ABC Opens Week on Another Winning Note

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERTuesday, May 11, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:ABC Dances to More Opening Week Victory Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time:Thelma’s Hubby____________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:ABC Dances to More Opening Week Victory Monday 5/10/10Note: The following results do not include the Oklahoma market. HH Rtg/Shr ABC 11.9/18CBS 7.3/11Fox 6.5/10NBC 3.7/ 6CW 1.6/ 2 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Monday, May 11, 2009):ABC: +18, CBS: + 3, CW: no change, Fox: - 3, NBC: - 5 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), House (Fox), Two and a Half Men (CBS), The Big Bang Theory (CBS) -Not the Force it Once Was:CSI: Miami (CBS) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Chuck (NBC), One Tree Hill (CW), Law & Order (NBC), Gossip Girl (CW) ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Monday 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 Monday, May 10, 2010. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: ABC danced its way to another solid overnight Monday victory care of a two-hour edition of blockbuster Dancing With the Stars. CBS finished a healthy second overall, followed by Fox, NBC and The CW. Dancing With the Stars stood well above the overnight competition, with a 13.7 rating/20 share from 8-10 p.m., and growth (by rating) in every half-hour as follows: Dancing With the Stars (ABC)8:00 p.m.: 12.6/19 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 13.9/21 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 14.0/20 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 14.2/21 (#1) Although I have been wrong in the past, tonight is the night that bubbly Niecy Nash is likely to go home. ABC lead-out Castle won the 10 p.m. hour, with an 8.3/14 in the overnights. But retention out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Dancing With the Stars was only 58 percent. CBS had nothing unusual to report with its line-up of How I Met Your Mother (#3: 5.4/ 8), Rules of Engagement (#3: 5.2/ 8), Two and a Half Men (#2: 8.9/13), The Big Bang Theory (#2: 8.9/13) and fading CSI: Miami (#2: 7.8/13). Chances are The Big Bang Theory will lead the evening among key adults 18-49. Next up was Fox with its combination of House (#2: 6.7/10), which was below-average but still makes the list of winners given its ongoing strength among adults 18-49, and soon-to-conclude 24 (#3: 6.3/ 9). As a reminder, 24 closes shop with a two-hour episode on May 24. Unlike other scripted dramas that seem to live on indefinitely, 24 knew exactly when to call it quits. Over at NBC, on-the-fence Chuck, which is expected back next season, should really end this season given its typically lackluster (and fourth-place) 3.5/ 5 in the overnights at 8 p.m. Next was a repeat of Law & Order (#4: 3.1/ 5 at 9 p.m.), followed by an original installment of the veteran drama (#3: 4.6/ 8 at 10 p.m.), which at this point should too conclude (but it unlikely to given Law & Order will pass Gunsmoke as the long-running scripted drama in the history of primetime next season). Fixing Monday will have to be a priority for NBC next season. The CW remained out the competitive overnight loop with its pairing of One Tree Hill (#5: 1.7/ 3), which is not expected back in 2010-11, and Gossip Girl (#5: 1.6/ 2). As I say every week, The CW's strength is dependent on the results among young females, not the overnights. But if the overnights are this low, I would not expect all that much elsewhere. And there you have it…that is Monday. Source: Nielsen Media Research data_____________________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not -Friday Season Premieres:Friday, May 7th featured two series premieres: NBC drama Friday Night Lights and ABC newsmagazine Primetime: What Would You Do? As expected, there was minimal interest in Friday Night Lights, which kicked-off its fourth season (following its run on DirecTV) with just 3.92 million viewers and a 1.2 rating/5 share in the Friday 8p.m. hour, according to the live plus same day ratings. Comparably, that finished an uneventful third in the time period. Primetime: What Would You Do? had more sampling at 9 p.m., with 6.00 million viewers (#2 in the time period) and a first-place 1.9/ 6 in the demo. Comparably, that built from lead-in Wife Swap (Viewers: 4.40 million; A18-49: 1.4/ 5 at 8 p.m.) by 1.60 million viewers and 36 percent among adults 18-49. -Speaking of Friday:Here were the results by network for Friday, May 7. Sadly, Friday seems to look more like Saturday every season, but the networks are not about to abandon the evening…yet. Total Viewers: CBS: 6.61 million, ABC: 5.29, NBC: 4.91, Fox: 3.29, CW: 1.44 Adults 18-49:ABC and CBS: 1.6 rating/6 share each, Fox: 1.3/ 5, NBC: 1.2/ 4, CW: 0.6/ 2 Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Tuesday 5/11/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars 9:00 p.m. Lost 10:00 p.m. V CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS 9:00 p.m. NCIS: Los Angeles 10:00 p.m. The Good Wife NBC: 8:00 p.m. The Biggest Loser (two hours)10:00 p.m. Parenthood Fox: 8:00 p.m. American Idol 9:00 p.m. Glee CW: 8:00 p.m. 90210 9:00 p.m. Life Unexpected (R) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Another NBC 2010-11 Series Pick-Up:NBC has picked-up is fifth scripted series for the 2010-11 season: drama Chase