Thursday Ratings: Fox Poised for More Victory Among Adults 18-49

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERFriday, March 5, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Inches Past Fox; Fox Poised for Victory Among Adults 18-49 Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: Leaving Las Vegas ______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Inches Past Fox; Fox Poised for Victory Among Adults 18-49 Thursday 3/04/10 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 9.2/14Fox 9.1/14ABC 6.0/ 9NBC 5.4/ 8CW 1.1/ 1 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Thursday, March 5, 2009):ABC: +50, NBC: +17, CBS: + 2, Fox: - 4, CW: -31 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:American Idol (Fox), Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (CBS), CSI (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), The Office (NBC), The Mentalist (CBS) -Honorable Mention:The Marriage Ref (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Community (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Kitchen Nightmares (Fox) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:Dominant CBS inched past Fox by one-tenth of a rating point in the Thursday overnights, but the strength of American Idol will lead Fox to victory among adults 18-49. In the distant No. 3 spot in the overnights was ABC, followed by NBC and a night of repeats on The CW. The live American Idol Results Stood well above anything else last night, with a hefty 13.1 rating/20 share at 8 p.m. As correctly predicted, John Park, Jermaine Sellers and Haeley Vaughn were sent packing last night, with unexpected Michelle Delamor the fourth to depart. American Idol led into Kitchen Nightmares, which squandered the lead-in support with a fourth-place 5.1/ 8 at 9 p.m. Comparably, retention for Kitchen Nightmares out of the second half of American Idol (13.8/21 at 8:30 p.m.) was just 37 percent. Over at CBS, must see Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains was on the map with a second-place 7.7/12 in the overnights at 8 p.m. Comparably, that outdelivered the year-ago edition set in Tocantins (6.3/10 on March 5, 2009) by a noticeable 22 percent. That was quite a satisfying Tribal Council last night, wasn’t it? Go Tom and Colby! Survivor led into dominant CSI (9.8/15 at 9 p.m.), which is still not poised for a time period victory among adults 18-49, followed by compatible The Mentalist (#1: 10.1/17 at 10 p.m.). A repeat of Grey’s Anatomy (#4: 3.7/ 6 at 8 p.m.) opened the evening for ABC, followed by the regularly scheduled edition of the aging medical drama (#2: 8.6/13) and spin-off Private Practice (#3: 5.7/ 9), which took a backseat in the overnights to the time period premiere of NBC’s The Marriage Ref (#2: 5.8/ 9 at 10 p.m.). It should, no doubt, be interesting to see which hour has the advantage among adults 18-49. There was both good and bad news over at NBC. Sitcoms Community (#3: 3.8/ 6) and Parks and Recreation (#4: 3.6/ 5) continue to struggle in the 8 p.m. hour, but the birth of Pam and Jim’s baby on a one-hour edition of The Office perked up to a third-place 6.7/10 in the overnights from 9-10 p.m. My prediction for The Office is a first-place time period finish among adults 18-49. Even so, and speaking as a fan, last night’s episode was just plain lame. The aforementioned Thursday 10 p.m. time period debut of NBC’s The Marriage Ref (5.8/ 9) was a notable improvement over recent occupant The Jay Leno Show and virtually equal to ER on the year-ago evening (5.9/ 9 on March 5, 2009). So, consider this a potential positive for NBC. But after sitting through last night’s show, I have to wonder…are the celebrity guests injected with laughing gas given their obnoxious non-stop chuckling? And, just an opinion, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to see the audience vote for which member of the couple they agree with rather than host Tom Papa? In the distant No. 5 spot for the evening were repeats of The Vampire Diaries (1.2/ 2) and Supernatural (1.0/ 2) on The CW. