CBS Leads Thursday Overnights; ABC the Net to Beat Among Adults 18-49

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERFriday, February 5, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins; ABC the Network to Beat 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: Musical Teen Angst ______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins; ABC the Network to Beat Among Adults 18-49 Thursday 2/04/10Note: Birmingham is excluded from the following averages. HH Rtg/Shr CBS 8.2/13ABC 6.8/11Fox 6.1/ 9NBC 3.8/ 6CW 2.3/ 4 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Thursday, February 5, 2009):CBS: +46, Fox: + 7, CW: - 8, ABC: -12, NBC: -16 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:Bones (Fox), The Vampire Diaries (CW), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), CSI (CBS), The Office (NBC), The Mentalist (CBS), Private Practice (ABC) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):The Deep End (ABC), Community (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), The Jay Leno Show (NBC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:CBS led this first Thursday in February in the overnights, beating No. 2 ABC by 21 percent. But ABC remains the network to beat among coveted adults 18-49. A healthy third was Fox, followed by NBC and The CW, which has generated improved interest on Thursday thanks to The Vampire Diaries. Fox’s Bones opened the evening on a winning note, with a 7.6 rating/12 share at 8 p.m. Second was Surviving Survivor on CBS, a clips edition of the long-running reality/competition, at a 5.4/ 9. Heroes vs. Villains, the themed upcoming season of Survivor, begins next week. Go Colby! Next in the hour was week three of ABC’s The Deep End, at a 4.1/ 6, which dropped by seven percent from one week earlier. Take a look at the three week overnight track (and mark your calendars for the return of former occupant FlashForward in March). The Deep End (ABC)1/21/10: 5.3/ 81/28/10: 4.4/ 72/04/10: 4.1/ 6 Rounding off the Thursday 8 p.m. hour were struggling NBC comedies Community (3.6/ 6) and Parks and Recreation (3.3/ 5), and The Vampire Diaries on The CW (2.8/ 4), which remains the network’s most-watched series at growth of four percent from year-ago occupant Smallville (2.7/ 4 on Feb. 5, 2009). ABC moved into the overnight winner’s circle at 9 p.m., with Grey’s Anatomy at a 9.4/14. Second was CBS’ deteriorating CSI at a still potent 9.0/14, followed by NBC’s The Office (#3: 5.5/ 8) and 30 Rock (#3t: 4.5/ 7), the winter season-finale of Fox’s Fringe (#4: 4.6/ 7), and Supernatural on The CW (#5: 1.8/ 3). Worth noting for The Office, which featured guest star Kathy Bates, was growth of a hefty 67 percent out of Parks and Recreation (which will, no doubt, translate into an impressive performance among adults 18-49). As for Fox, stepping into the Thursday 9 p.m. hour next week will be new crime drama Past Life. At 10 p.m., CBS’ The Mentalist was the highest-rated show of the evening at a 10.2/17 in the overnights. Next was ABC’s Private Practice (6.9/11), which is poised for time period victory among adults 18-49, followed by clinker The Jay Leno Show on NBC (2.9/ 5). It can’t be too easy for Leno to still be doing the show knowing it has been canceled. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)_____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Biggest Audience in Six Years for Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials:Based on the live plus same day ratings, annual CBS special Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials delivered its largest audience since 2004 and best demo ratings since 2007. Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials finished first in the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour on Feb. 3 in households (6.8 rating/11 share), total viewers (10.99 million), adults 18-49 (2.9/ 9) and adults 25-54 (3.9/10), building year-to-year by 3.09 million viewers and as much as 50 percent among adults 25-54. -Record Shear Genius on Bravo:Bravo hair-styling reality/competition Shear Genius kicked-off season three on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET with its highest rated season premiere to-date in total viewers (1.10 million) and adults 18-49 (655,000). Comparably, that was up by 208,000 viewers and 17 percent in the demo from its season two opener. -Above Average Jimmy Kimmel Live:Based on the live plus same day ratings for the week of Jan. 25 (and opposite repeats of NBC’s The Tonight Show), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live drew its largest audience (1.72 million) in nine weeks and best adult 18-49 delivery (706,000) in seven weeks, growing year-to-year by six percent in total viewers. -Syndicated Magazine Ratings Update:Overall, the positive news in magazine is stability. Midway through the 2009-10 season (through January 24), CBS Television Distribution’s veteran Entertainment Tonight stands well above the competition at levels close to one year earlier. Only CBS’ revamped The Insider is down from one year earlier, with CBS’ Inside Edition, NBC Universal’s Access Hollywood and Extra from Warner Bros. all exhibiting some growth. What follows is an updated tracking of all occupants in syndicated magazine based on households and the two key demos – women 25-54 and adults 