from very busy executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Chase focuses on a team of U.S. marshals who go in search of America’s most dangerous criminals. The other series commitments from NBC, to-date, are sitcom Outsourced, romantic anthology Love Bites and dramas Undercovers and The Event. -Upcoming at TLC:TLC will launch Fabulous Cakes, showcasing three different bakeries, on Friday, June 4 at 10 p.m. ET. Next is Kate Plus 8, a series of specials featuring Kate Gosselin and his eight children on Sunday, June 6 at 9 p.m. ET, and Snow Men, which focuses on the people that re-open dangerous roads after extreme weather shuts them down, on an unconfirmed day and time in July. Also on tap at TLC this summer are new series Inedible to Incredible (premieres Monday, June 21, 10 p.m. ET) and Cupcake Dreams (July 16, 10 p.m. ET), and new specials Mega Bites (Monday, June 7, 10 p.m. ET) and Food Buddha (Monday, June 14, 10 p.m. ET). -This Summer on ION Life:ION Life, the network themed to programming for an active, healthy and empowered life, will introduce five new half-hour shows this summer: Gadget Girlz, Body Fuel, Smart Cookies, My Workout and Adrienne Reed’s Power Yoga. Gadget Girlz will educate viewers on the latest technological advances; Body Fuel will maximize fitness results through the use of food and supplements; Smart Cookies features five young women who show you how to bring more money into your life; My Workout features the trainers of the Hollywood stars; and Adrienne Reed’s Power Yoga, hosted by the famed yoga instructor, will focus on a different power yoga theme in each episode. Specific airdates will be announced. -So You Think You Can Dance Update:Frequent So You Think You Can Dance judges Mia Michaels and Adam Shankman have been signed as the series’ resident judges opposite Nigel Lythgoe in the upcoming season. Former judge Mary Murphy will appear during the auditions phase and as an ongoing guest. Hosted by Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance returns for season seven on Thursday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET. -Potential Army Wives Spin-Off:Lifetime has a potential spin-off from drama Army Wives in the works that would focus on Brigid Brannagh’s character Pamela Moran as she gets a divorce and rejoins the police force in Charleston, S.C. Stay tuned for more details. -“What If” Webisodes on ABC Daytime:ABC Daytime is launching a 10-part series of “What If” webisodes on abc.com and soapnet.com in July that will answer the question, “What would happen if two characters from different soaps ran into each other, and what would they say?” Characters from All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital will be interacting. -TCM Remembers Lena Horne:Turner Classic Movies will pay tribute to singer-actress Lena Horne, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 92, with three of her films this Friday, May 21, and one of her all-time favorites, the 1943 John Garfield drama The Fallen Sparrow. The Duke is Tops (1938) will begin the tribute at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Cabin in the Sky (1943) at 9:30 p.m. ET, Panama Hattie (1942) at 11:15 p.m. ET and aforementioned The Fallon Sparrow at 12:45 a.m. ET. “There was never anyone quite like Lena Horne as an entertainer, a presence ora trail-blazer,” said TCM host Robert Osborne. “We’ve been shortchanged only by the limited number of worthwhile roles she was given to play in movies. But she certainly gave us 100 percent of her remarkabletalent in those she did make. We’re also very proud at Turner Classic Movies that she was one of our loyal TCM viewers.” -----------2010 Lucy-Desi Days Fan Appreciation Weekend:Mark your calendars for Friday, May 28 through Sunday, May 30 for the 2010 Lucy-Desi Days Fan Appreciation Weekend in Lucy’s hometown, Jamestown, New York. Scheduled events include Suzanne LaRusch’s “An Evening With Lucille Ball: Thank You for Asking” on Saturday; a Lucy Show tribute with We Love Lucy Fan Club President Tom Watson; the Tropicana Dinner Theatre with impressionists Diane Vincent and Adrian Israel; a Tropicana Entertainment Tribute with Dann Cahn, film editor of I Love Lucy; a memorabilia auction, trivia contest and Life With Lucy Film Festival presented by Lucy’s No. 1 fan, Michael Stern; ongoing LucyTown tours; and much more. For more information, click on http://www.lucy-desi.com/festival/festival_info.html. ________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Thelma’s Hubby What sport was Thelma’s husband Keith associated with on sitcom Good Times? baseballbasketballfootballhockeyswimming The answer to yesterday’s question: What musical instrument does Det. Adrian Monk play? clarinetfluteguitar harpsaxophone Is: a) clarinet. And it, no doubt, had to be a very clean clarinet! -Current kudos goes to:Steve Albright, Michelle Yarborough-Bauer,Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins, Kristen Conner, Reid Davis, Chris Ellis, John Ferlazzo, Maureen Goldman, Vicky Gregorian, Michael Grewe, Michelle Harrington, Christine Hatch, Mike Holland, Mike Hurt, Bob Ingersoll, Ken Jobe, Deb Kainer, Howard Lieboff, Patty Lynch, Lisa Menin, Debbie Mirr, Michael Murphy, Ken Penney, Alex Petrilli, Susan Rogers, Joe Rubi, Don Webb, John Wick, Zohrain Zafar

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ABC Opens Week on Another Winning Note

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