The Programming Insider: Thursday 8/11/11

In Today's Issue Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings: Fox Wins; America’s Got Talent on NBC the Standout Ratings Box: What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight: Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: Bye, Bye Brenda _____________________________________________________________ PRIME-TIME METERED MARKET WEDNESDAY RATINGS: Fox Wins; America’s Got Talent on NBC the Standout Wednesday 8/10/11 All times are ET/PT. Household Rating/Share Fox: 4.5/ 8, CBS: 4.3/ 7, NBC: 3.8/ 6, ABC: 2.9/ 5, CW: 0.7/ 1 Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday 8/11/10): ABC: + 4, CW: - 2, Fox: - 4, NBC: -19, CW: -22 -Yesterday’s Winners: Big Brother (CBS), America’s Got Talent (NBC) -Reliable Summer Player: So You Think You Can Dance (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers: Love in the Wild (NBC) Ratings Breakdown: The two-hour final performance show of the season on So You Think You Can Dance led Fox to midweek victory, with a 4.5 rating/8 share in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown: So You Think You Can Dance (Fox) 8:00 p.m.: 4.5/ 8 (#2) 8:30 p.m.: 4.5/ 8 (#2) 9:00 p.m.: 4.4/ 8 (#2) 9:30 p.m.: 4.4/ 7 (#2) Compared to the year-ago season-ending performance show (4.7/ 8 on Aug. 11, 2010), that was a loss of 4 percent. Next Wednesday, repeats of Mobbed and House will occupy the evening for Fox. Second-place CBS opened on a winning note care of summer favorite Big Brother, which averaged a 4.7/ 8 in the overnights at 8 p.m. As for uneventful Lawon volunteering to put himself on the block last night, why Lawon . . . why? That move made Marcellas’ classic blunder look like rocket science. Big Brother led into repeats of Criminal Minds (#3: 3.7/ 7) and relocated CSI (#1: 4.6/ 8) from 9-11 p.m. There is every reason to believe veteran CSI will win the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour next season in total viewers by a wide margin. Over at NBC, the standout of course was America’s Got Talent, which finished first for the evening in the 9 p.m. hour with a 5.9/10 in the overnights. Comparably, that built from lead-in game show Minute to Win It (#4: 2.8/ 5 at 8 p.m.) by a hefty 111 percent. At 10 p.m., recent summer entry Love in the Wild sunk to a last-place 2.7/ 5, which dipped from the 9:30 p.m. portion of America’s Got Talent (6.1/10) by 56 percent. Elsewhere, repeats of ABC sitcoms The Middle (#3: 3.1/ 5), two episodes of Modern Family (8:30 p.m.: #3, 3.1/ 5; 9 p.m.: #3t, 3.4/ 6) and Happy Endings (#4: 2.0/ 3) led into a second-place 3.0/ 5 in the overnights for Primetime: Nightline at 10 p.m. The CW capped off the evening with two encore telecasts of America’s Got Talent (#5: avg. 0.7/ 1), which will feature its first all-star edition this fall. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) _________________________________________________________________ RATINGS BOX: What’s Hot/What’s Not Respectable Return for Bachelor Pad on ABC: The second season opener of Bachelor Pad on ABC, a spin-off of the ongoing Bachelor franchise, led ABC to Monday night victory in total viewers on Aug. 8, with a second-place finish among adults 18-49 (behind Fox’s combination of Hell’s Kitchen and Masterchef). The three-hour installment averaged 7.00 million viewers and a 2.3 rating/6 share in the demo. Speaking of Prime Time: Here are the live-plus-same-day ratings for the five broadcast networks on Monday, Aug. 8 and Tuesday, Aug. 9: Monday 8/08/11 Total Viewers: ABC: 7.00 million, Fox: 6.04, CBS: 4.60, NBC: 4.46, CW: 560,000 Adults 18-49: Fox: 2.5 rating/7 share, ABC: 2.3/ 6, CBS: 1.2/ 3, NBC: 1.0/ 3, CW: 0.3/ 1 Tuesday 8/09/11 Total Viewers: NBC: 9.12 million, CBS: 8.28, Fox: 6.23, ABC: 4.71, CW: 630,000 Adults 18-49: Fox: 2.6 rating/8 share, NBC: 2.4/ 7, ABC: 1.5/ 5, CBS: 1.4/ 4, CW: 0.3/ 1 National Ratings in Syndication – Week of July 25: What follows are the top 20 rated programs in syndication (first-run and off-network) based on households for the week of July 25. Of immediate note was top-rated Judge Judy, which rose to its second best