Soft Launch for Fox's Lie to Me; Disappointing Return for ABC's Lost

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERThursday, January 22, 2009 Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:Fox Wins; Disappointing Lie to Me; Soft Return for ABC’s Lost National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of January 12, 2009 Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: Hello, Uncle Tonoose ______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:Fox Wins; Disappointing Lie to Me; Soft Return for ABC’s Lost Wednesday 1/21/09 HH Fox 10.7/16CBS 7.1/11ABC 6.3/10NBC 4.2/ 7CW 0.8/ 1 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008):ABC: +50, CBS: + 9, Fox: -25, CW: -27, NBC: -43 ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Wednesday 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 Wednesday, January 21, 2009. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:American Idol (Fox) -Disappointing:Lost (ABC), Lie to Me (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Knight Rider (NBC), 13: Fear is Real (CW) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: Led by American Idol, dominant Fox stood well above the Wednesday competitors, beating second-place CBS by 3.6 rating points in the overnights. Third overall was ABC, followed by NBC and almost non-existent the CW. American Idol opened the evening for Fox with a 13.9 rating/21 share from 8-9 p.m. As a benchmark, CBS’ Criminal Minds at 9 p.m. (9.0/14) was the second-highest rated show of the evening -- 35 percent below Idol. One year earlier, however, Idol scored a heftier 15.3/23 in the hour on Jan. 23, 2008. In series-premiere news, Fox drama Lie to Me finished second in the overnights at 9 p.m., with a 7.6/12. While that could be enough to challenge ABC’s competing Lost (keep reading) for dominance among adults 18-49, there are three negative observations to make note of. 1. Retention for Lie to Me out of the second half of lead-in American Idol (14.8/22 at 8:30 p.m.) was only 51 percent.2. The overnight rating dipped by 19 percent at 9:30 p.m. (8.4/13 to 6.8/10).3. Non-scripted year-ago occupant Moment of Truth kicked-off with a 13.1/20. And that show did not ultimately succeed. The bottom line: it was a disappointing launch for Lie to Me last night. CBS finished second overall in the metered markets with its combination of The New Adventures of Old Christine (#3: 4.8/ 8), Gary Unmarried (#3: 4.7/ 7), the aforementioned Criminal Minds (#1: 9.0/14) and CSI: NY (#1: 7.5/12), which continues to lose steam from one year earlier. Keep in mind that the Eye net comedies dipped to third as a result of American Idol and the 8 p.m. Lost clips show. On that note, 8 p.m. special, Lost: Destiny Calls kicked-off the night for ABC with a second-place 5.7/ 9 in the overnights. That led into the two-hour fifth season-premiere of Lost at a depressed 6.7/10 from 9-11 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown: Lost (ABC) – season premiere 9:00 p.m.: 6.9/10 (#3) 9:30 p.m.: 6.8/10 (#2t)10:00 p.m.: 6.6/10 (#2)10:30 p.m.: 6.5/11 (#2) While the strength of Lost, of course, falls within the young adult demos, one year earlier it launched with a much stronger 9.7/14 in the overnights on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 at 9 p.m. ET. Comparably, last night was a loss of a significant 31 percent. Personally, I am more confused that ever after watching! NBC lagged, meanwhile, finishing in the distant No. 4 spot with its line-up of soon-to-depart Knight Rider (#4: 3.2/ 5), a repeat of Law & Order: SVU (#4: 3.8/ 6) and granddaddy Law & Order (#3: 5.6/ 9). While Law & Order did build from the second half of the SVU encore (4.0/ 6 at 9:30 p.m.) by 40 percent, let’s be honest: the ratings are certainly not what they used to be. Lowly the CW capped off the evening with reality/competition 13: Fear is Real (#5: 0.9/ 2) and a repeat of 90210 (#5: 0.7/ 1). No…the ratings don’t get much lower than that. Source: Nielsen Media Research data ___________________________________________________________________________________ National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of January 12, 2009 Fox benefited, of course, by the two-night, four-hour return of American Idol, which opened season No. eight with a still enormous 