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)_____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Positive News for NBC in Late Night:Jay Leno’s first Thursday back as host of The Tonight Show led the late night overnight wars, with a 3.8 rating/10 share in the overnights -- 15 percent above CBS’ competing The Late Show With David Letterman (3.3/ 9). ABC’s Nightline (3.1/ 8) and Jimmy Kimmel Live (1.8/ 5) finished third. In the 25 markets with local people meters, Leno maintained his demo advantage over Letterman, with a 1.6 in adults 18-49 vs. a 0.9 for Letterman. -Week to-Date Update:Based on Live Plus Same Day ratings from Monday, March 1 through Wednesday, March 3, Fox is holding a significant lead care of old faithful American Idol. But the good news for NBC is a stronger 10 p.m. hour care of revised occupants Law & Order (Monday), Parenthood (Tuesday) and Law & Order: SVU (Wednesday). And upcoming The 82nd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday will, no doubt, give ABC a considerable boost. Here are the results to-date: Total Viewers: Fox: 18.26 million, CBS: 13.01, ABC: 8.86, NBC: 7.68, CW: 950,000 Adults 18-49:Fox: 6.5 rating/17 share, CBS: 3.4/ 9, ABC: 3.3/ 9, NBC: 2.5/ 7, CW: 0.4/ 1 Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options Friday 3/04/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Supernanny 9:00 p.m. 20/2010:00 p.m. 20/20 CBS: 8:00 p.m. Ghost Whisperer 9:00 p.m. Medium 10:00 p.m. Numbers NBC: 8:00 p.m. Who Do You Think You Are? (series premiere) 9:00 p.m. Dateline (two hours, 10 p.m. time period premiere) Fox: 8:00 p.m. House (R) 9:00 p.m. Kitchen Nightmares (R) CW: 8:00 p.m. Smallville (R) 9:30 p.m. Smallville (R) New Show Descriptions: Who Do You Think You Are? (NBC)Based on the hit BBC television documentary series, the family history of a different celebrity each week (including Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon and Brooke Shields) is unveiled in this new reality series executive produced by Lisa Kudrow. -The Scoop:In place of Law & Order, which now rounds off Monday at 10 p.m., Who Do You Think You Are? is a different option, a potentially refreshing change from the traditional backstabbing reality. -The Reality:What sounds unique may not necessarily be strong enough to anchor HUT challenged Friday. While there might be some initial curiosity, it could be an uphill battle for Who Do You Think You Are? -Chance of Survival for Who Do You Think You Are? (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1):7-1 --------------- Saturday 3/05/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. 20/20: Before They Were Stars (R) 9:00 p.m. The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special (R)10:00 p.m. Castle (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (R) 10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC: 8:00 p.m. Parenthood (R) 9:00 p.m. Law & Order (R)10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. Cops (original and repeat) 9:00 p.m. America’s Most Wanted (1000th episode, special guest President Barack Obama) --------------- Sunday 3/06/10 ABC: 7:00 p.m. Barbara Walters Special 8:00 p.m. Oscars Red Carpet Special 8:30 p.m. The 82nd Annual Academy Awards CBS: 7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes 8:00 p.m. The Amazing Race 16 9:00 p.m. Undercover Boss 10:00 p.m. Cold Case (R) NBC: 7:00 p.m. Dateline (two hours) 9:00 p.m. Movie – Bad Boys II (R) Fox: 7:00 p.m. ‘Til Death 7:30 p.m. ‘Til Death 8:00 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 8:30 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 9:00 p.m. Family Guy (R) 9:30 p.m. Family Guy (R)________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -More Smalleville:The CW has granted veteran Smallville a 10th season, which gives the fifth-place network six confirmed returning series in 2010-11. The previously announced renewals are America’s Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, 90120, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries. -ABC Summer Series Return Dates:ABC summer reality/competition True Beauty, from executive producers Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher, will return on Monday, May 31 out of the new season of The Bachelorette. One of the judges this season will be Beth Ostrosky Stern, wife of the self-described “King of All Media,” Howard Stern. Summer favorite Wipeout, meanwhile, will kick-ff season three on Tuesday, June 22 at 8 p.m. ET. -A New Mission for Suze Orman:Suze Orman, a Mr. TV favorite, will open season nine of The Suze Orman Show on CNBC tomorrow (at 9 p.m. ET) with a new mission: help America become healthier and wealthier. For more information, click on www.suzeorman.cnbc.com. -Coming Up From MSLO:Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. has unveiled 12 integrated cross-platform opportunities designed to reach its target female audience. In addition to daily The Martha Stewart Show moving to cable net Hallmark Channel next fall, Martha is hoping to re-team with producer Mark Burnett for a new eight-episode non-scripted series called Help Me, Martha!, which will feature the domestic goddess and a new cast of home and lifestyle experts. Cross-platform concepts in development include At Martha’s Table, featuring top chefs each week; Martha Celebrates America, which goes in search of treasures in towns across the country; and Cooking for Kids, featuring Emeril Lagasse and his young son E.J.. To mark Martha Stewart Living Magazine’s 20th anniversary in December, MSLO will cross-platform with programming initiatives on Hallmark Channel. -Handicapping The Oscars:With The 82nd Annual Academy Awards now just two days away, here are my picks in the best director and the big gun, best picture. BEST DIRECTOR The Nominees:Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)James Cameron (Avatar)Lee Daniels (Precious)Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) Who Should Win: Kathryn BigelowWho Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow Let’s be honest: most of us do not like James “I Am King of the World” Cameron and we want to see his ex, Kathryn Bigelow, snag the victory. And, guess what? She probably will given her recent Directors Guild award, which normally translates into an Oscar win (55 of the last 61 winners have done so). Although James Cameron is back on the map courtesy of Avatar, not everyone was a huge fan of this bloated movie. Move over Mr. Cameron…Kathryn Bigelow could very well become “Queen of the World.” ----- BEST MOVIE The Nominees:An EducationAvatarThe Blind SideDistrict 9The Hurt LockerInglorious BasterdsPreciousA Serious ManUpUp in the Air Who Should Win: The Hurt LockerWho Will Win: The Hurt Locker Just an opinion, but 10 nominees in the category of Best Picture is five too many. Given the clutter, it just does not seem all that special this year. According to most critics, the top movies in contention are Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds. And the one with the most awards outside of The Oscars is The Hurt Locker. If Kathryn Bigelow snags the directors gold as predicted, The Hurt Locker is likely to be named Best Picture. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Leaving Las Vegas Which one of the following actors replaced James Caan on the final season of Las Vegas? a) Ed Asnerb) Anthony Edwards c) Ed O’Neilld) Tom Sellecke) Robert Wagner The answer to yesterday’s question… Which one of the following series featured guest appearances in separate episodes by future Charlie’s Angels stars Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd? a) Love, American Styleb) Marcus Welby, M.D.c) The Partridge Familyd) The Rookiese) Room 222 Is: c) The Partridge Family, which just featured a reunion with David Cassidy, Danny Bonaduce, Brian Forster and Suzanne Crough on NBC’s The Today Show. The majority of people answered Love, American Style due to the anthology nature of the show. All together now… Hello, world, here the song that we're singin' C'mon get happy! A whole lot of lovin' is what we'll be bringin' We'll make you happy! We had a dream, we'd go travelin' together, We'd spread a little lovin' then we'd keep movin' on. Somethin' always happens whenever we're together We get a happy feelin' when we're singing a song. Trav'lin' along there's a song that we're singin' C'mon get happy! A Whole lot of lovin' is what we'll be bringin' We'll make you happy! We'll make you happy! We'll make you happy!-Current kudos goes to:Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins, John Ferlazzo, Arleen Fong, Maureen Goldman, Barb Hemberger, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Greg Janover, Deb Kainer, Steve Kurtzer, Patty Lynch, Michael Murphy, Gordon Purcell, Ron Salmon, Maxine Shulman

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Thursday Ratings: Fox Poised for More Victory Among Adults 18-49

Marc Berman

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