performance of the season with a significant 64 percent growth from one year earlier. Judge Judy (CBS Television Distribution): 6.9 rating. Wheel of Fortune (CBS): 6.3, Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 6.0, Jeopardy (CBS): 5.4, Family Guy (Twentieth Television): 4.4, Law & Order: Criminal Intent – Weekend (NBC Universal): 4.3, Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 3.5, My Wife and Kids (Disney/ABC): 3.1, Judge Joe Brown (CBS), Criminal Minds (CBS), Wheel of Fortune – Weekend (CBS) and Two and a Half Men – Weekend (Warner Bros.): 2.8 each, Inside Edition (CBS), How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) and That ’70s Show – Weekend (Twentieth): 2.7 each, Family Feud (Debmar Mercury) and George Lopez (Warner Bros.): 2.6 each, Live With Regis & Kelly (Disney/ABC) and Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 2.5 each In Other Syndication News: This summer there are two limited-run, first-time syndicated entries testing the waters for a potential full-blown launch. Dish Nation from Twentieth Television, which focuses on the comedic side of entertainment news, is averaging a weak 0.9 rating/2 share in the overnights in the first two weeks of its six-week tryout. Comparably, that is down by 36 percent from its lead-in (1.4/ 3) and 31 percent from the year-ago time period average (1.3/ 3). Talk show Father Albert from Debmar-Mercury is averaging a 0.7/ 2 in the first four weeks of its five-week test, which is on par from the year-ago time period average but off by 30 percent from the lead-in (1.0/ 3). Chances are both Dish Nation and Father Albert will conclude after their test runs. Cable Scorecard – Tuesday, Aug. 9: There was nothing unusual to report in basic cable for this second Tuesday in August, with the season finale of scripted drama Covert Affairs on USA first overall in total viewers and Teen Mom on MTV No. 1 among adults 18-49. Week 2 of home-décor-themed Picker Sisters on Lifetime remained a bust, finishing No. 21 among the 22 entries, with just 941,000 viewers, while TLC special Crazy About Pippa was last in both total viewers (881,000) and adults 18-49 (0.2 rating). Here are the results (in order of total viewers) for Tuesday, Aug. 9: Covert Affairs (USA) - Viewers: 4.70 million (#1 overall), A18-49: 1.4 rating (#3) – season finale White Collar (USA) - Viewers: 4.30 million (#2), A18-49: 1.5 (#2) – season finale Teen Mom (MTV) - Viewers: 3.28 million (#3), A18-49: 1.8 (#1) Memphis Beat (TNT) – Viewers: 3.02 million (#4), A18-49: 0.6 (#9t) Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family) – Viewers: 2.54 million (#5), A18-49: 0.9 (#4) HawthoRNe (TNT) – Viewers: 2.35 million (#6), A18-49: 0.6 (#9t) Family BrainSurge (Nick) – Viewers: 2.06 million (#7), A18-49: 0.3 (#18t) Billy the Exterminator (A&E, 10:30 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.95 million (#8), A18-49: 0.8 (#5t) Top Shot (History) – Viewers: 1.85 million (#9), A18-49: 0.7 (#7t) Billy the Exterminator (A&E, 10 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.78 million (#10), A18-49: 0.6 (#9t) Auction Hunters (Spike, 10 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.60 million (#11), A18-49: 0.7 (#7t) Auction Kings (Discovery, 9:30 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.57 million (#12), A18-49: 0.5 (#12t) Auction Kings (Discovery, 9 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.50 million (#13), A18-49: 0.8 (#5t) Flipping Out (Bravo) – Viewers: 1.47 million (#14), A18-49: 0.8 (#5t) Hardcore Pawn (truTV, 9 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.46 million (#15), A18-49: 0.5 (#12t) Nine Lives of Chloe King (ABC Family) – Viewers: 1.27 million (#16), A18-49: 0.4 (#17) Born to Dance (BET) – Viewers: 1.22 million (#17), A18-49: 0.5 (#12t) Storage Hunters (truTV, 10 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.15 million (#18), A18-49: 0.5 (#12t) Dirty Money (Discovery, 10 p.m.) – Viewers: 1.02 million (#19), A18-49: 0.3 (#18t) Dirty Money (Discovery, 10:30 p.m.) – Viewers: 961,000 (#20), A18-49: 0.3 (#18t) Picker Sisters (Lifetime) – Viewers: 941,000 (#21), A18-49: 