30.42 million viewers and an 11.7 rating/28 share among adults 18-49 on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Even so, CBS won the week in households, total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 on the strength of Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh on the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. And Fox bled from the year-ago week by margins of 47 to 50 percent because it was home of the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008. Fox, however, was first for the week of Jan. 12 among adults 18-49. As a benchmark, here is American Idol versus opening levels from one year earlier. American Idol – Tuesday1/15/08 – Viewers: 33.41 million, A18-49: 13.8/321/13/09 – Viewers: 30.42 million, A18-49: 11.7/28Percent Change – Viewers: - 9, A18-49: -15 American Idol – Wednesday1/16/08 – Viewers: 30.44 million, A18-49: 12.6/301/14/09 – Viewers: 30.32 million, A18-49: 11.8/30Percent Change – Viewers: no change, A18-49: - 6 ABC finished third across the board, with demographic gains of as much as 31 percent among adults 18-34. But a good portion of the growth is due to the absence of original episodes of Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy on the year-ago week. Next was NBC, with losses of a hefty 21 to 27 percent, followed by the CW and MyNetworkTV. Worth positively noting for the CW was yearly gains of 13 percent in adults 18-34 and 50 percent in women 18-34. MyNetworkTV, of course, stays on the plus side as a result of the successful recent addition Friday Night Smackdown!. To keep you in the loop on what’s new in midseason, here are the results of the recent entries (in order of total viewers): True Beauty (ABC) – Mon. 10 p.m.Viewers: 6.46 million (#40), A18-49: 2.8/ 7 (#28t) Howie Do It (NBC) – Fri. 8:30 p.m.Viewers: 6.06 million (#46), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#47t) Homeland Security USA (ABC) – Tues. 8 p.m.Viewers: 6.04 million (#47), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#50t) Howie Do It (NBC) – Fri. 8 p.m.Viewers: 5.98 million (#49), A18-49: 1.7/ 6 (#55t) Momma’s Boys (NBC) – Mon. 10 p.m.Viewers: 4.64 million (#64), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#55t) Game Show in My Head (CBS) – Sat. 8:30 p.m.Viewers: 3.56 million (#77), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#78t) Game Show in My Head (CBS) – Sat. 8 p.m.Viewers: 3.39 million (#78t), A18-49: 0.9/ 3 (#82) 13 – Fear is Real (ABC) – Wed. 8 p.m.Viewers: 1.44 million (#88), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#87t) In season-premiere news, NBC’s Friday Night Lights opened season three with a very disappointing 4.53 million viewers (#66) and a 1.6/ 5 among adults 18-49 (#61t) in the Friday 9 p.m. hour. While you have to give NBC credit for trying, at this point it is obvious that the quality family drama will never catch on. Here are the final national ratings for the week of January 12, 2009 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses) and the top 30 rated programs of the week. -Households:CBS: 10.1 rating/16 share (+60), Fox: 7.1/11 (-47), ABC: 4.3/ 7 (+ 5), NBC: 3.9/ 6 (-24), CW: 1.2/ 2 (- 8), MNTV: 1.1/ 2 (+57) -Total Viewers: CBS: 17.04 million (+75), Fox: 12.81 (-47), ABC: 6.73 (+ 8), NBC: 6.15 (-21), CW: 1.86 (- 9), MNTV: 1.71 (+66) -Adults 18-49:CBS: 5.0 rating/13 share (+108), Fox: 4.8/12 (-49), ABC: 2.4/ 6 (+20), NBC: 1.9/ 5 (-27), CW: 0.8/ 2 (no change), MNTV: 0.5/ 1 (+25) -Adults 25-54:CBS: 6.2/15 (+94), Fox: 5.3/12 (-48), ABC: 2.7/ 6 (+12), NBC: 2.3/ 6 (-23), CW: 0.7/ 2 (-12), MNTV: 0.6/ 1 (+50) -Adults 18-34:Fox: 4.2/12 (-50), CBS: 3.6/10 (+157), ABC: 2.1/ 6 (+31), NBC: 1.6/ 5 (-24), CW: 0.9/ 3 (+13), MNTV: 0.5/ 1 (+67) -------------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:AFC Championship (CBS, Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh): 40.64 million, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox, season premiere): 30.42, American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 30.32, AFC Championship Post Game (CBS): 25.44, CSI (CBS, William Petersen’s departure): 24.25, NCIS (CBS): 18.62, The Mentalist (CBS): 18.07, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 17.10, The Mentalist (CBS, Sun. 10 p.m.): 16.39, CSI: Miami (CBS): 15.83, CSI R (CBS, Thurs. 