Football Dominates Primetime

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERMonday, November 30, 2009 Primetime Ratings:Weekend Highlights Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time:And the Emmy Did Not Go To _______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Ratings:Weekend Highlights Friday 11/27/09Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr CBS 3.5/ 6ABC 2.9/ 5Fox 2.6/ 5NBC 2.4/ 4CW 0.8/ 1 -Total Viewers:CBS: 5.31 million, Fox: 4.79, ABC: 4.37, NBC: 3.74, CW: 1.21 -Adults 18-49: Fox: 1.4 rating/4 share, CBS: 1.2/ 4, ABC and NBC: 1.1/ 4 each, CW: 0.5/ 1 -------------------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 27 percent at this same point last year to approximately 33 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Friday’s Winners (keep in mind that the expectations are lower on this evening):Nothing -Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Supernanny (ABC), Ugly Betty (ABC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:There was little of note of this Friday after Thanksgiving, with CBS the most-watched network (at just 5.31 million viewers) and Fox first among adults 18-49, with a mere 1.4 rating/4 share in the demo. CBS was in all repeats with its regularly scheduled line-up of Ghost Whisperer (Viewers: #1, 5.63 million; A18-49: #1t, 1.3 rating/4 share), Medium (Viewers: #2, 5.11 million; A18-49: #3, 1.2/ 4) and soon-to-conclude Numb3rs (Viewers: #2, 5.19 million; A18-49: #2, 1.1/ 4). Despite airing all originals, ABC only finished third overall (tied with NBC among adults 18-49) with its combination of Supernanny (Viewers: #4, 3.48 million; A18-49: #4, 0.9/ 3), which is not capable of anchoring an evening, Ugly Betty (Viewers: #4, 3.39 million; A18-49: #4, 0.9/ 3), which is inching closer to cancellation every week, and veteran 20/20 (Viewers: #1, 6.25 million; A18-49: #1, 1.7/ 5). 20/20, which featured a gross segment on human vampires, was the most-watched show of the evening, and it finished first in the Friday 10 p.m. hour among adults 18-49 for the fifth straight week. In the battle of theatricals, it was a repeat of The 40-Year Old Virgin on NBC versus animated Ice Age Two: The Meltdown on Fox and they fared as follows: Movie: Ice Age Two: The Meltdown (Fox)Viewers: 4.79 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#1) Movie: The 40-Year Old Virgin R (NBC)Viewers: 3.88 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#3) More specifically, here are the half-hour breakdowns for both: Movie: Ice Age Two: The Meltdown (Fox)8:00 p.m. – Viewers: 4.34 million (#2), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#1t)8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 4.44 million (#2), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#1t)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.17 million (#1), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#1)9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.21 million (#1), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#1) Movie: The 40-Year Old Virgin R (NBC)8:00 p.m. – Viewers: 4.08 million (#3), A18-49: 1.1/ 4 (#3)8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 3.71 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#3)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 3.95 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#2)9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 3.77 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#2) NBC closed the evening with a repeat of The Jay Leno Show, which finished third at 10 p.m. with 3.48 million viewers and a 1.0/ 3 among adults 18-49. The CW, meanwhile, aired repeats of Smallville (Viewers: #5, 1.58 million; A18-49: #5, 0.6/ 2) and the recent America’s Next Top Model clips show (Viewers: #5, 840,000; A18-49: #5, 0.4/ 1). Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Saturday 11/28/09Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr ABC 3.8/ 7CBS 3.7/ 7Fox 3.1/ 6NBC 2.0/ 4 -Total Viewers:ABC: 5.99 million, CBS: 5.59, Fox: 5.06, NBC: 3.65 -Adults 18-49: ABC: 1.7 rating/5 share, Fox: 1.6/ 5, NBC: 1.3/ 4, CBS: 1.0/ 3 ---------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 27 percent at this same point last year to approximately 33 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Saturday’s Winners:Nothing -Saturday’s Losers (excluding repeats):The night overall ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:ABC led the low-rated Saturday troops care of Saturday Night Football, which averaged a paltry 5.99 million viewers and a 1.7 rating/5 share among adults 18-49 from 8-11 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown: Saturday Night Football (ABC)8:00 p.m. – Viewers: 6.39 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1)8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 6.35 million (#1), A18-49: 1.7/ 6 (#2)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 6.39 million (#1), A18-49: 1.7/ 6 (#1)9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.44 million (#2), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#1t)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.68 million (#2), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1)10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.70 million (#2), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#1) CBS finished second in total viewers, but fourth overall among adults 18-49 with its line-up of a repeat of The Good Wife (Viewers: #3, 3.98 million; A18-49: #4, 0.6/ 2), a repeat of Criminal Minds (Viewers: #1, 6.30 million; A18-49: #4, 1.2/ 4) and 48 Hours Mystery (Viewers: #1, 6.49 million; A18-49: #3, 1.3/ 4). Fox was third in total viewers and second among adults 18-49 with its perennial combination of Cops (original and repeat) and America’s Most Wanted, which fared as follows: Fox/Saturday8:00 p.m. – CopsViewers: 5.16 million (#2), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#1t) 9:00 p.m. – America’s Most WantedViewers: 4.96 million (#3), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1t) And NBC capped off the lackluster evening with repeats of holiday special Merry Madagascar (Viewers: #4, 3.27 million; A18-49: #3, 1.0/ 3) and repeat animated theatrical The Incredibles, which averaged 3.72 million viewers and a 1.4/ 4 among adults 18-49 from 8:30-11 p.m. This sure is depressing, isn’t it? Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Sunday 11/29/09 HH Rtg/Shr NBC 9.4/15CBS 7.7/12Fox 6.7/10ABC 6.0/ 9 ---------- -Percent Change From the Comparable Year-Ago Period (Sunday, November 30, 2008):Fox: +81, NBC: + 9, ABC: -19, CBS: -25 ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Sunday will be posted at PIFeedback.com by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Sunday, November 29, 2009. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:60 Minutes (CBS), The OT (Fox), Sunday Night Football (NBC) -Keep a Positive Eye on Adults 18-49:The Amazing Race (CBS), The Simpsons (Fox), Family Guy (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Nothing -----------Ratings Breakdown:NBC led this final Sunday in November, with the Pittsburgh/Baltimore match-up on Sunday Night Football at an estimated 12.2 rating/19 share in the overnights from 8:30-11 p.m. in primetime. Here is the half-hour breakdown: Sunday Night Football (NBC)8:30 p.m.: 11.8/18 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 12.6/19 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 12.3/18 (#1)10:00 p.m.: 12.1/19 (#1)10:30 p.m.: 12.2/19 (#1) Earlier in the evening on NBC was pre-game Football Night in America as follows: 7:00 p.m. – part one: 2.4/ 4 (#4)7:30 p.m. – part two: 3.7/ 6 (#4)8:00 p.m. – part three: 7.8/12 (#1) CBS was above-average as a result of sure-to-be older skewing Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for A Dog Named Christmas at a 7.2/11 rating/11 share from 9-11 p.m. Comparably, that outdelivered the week-ago combination of The Amazing Race, Cold Case and Three Rivers (avg. 6.3/10 on Nov. 22) by 14 percent. Here is the half-hour breakdown: A Dog Named Christmas (CBS)9:00 p.m.: 7.1/10 (#3)9:30 p.m.: 7.1/11 (#3)10:00 p.m.: 7.2/11 (#2)10:30 p.m.: 7.5/12 (#2) Earlier in the evening on CBS was granddaddy 60 Minutes (#1: 9.8/16) and The Amazing Race (#2: 6.8/10), which always delivers among adults 18-49. Too bad about Flight Time and Big Easy. Next was Fox with its line-up of a half-hour primetime football overrun (#1: 13.8/23), post-game The OT (#2: 7.8/12), The Simpsons (#4: 5.4/ 8), The Cleveland Show (#4: 4.4/ 7), Family Guy (#4: 5.0/ 7) and American Dad (#4: 3.9/ 6). Needless to say, Fox will resonate among adults 18-49. It always does on Sunday. ABC was below-average with its combination of America’s Funniest Home Videos (#3: 4.6/ 8), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (#3: 5.9/ 9), Desperate Housewives (#2: 7.7/12) and Brothers & Sisters (#3: 5.9/10), which given the ongoing excellence this season should have fared better. Personally speaking, last night’s installment of Brothers & Sisters was one of the best I have ever seen. Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not -Wednesday and Thursday Results:While we were out enjoying the long holiday weekend, here is how the networks fared in primetime (according to the fast affiliate results): Wednesday 11/25/09 -Total Viewers:CBS: 11.03 million, NBC: 6.84, Fox: 5.49, ABC: 5.25, CW: 1.34 -Adults 18-49:CBS: 2.6 rating/8 share, NBC: 2.4/ 7, Fox: 2.0/ 6, ABC: 1.7/ 5, CW: 0.4/ 1 ----------Thursday 11/26/09 -Total Viewers:CBS: 9.29 million, Fox: 6.65, ABC: 5.39, NBC: 4.32, CW: 2.35 -Adults 18-49:CBS: 2.4/ 7, Fox: 2.0/ 6, ABC: 1.6/ 5, NBC: 1.3/ 4, CW: 0.9/ 3 Source: Nielsen Media Research data --------------- -National Ratings in Syndication – Week of November 9:What follows are the top 20 rated programs in syndication for the week of November 9 based on households, followed by any highlights of note: Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 7.5 rating, Jeopardy (CBS): 6.3, Oprah (CBS): 5.8, Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.4, Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 4.7, Judge Judy (CBS): 4.6, Family Guy (Twentieth): 3.6, Inside Edition (CBS): 3.3, CSI: NY (CBS): 3.2, Dr. Phil (CBS) and The Office (NBC Universal): 3.1 each, Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU): 2.9, Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 2.8, Dr. Oz (Sony Pictures Television), Live With Regis & Kelly (Disney-ABC) and George Lopez (Warner Bros.), Seinfeld-Weekend (SPT) and Wheel of Fortune – Weekend (CBS): 2.7 each -Genre winning streaks: Entertainment Tonight: 697 weeks, Judge Judy: 688 weeks, Oprah: 540 weeks-CBS Television Distribution’s Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and Dr. Phil all rose to a season high in households. -Two and a Half Men and Ellen DeGeneres (2.4), both from Warner Bros., also hit their season best. Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Monday 11/30/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (R) 8:30 p.m. Shrek the Halls (R) 9:00 p.m. Find My Family10:00 p.m. Castle (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (R) 8:30 p.m. Accidentally on Purpose (R) 9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men (R) 9:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory (R)10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Heroes 9:00 p.m. Trauma10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show Fox: 8:00 p.m. House 9:00 p.m. Lie to Me CW: 8:00 p.m. One Tree Hill 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -The President Speaks:President Obama will be back in primetime tomorrow evening for an estimated 30-minute address to the country. ABC will air one-hour of coverage (including the follow-up news analysis) in place of holiday specials A Charlie Brown Christmas and Disney Prep & Landing, which moves to Dec. 8. NBC will also devote a full hour to the President, pushing back two-hour The Biggest Loser to 9-11 p.m. (and pre-empting The Jay Leno Show in the process). CBS will air 30-minutes of coverage, followed by repeats of NCIS and Two and a Half Men into annual special The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at 10 p.m. Fox will also air one-half hour, leading into a 90-minute installment of So You Think You Can Dance. The CW’s combination of 90210 and Melrose Place will remain unchanged. Here is the Tuesday, Dec. 1 schedule: ABC: 8:00 p.m. President Obama Address 9:00 p.m. Scrubs (season premiere) 9:30 p.m. Scrubs10:00 p.m. The Forgotten CBS: 8:00 p.m. President Obama Address 8:30 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:30 p.m. Two and a Half Men (R)10:00 p.m. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show NBC: 8:00 p.m. President Obama Address 9:00 p.m. The Biggest Loser (two hours) Fox: 8:00 p.m. President Obama Address 8:30 p.m. So You Think You Can Dance (90-minutes) CW: 8:00 p.m. 90210 9:00 p.m. Melrose Place -Speaking of Scrubs…:Click here to read what I really think about the long-running sitcom’s return. http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/community/programming-insider/column/e3ie96e2720eadfdfa3c94856224f2b3239 _______________________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:And the Emmy Did Not Go To Which one of the following actors from The West Wing was never awarded with an Emmy for their role on the political drama? a) Stockard Channingb) Allison Janneyc) Martin Sheen d) John Spencere) Bradley Whitford The answer to the last question… Remember when Rachel made trifle as the dessert on Thanksgiving? Which one of the following ingredients did she not include in it? beefchickencustardlady fingersjam Is: b) chicken. Adding the beef was bad enough! All together now…So no one told you life was going to be this way. Your job's a joke, you're broke, you're love life's DOA. It's like you're always stuck in second gear, Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year. But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too. You're still in bed at ten, the work began at eight. You've burned your breakfast, so far, things are going great. Your mother warned you there'd be days like these, But she didn't tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees. That, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too. No one could ever know me, no one could ever see me. Seems like you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me. Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with, Someone I'll always laugh with, even at my worst, I'm best with you. It's like you're always stuck in second gear, Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year. But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.-Current kudos goes to:Robin Agranoff, Steve Albright, Edita Babakhanyon, Mary Bancroft, Lauren Bergman, Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield, Navid Falahpour, Jan Frazier, Emily Gausman, Maureen Goldman, Geoffrey Gordon, Sherrie Hentschel, Shannon Herlihy, Amy Horowitz, Karen Kavanagh, Stephanie Kelly, Carrie Kittrell, Mark Kosienski, Steven Kurtzer, Erika Lewis, Julie McCray, Michael Murphy, Tony Naldrett, Gordon Purcell, Julie Reis, Con Rigg, Bruce Robinson, Harley David Rubin, Erin Ryan, Ivan Tafur, Jodi Tiktin, Myndi Weinraub, David Williams

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Football Dominates Primetime

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