0.3 (#18t) Crazy About Pippa (TLC) – Viewers: 881,000 (#22), A18-49: 0.2 (#22) Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________ ON THE AIR TONIGHT: Prime-Time Programming Options Thursday 8/11/11 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Wipeout 8:30 p.m. Expedition Impossible 9:00 p.m. Rookie Blue CBS: 8:00 p.m. The Big Bang Theory (R) 8:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement (R) 9:00 p.m. Big Brother 10:00 p.m. The Mentalist (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Community (R) 8:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation (R) 9:00 p.m. The Office (R) 9:30 p.m. 30 Rock (R) 10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. So You Think You Can Dance Results Show (season finale, two hours) CW 8:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaries (R) 9:00 p.m. Plain Jane (R) _______________________________________________________________ TV TIDBITS: Notes of Interest TBS Cancels Lopez Tonight: Lopez Tonight, the late-night TBS talk show hosted by comedian and former sitcom star George Lopez, will not be returning for a third season. Moved back one hour this season to make way for Conan, hosted by Conan O’Brien, Lopez Tonight did not attract a large enough audience to stay on the air. Said the cable network in a prepared statement: “We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer. TBS has valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air.” CBS to Remake Bewitched: It is not official . . . yet. But CBS has ordered a script from Sony Pictures Television for a potential remake of classic sitcom Bewitched, which aired on ABC from 1964 to 1972. The husband-and-wife team of Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher, who produced the 2005 feature film starring Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman, will produce the project. Casting has not been announced yet, but my personal suggestion for Samantha is Jenna Elfman. The CW Attempts a Sitcom: The CW, which abandoned UPN’s once-prosperous Monday night comedies in 2008, has ordered a script for a half-hour musical camp set comedy called Acting Out. The initial project was in development last season in an hour format. Upcoming on Lifetime: Lifetime has ordered a new one-hour scripted drama called The Client List with former Ghost Whisperer star Jennifer Love Hewitt as a suddenly single woman who takes a job at a day spa not realizing it offers illicit services. It is expected to launch in 2012. _______________________________________________________________ TV TRIVIA TIME: Bye, Bye Brenda Note: To respond to the trivia, please click HERE. Where was the character of Brenda Walsh shipped off to when Shannen Doherty exited long-running Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1994? a) Athens b) Berlin c) Edinburgh d) London e) Paris The answer to yesterday’s question… What was the name of the fictional hospital on long-running sitcom Scrubs? a) Chicago Hope b) County General c) Lowell Memorial d) Presidio Medical Center e) Sacred Heart Is: e) Sacred Heart. Scrubs began on NBC on Oct. 2, 2001 and finished nine years later on ABC. Current kudos goes to: Don Abel, Michelle Yarborough-Bauer, John Beadle, Gerry Bixenspan, Kimay Bloch, Barbara Bloomfield, Jordan Breslow, John Brooker, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Larry Corsa, Andy Ehlen, John Ferlazzo, Michael Fruchtman, Todd Galloway, Gail Goins, Maureen goldman, Martha Gonzalez, Brad Hight, Gordon Howard, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Ken Jobe, Kevin Jones, Deb Kainer, Adrian Kimberly, Kristopher Koller, Synda Kollman, Steven Kurtzer, Katie Kuyper, Mark Misiano, Paul Neace, Keri O’Keeffe, Joe Pedri, Alan Perris, Jodi Perris, Brianna Peterson, Gordon Purcell, Colleen Roth, David Ruckman, Barry Singer, Michelle Stanton, Kristen Strauss, Joe Swaney, Carol Teichman, Nina Lisa Tomlinson, Terry Vandergrift, Larry Weinstock, Abbott Wool, Ted Zavales

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The Programming Insider: Thursday 8/11/11

Marc Berman

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