8 p.m.): 15.51, Criminal Minds (CBS): 13.78, Eleventh Hour (CBS): 13.16, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 13.10, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 13.08, CSI: NY (CBS): 12.67, Without a Trace (CBS): 12.42, 24 (Fox): 12.31, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 11.81, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 11.76, Numb3rs (CBS): 11.02, Ghost Whisperer (CBS): 10.58, Worst Week (CBS): 10.36, Flashpoint (CBS): 10.28, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 9.77, The Bachelor (ABC): 9.06, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 8.87, The Biggest Loser (NBC): 8.86, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 8.64, Private Practice (ABC) and The Office (NBC): 8.49 each -Adults 18-49:AFC Championship (CBS, Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh): 14.7 rating/36 share, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox, season premiere): 11.8/30, American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 11.7/28, AFC Championship Post Game (CBS): 9.0/22, CSI (CBS, William Petersen’s departure): 6.6/16, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 5.6/13, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 5.3/12, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 4.8/12, The Mentalist (CBS, Sun. 10 p.m.): 4.6/12, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 4.6/10, The Big Bang Theory (4.4/11), The Office (NBC): 4.4/10, CSI: Miami (CBS): 4.1/11, 24 (Fox): 4.1/10, The Mentalist (CBS): 3.8/ 9, NCIS (CBS): 3.7/ 9, Law & Order: SVU (NBC) and CSI R (CBS, Thurs. 8 p.m.): 3.6/ 9 each, Eleventh Hour (CBS): 3.4/ 9, The Biggest Loser (NBC) and Private Practice (ABC): 3.3/ 8 each, The Bachelor (ABC), CSI: NY (CBS), Criminal Minds (CBS) and 30 Rock (NBC): 3.2/ 8 each, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 3.0/ 7, Without a Trace (CBS): 2.9/ 7, Brothers & Sisters (ABC), Primetime: What Would You Do? (ABC) and True Beauty (ABC): 2.8/ 7 each Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) __________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Significant Tune-In for Obama Inauguration:Based on 17 broadcast and cable networks for Tuesday, Jan. 20 (between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.), a whopping 37.8 million viewers tuned-in for the inauguration of our new President, Barack Obama. Comparably, that was the most-watched since the 41.8 million for Ronald Reagan in 1981. -More Growth for ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager:Based on Monday, Jan. 19, ABC Family breakout The Secret Life of the American Teenager finished the night first overall in the 8 p.m. hour among females 12-34 (2.2 million), teens 12-17 (1.5 million) and female teens (1.3 million). And it was basic cable’s top-rated program in women 18-49 (1.4 million) and viewers 12-34 (2.6 million). -National Ratings in Syndication – Week of Jan. 5:Here are the top 20 rated programs in syndication based on households for the week of Jan. 5, 2009, followed by any highlights of note: Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 7.9 rating, Jeopardy (CBS): 6.5, Oprah (CBS): 5.5, Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.2, Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 4.9, Judge Judy (CBS): 4.6, Family Guy (Twentieth): 4.1, CSI: NY (CBS): 3.6, Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television) and Seinfeld – Weekend (SPT): 3.5 each, Inside Edition (CBS): 3.4, George Lopez (Warner Bros.): 3.3, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS): 3.2, Dr. Phil (CBS) and Law & Order: SVU (NBC Universal): 3.1 each, Live With Regis & Kelly (Disney-ABC): 2.9, Friends (Warner Bros.), King of Queens (SPT) and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC): 2.7 each, CSI: Miami (CBS) and House of Payne (Twentieth): 2.6 each -Oprah increased by 25 percent from one week earlier. -Inside Edition rose to a season high, with its best performance since the week of March 3, 2008.-Wheel of Fortune (+13 percent from one week earlier), Jeopardy (+12 percent) and Entertainment Tonight (+32 percent) also hit season highs.