25-54. Percent change versus the comparable year-ago period appears in parentheses. Households:Entertainment Tonight (CBS Television Distribution): 4.4 rating (+ 2), Inside Edition (CBS): 3.2 (+10), Access Hollywood (NBC Universal): 2.1 (+ 5), TMZ (Warner Bros.): 2.0 (no change), Extra (Warner Bros.): 1.8 (+ 6), The Insider (CBS): 1.8 (- 5) Women 25-54:Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 2.6 rating (no change), Inside Edition (CBS): 1.7 (+13), TMZ (Warner Bros.): 1.5 (+ 7), Access Hollywood (NBCU): 1.4 (+ 8), Extra (Warner Bros.): 1.2 (+ 9), The Insider (CBS): 1.1 (no change) Adults 25-54:Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 2.0 rating (no change), Inside Edition (CBS): 1.4 (+ 8), TMZ (Warner Bros.): 1.3 (no change), Access Hollywood (NBCU): 1.1 (no change), Extra (Warner Bros.): 0.9 (no change), The Insider (CBS): 0.8 (-11) Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options Friday 2/05/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Supernanny 9:00 p.m. Shark Tank (season or series finale)10:00 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. Law & Order 9:00 p.m. Dateline10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show Fox: 8:00 p.m. House (R) 9:00 p.m. Kitchen Nightmares CW: 8:00 p.m. Smallville 9:30 p.m. Smallville --------------- Saturday 2/06/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Movie: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. Movie - Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Front of the Class (R)10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC: 8:00 p.m. Mercy (R) 9:00 p.m. Law & Order (R)10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. NASCAR 2010 --------------- Sunday 2/07/10 ABC: 7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos (R) 8:00 p.m. Modern Family (R) 8:30 p.m. The Middle (R) 9:00 p.m. Modern Family (R) 9:30 p.m. Cougar Town (R)10:00 p.m. Modern Family (R)10:30 p.m. Modern Family (R) CBS: 7:00 p.m. Super Bowl XLIV (from 6:15 p.m.) 9:30 p.m. Super Bowl XLIV Post-Game10:00 p.m. Undercover Boss (series premiere/preview): start time estimated NBC: 7:00 p.m. The Biggest Loser (R, two hours) 9:00 p.m. The Biggest Loser (R, two hours) 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 Cleveland Show (R) 9:00 p.m. Family Guy (R) 9:30 p.m. American Dad (R) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Howard Stern on American Idol?:According to an item in The New York Post, the producers of Fox’s American Idol are interested in hiring shock-jock Howard Stern as the replacement for departing Simon Cowell. Stern’s contract with Sirius XM Radio expires next January, right in time for the 10th season of Idol. But what qualifications other than his loud mouth does Howard Stern have to judge singer wannabes? -ABC Announces Ugly Betty Finale Date:Four-year old Ugly Betty, which recently moved to Wednesday at 10 p.m., will officially conclude in the time period on April 14. -More Police Women on TLC:Cable net TLC has ordered a second season of its Police Women franchise, with the upcoming new episodes set in Maricopa County, Arizona. It kicks-off on Thursday, Feb. 25. -TV Land Celebrates Black History Month:TV Land will pay tribute to current Black History Month with a series of original 30-second and 60-second interstitial interviews with members from the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCOBRA). Extended versions of the spots will be available at tvland.com._________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Musical Teen Angst Which one of the following TV teens was able to pick-up radio signals on her braces? a) Marcia Bradyb) Kim Carterc) Laurie Partridged) Claudia Salingere) D.J. Tanner The answer to yesterday’s question… What city was critically acclaimed, but short-lived sitcom Frank’s Place set in? a) Chicagob) Las Vegasc) New Orleans d) Philadelphiae) Savannah Is: c) New Orleans. Frank’s Place, starring real-life couple Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid, aired on CBS in the 1987-88. Critics loved it, but viewers did not know what to make of this weekly slice of life in the Big Easy. -Current kudos goes to:Mark Amato, Steve Albright, Rick Andrycha, Gerry Bixenspan, Kimay Block, Barbara Bloomfield, Rob Brittain, Brian Carney, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Harold Cooper, Kay Copeland, Audrey Davis, Reid Davis, Ric Dittman, John Ferlazzo, Arleen Fong, Julie Friedlander, Adam Giagni, Maureen Goldman, Bill Graff, Joslyn Hansen, Barb Hemberger, Brag Hight, Kerry Hughes, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Ken Jobe, Deb Kainer, Marie LeFevre Karp, Tom Kilgallon, Synda Kollman, Mark Krause, Steve Kurtzer, Tom Lawrenson, Charmaine Leary, Patty Lynch, Keith Marder, Kathy McClung, Lisa Menin, Gene Miller, Debbie Mirr, Jim Moore, Michael Murphy, Cyndy Murrieta, Laura Nachman, Aaron Pauette, Alan Perris, Alex Petrilli, Jr., Sandra Pettway, Greg Phelan, Gordon Purcell, Con Rigg, Bruce Robinson, Joe Rubi, David Ruckman, Ron Salmon, Maxine Schulman, Russell Schwartz, David Shearer, Ronnie Tallant, Andrew Trentacosta, Tammy Wiard, Abbott Wool, Ged Young, Ted Zawislak

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CBS Leads Thursday Overnights; ABC the Net to Beat Among Adults 18-49

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