Winning American Idol Season-Ender on Fox

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERThursday, May 27, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:Slam Dunk Victory for Fox Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: Hangin’ Out With Drew________________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:Slam Dunk Victory for Fox Wednesday 5/26/10 HH Rtg/Shr Fox 16.0/25CBS 7.1/11ABC 3.6/ 6NBC 2.2/ 4CW 1.0/ 2 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday, May 27, 2009):Note: The year-ago Wednesday fell in the first week of the summer season (translation: repeats aplenty)Fox: +191, CBS: +16, CW: +11, ABC: + 3, NBC: -54 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:American Idol (Fox), Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI: NY (CBS) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Movie: Transformers (ABC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:The season-finale of Fox’s American Idol stood well above the competition on the final night of both the traditional (September to May) TV season and May 2010 sweeps, with a 16.0 rating/25 share in the overnights and growth in every half-hour as follows: American Idol (Fox)8:00 p.m.: 13.6/23 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 15.0/24 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 16.6/25 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 18.8/28 (#1) Compared to the year-ago season-ender (15.3/25 on Wednesday, May 20, 2009), this is an increase of five percent. Congratulations, Lee DeWyze. While I understand shows do go on even after the principal cast members begin to depart, American Idol without Simon Cowell next season will be a very different show. In more season-finale news, CBS’ Criminal Minds (#2: 8.8/13) and CSI: NY (#1: 7.9/13), which moves to Friday at 9 p.m. next fall (out of relocated Medium), were both successfully on the overnight map from 9-11 p.m. Earlier in the evening on CBS was a repeat of Undercover Boss at a second-place 4.5/ 8 at 8 p.m. -- not bad for an encore telecast of a non-scripted series. ABC populated the evening with theatrical Transformers, which finished a distant third overall for the evening with a 3.6/ 6 from 8-11 p.m. NBC aired back-to-back repeats of game show Minute to Win It (#4: 1.9/ 3 from 8-10 p.m.) and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU, which moves up one hour in the fall into the debuting Law & Order: Los Angeles. Last, and very least were two repeat episodes of America’s Next Top Model on The CW at an average 1.0/ 2 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. As a reminder, here is what you will be seeing on the broadcast networks on Wednesday this fall (with new shows in caps and bolded): ABC 8:00 p.m.: The Middle (new time) 8:30 p.m. BETTER TOGETHER 9:00 p.m.: Modern Family 9:30 p.m. Cougar Town 10:00 p.m.: THE WHOLE TRUTH CBS 8:00 p.m.: Survivor: Nicaragua (new day) 9:00 p.m.: Criminal Minds 10:00 p.m.: THE DEFENDERS NBC 8:00 p.m.: UNDERCOVERS9:00 p.m.: Law & Order: SVU (new time)10:00 p.m. LOS & ORDER: LOS ANGELES Fox 8:00 p.m. Lie To Me (new day and time) 9:00 p.m.: Hell’s Kitchen (new day) CW 8:00 p.m.: America’s Next Top Model 9:00 p.m. HELLCATS Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Dancing With the Stars Concludes on a High Note:Based on the live plus same day ratings, ABC powerhouse Dancing With the Stars concluded on Tuesday with a season-high performance on the night in both total viewers (18.40 million) and adults 18-49 (3.9 rating/11 share) from 9-11 p.m. Comparably, this was ABC’s second-biggest audience overall in the two-hour block this season, with its best adult 18-49 rating since the expanded Lost season-opener on Feb. 2. -Speaking of Tuesday:Here are the overall results by network for the night, which included American Idol from 8-9 p.m. on Fox: Total Viewers:Fox: 15.72 million, ABC: 15.40, CBS: 13.38, NBC: 8.65, CW: 640,000 Adults 18-49:Fox: 5.8 rating/16 share, NBC: 3.5/10, ABC: 3.1/ 9, CBS: 2.7/ 7, CW: 0.3/ 1 -Jesse Speaks on Nightline:Also on Tuesday this week, ABC’s veteran Nightline featured an exclusive interview with Jesse James, and it rose to its most-watched telecast (6.82 million) since March 21, 2003. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Thursday 5/27/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. FlashForward (series finale) 9:00 p.m. Hollywood Salutes Matt Damon: An American Cinematheque Tribute 10:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (R) 8:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement (R) 9:00 p.m. CSI (R)10:00 p.m. The Mentalist (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Community (R) 8:30 p.m. 100 Questions (series premiere) 9:00 p.m. The Office (R) 9:30 p.m. 30 Rock (R)10:00 p.m. The Office (R)10:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. So You Think You Can Dance (season premiere, two hours) CW 8:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaries (R) 9:00 p.m. Supernatural (R) New Program Descriptions 100 Questions (NBC)After a young single woman (Sophie Winkleman) joins an online dating site, she takes a 100-question compatibility test, which requires her to recount humorous times in her life. Also starring Michael Benjamin Washington, Smith Cho, Christopher Moynihan and Collette Wolfe. -The Scoop:Considering the original 13-episode midseason order was pared down to just six half-hours and delayed until after the traditional season ended, don’t get too used to 100 Questions. If this is as bad as it sounds, the upcoming annual “TV Turkeys” column awaits. -Chances of Survival for 100 Questions (Based on 1-1 to 10-1):10-1 ______________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -CBS Summer Programming Changes:CBS will keep the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour occupied until returning Big Brother steps in on July 14 with repeats of How I Met Your Mother and Rules of Engagement, which will remain the Monday 8-9 p.m. block this fall. Encore telecasts of Medium, meanwhile, will move into its new Friday 8 p.m. time period on June 4 in place of canceled Ghost Whisperer. -Disney Junior to Replace SOAPnet:The Disney-ABC Television Group has announced that SOAPnet, the cable net dedicated to serialized dramas, will be replaced by a 24-hour destination aimed at preschoolers called Disney Junior. The move is expected to in effect in 2012. Before Disney Junior launches, it will be introduced on Disney Channel’s daily programming block targeted to viewers 2 to 7. -Kate Gosselin Fans, Take Note:TLC will air back-to-back Kate Plus 8 specials on Sunday, June 6 from 9-11 p.m. Let’s just hope, however, that wooden Kate does not show us any new dance steps! -Remembering Art Linkletter:TV legend Art Linkletter, the host of early non-scripted staples People Are Funny and House Party and author of the classic Kids Say the Darndest Things, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 97. Born in Moose Jaw, Canada in 1912, Linkletter rose to fame on radio as an announcer in the 1940s in San Diego. In 1944, he launched Art Linkletter’s House Party, a daytime radio show on CBS that moved into television in 1952. It ran for 17 years. His second gig, People Are Funny, a quiz/audience participation series, started on radio in 1942 and ran on NBC from 1954 to 1961. He also hosted short-lived game show The Art Linkletter Show in 1963, and made numerous appearances over the years as himself on TV shows like The Steve Allen Show, The Bob Cummings Show, You Bet Your Life, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, I’ve Got a Secret, The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy, Batman, The Hollywood Squares and the TV version of Kids Say the Darndest Things. Faced with the loss of three of his five children, Linkletter was married for 75 years to Lois Foerster, which is the longest in Hollywood history. In addition to Lois, he is survived by daughters Dawn Griffin and Sharon Linkletter, seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Hangin’ Out With Drew What was the name of the pub that Drew and his buddies often were seen at on sitcom The Drew Carey Show? a) Cheersb) The Dew Drop Inn c) The Regal Beagle d) Rosie’s Bare) The Warsaw Tavern The answer to yesterday’s question… What kind of store did Maude’s husband Walter own on sitcom Maude? a) applianceb) dry cleaner c) furnitured) shoee) supermarket Is: a) appliance store. Walter owned and operated Findlay’s Friendly Appliance Store. All together now… Lady Godiva was a freedom rider She didn’t' care if the whole world looked. Joan of Arc with the Lord to guide her She was a sister who really cooked. Isadora was the first bra burner And you're glad she showed up. (Oh yeah) And when the country was falling apart Betsy Ross got it all sewed up. And then there's Maude. And then there's Maude. And then there's Maude. And then there's Maude. And then there's Maude. And then there's Maude. And then there's… That old compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizing, Right on Maude. -Current kudos goes to:Steve Albright, Barbara Berman, Jerry Bixenspan, Jim Brams, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Audrey Davis, Josh Emmett, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Jerry Gibbons, Maureen Goldman, Scott Hamula, Carolyn Becker Hayes, Bob Ingersoll, Tom Killgallon, Mark Krause, Steve Kurtzer, Patty Lynch, Debbie Mirr, Alan Perris, Gordon Purcell, Michael Ratliffe, Colleen Roth, Mary Ryan (2x), Maxine Shulman, Ronnie Tallant, Margaret Thomas, John Wick, David Williams, Jim Wright

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Winning American Idol Season-Ender on Fox

Marc Berman

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