McMahon publicist Howard Bragman, the entertainer’s passing was from a "multitude of health problems the last few months." Born in Detroit on March 6, 1923, McMahon got an early start on television as the announcer of a game show in 1956 called Who Do You Trust?, which was hosted by Johnny Carson. When Caron succeeded Jack Paar as host of The Tonight Show in 1962, he took McMahon with him and the two worked side by side for 29 years. Never one to remain idle, McMahon moonlighted throughout the years in theatrical movies like The Incident, Fun With Dick and Jane and Love Affair; as a guest star in series like Here’s Lucy, Ellery Queen, Burke’s Law, Newhart, Nurses and Baywatch; as a co-host opposite Dick Clark on TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes; as host of long-running syndicated talent show Star Search; and as a panelist for countless game shows and pitchmeister for numerous products. He was also the author of three books, including When Television Was Young in 2007. And McMahon was, of course, an active participant in Jerry Lewis’ annual MDA Labor Day Telethon. McMahon was married three times (including his current 17-year marriage to Pam Hurn), and was the father of five children. ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Enough Already:According to published reports, divorce papers were filed between Jon & Kate Plus 8 parents Jon and Kate Gosselin on Monday, June 22 at the Bucks Country Courthouse in Pennsylvania, which will be addressed on the reality series. Although I think I know TV, can anyone explain to me why this is such a big deal? -E! Dumps Speidi:To be honest, I am not necessarily sure what cable network E! considers newsworthy. But according to an Eonline vote, 94 percent of the respondents were in favor of banishing obnoxious reality duo Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt from network news coverage until they do something “newsworthy.” Unfortunately, NBC is not “banishing” them. They are expected back tomorrow night for the season-finale of the ludicrous I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! -More Special Agent Oso:Disney Channel has ordered a second season of Playhouse Disney animated series Special Agent Oso for a second season, with an unspecified number of new episodes for 2009-10. ____________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:That’s a Lot of Kids! Which TV couple had the most number of children? Tom and Joan BradfordEric and Annie CamdenPete and Jo SkagskaWilliam and Nora WalkerJohn and Olivia Walton The answer to yesterday’s question… Which one of the following shows did Happy Days replace when it premiered on January 15, 1974? BewitchedBob & Carol & Ted & AliceThe Courtship of Eddie’s FatherTemperatures RisingThat’s My Mama Is: d) Temperatures Rising, which was a medical based comedy that aired briefly on ABC with three different casts. -Current kudos goes to:Gary Belis, Gerry Bixenspan, Lillian Buchman, Larry Collins, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Ken Hommel, Bob Ingersoll, Michael Murphy, Tony Naldrett, Bill Nuss, Alan Perris, Gordon Purcell, Bruce Rosenblum, Joe Rubi, Ron Salmon

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Mr. TV Remembers Ed McMahon

Marc Berman

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