-CBS Television Distribution’s The Doctors and NBC Universal’s Deal or No Deal tied for first among all first-run freshman entries, each with a 1.9 in households. -------------------- -Basic Cable Rankings – Week of Jan. 12:What follows are the top 10 rated basic cable networks in prime-time based on total viewers, adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34: Total Viewers:USA: 3.15 million, Fox News: 2.10 million, TNT: 1.96 million, TBS: 1.89, ABC Family: 1.73 million, Nick at Nite: 1.59 million, ESPN: 1.51 million, A&E: 1.45 million, Cartoon Network: 1.41 million, FX: 1.35 million Adults 18-49:USA: 1.42 million, TBS: 1.18 million, TNT: 879,000, FX: 793,000, ABC Family: 769,000, ESPN: 751,000, Discovery: 674,000, A&E: 663,000, VH1: 653,000, Nick at Nite: 604,000 Adults 25-54:USA: 150 million, TBS: 1.00 million, TNT: 949,000, FX: 731,000, ESPN: 727,000, A&E: 706,000, Discovery: 652,000, History: 607,000, ABC Family: 574,000, Spike: 555,000 Adults 18-34:TBS: 708,000, USA: 658,000, ABC Family: 477,000, VH1: 439,000, MTV: 435,000, FX: 430,00, TNT: 387,000, ESPN: 378,000, Comedy Central: 354,000, Discovery: 336,000 Source: Nielsen Media Research data On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Thursday 1/22/09 ABC 8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty9:00 p.m. Grey's Anatomy10:00 pm Private Practice CBS:8:00 p.m. NCIS (R)9:00 p.m. CSI 10:00 p.m. Eleventh Hour NBC:8:00 p.m. My Name is Earl8:30 p.m. Kath & Kim9:00 p.m. The Office 9:30 p.m. 30 Rock10:00 p.m. ER Fox:8:00 p.m. Bones (new time period)9:00 p.m. Bones The CW:8:00 p.m. Smallville9:00 p.m. Supernatural MNT:8:00 p.m. Movie: The Man (R) ION8:00 p.m. Movie: A View to Kill (R) ____________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Granada Entertainment to Produce New Episodes of Nanny 911:Former Fox non-scripted series Nanny 911, which currently airs in repeats on CMT, will return to original production. Granada America will produce eight new episodes for the cable network, which will begin rolling out in April 2009. -Lifetime Television Adds MetroCast Subscribers:Lifetime Television has completed an agreement with MetroCast Communications that will include the carriage of Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network and Lifetime Real Women, plus the repositioning of Lifetime Movie Network. ___________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Hello, Uncle Tonoose Which one of the following series featured a recurring character named Uncle Tonoose? a) The Danny Thomas Showb) Dennis the Menacec) Family Affair d) Little House on the Prairiee) Northern Exposure The answer to yesterday’s question… Where was Radar from on MASH? a) Coloradob) Indianac) Iowad) Mississippie) Ohio Is: c) Iowa. Ottumwa, Iowa to be exact. -Current kudos goes to:Anna Alvord, Michelle Amundson, Anne Bannon, Ann Barlett, Becky Beaty, Ric Beddingfield, Mikki Beno, Barbara Berman, Gerry Bixenspan, Kimay Bloch, Marshall Boone, Lisa Brause, Denni Brouhard, Lillian Buchman, Michelle Butler, Calvin Caltvedt, Paul Certo, Caroline Chang, Larry Collins, Shelley Cooper, Annie Courtney, Molly Daniel, Paulette Dittrick, Sue Doron, Kim Dwelley, Denise Dyson, Bob Eisenstaedt, Chris Ellis, Josh Emmett, John Ferlazzo, Patricia Finn, Michael Fruchtman, Harold Goetz, Maureen Goldman, Vicky Gregorian, Scott Groneman, Christine Hatch, Sherrie Henstschel, Michael Holland, Eric Hornik, Kerry Hughes, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Greg Janover, Deb Kainer, Mary Kalnin, Jodi Karp, Kathryn Kieser, Mary Kinoshita, Synda Kollman, Stephen LaRue, Benny Lawrence, Tom Lawrenson, Anne Leahy, Keith Marder, Tricia McKee, Rich Miller, Debbie Mirr, Beverly Morris, Michael Natale, Maggie Nye, Cindy O’Connor, Jim O’Heir, Steve O’Rourke, Tad O’Rourke, Dave Pasquantonio, Pat Patton, Alan Perris, Jodi Perris, Tony Phillips, Darlene Pietrak, Francine Purcell, Gordon Purcell, Con Rigg, Dave Robinson, Susan Rogers, Colleen Roth, Marilyn Rutkowski, Greg Salerno, David Shearer, Jim Shore, Mark Simmons, Jenny Smith, Michelle Stanton, Bruce Starin, Eric Steinberg, James Taylor, Carol Teichman, Trita Thompson, Pam Tierney, Meg Voss, Don Webb, Evan Weinstein, Larry Weinstock, Joel Wolk, Jeanne Yonkers, Ted Zawislak

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Soft Launch for Fox's Lie to Me; Disappointing Return for ABC's Lost

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