American Idol Dominates, but Audience Erosion is Visible This Season

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERWednesday, March 18, 2009 Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:Idol Leads Fox to Victory, but Ratings Continue to Shrink National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of March 9, 2009 Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: That Little Rascal, Beaver______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:Idol Leads Fox to Victory, but Ratings Continue to Shrink Tuesday 3/17/09 HH Rtg/Shr Fox 11.9/19CBS 9.2/15ABC 6.4/10NBC 5.5/ 9CW 1.0/ 2 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Tuesday, March 18, 2008):CBS: +109, NBC: - 2, ABC: -15, Fox: -23, CW: -47 ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Tuesday 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 Tuesday, March 17, 2009. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:American Idol (Fox), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), NCIS (CBS), The Mentalist (CBS), Without a Trace (CBS), Law & Order: SVU (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):Reaper (CW), Primetime: What Would You Do? (ABC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: Yes, Fox dominated Tuesday, and that comes as a result, of course, of American Idol, which averaged an 11.9 rating/19 share in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. But as good as that is, it is actually down by 23 percent from the also two-hour year-ago telecast on March 18, 2008. Here is the half-hour breakdown: American Idol (Fox)8:00 p.m.: 10.5/17 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 12.1/19 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 12.6/19 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 12.6/19 (#1) As for the bottom three tonight, my predictions are Michael Sarver, Scott MacIntyre and colorful Alexis Grace. Most likely to depart: Michael Sarver. Interesting, isn’t it, how Simon loves to critique what the contestants are wearing, yet he sits there with a dirty t-shirt on. For more on American Idol, go to TV Tidbits below. Last night actually featured the battle of three two-hour reality/competitions from 8-10 p.m.: ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, NBC’s The Biggest Loser and Fox’s aforementioned American Idol. The 8-9 p.m. portion of Dancing With the Stars was a recap from one week earlier, and it finished third with a 5.8/ 9 in the overnights. But the live results show at 9 p.m. perked up to an 8.4/14, also third (behind American Idol and CBS’ The Mentalist). So long, Belinda Carlisle. The Biggest Loser on NBC, meanwhile, did not impress in the overnights, with a mere 4.7/ 7 from 8-10 p.m. But as I say every week, this show always does manage to generate interest among adults 18-49, so don’t be fooled. Here is the half hour breakdown: The Biggest Loser (NBC)8:00 p.m.: 4.1/ 7 (#4)8:30 p.m.: 4.5/ 7 (#4)9:00 p.m.: 4.8/ 7 (#4)9:30 p.m.: 5.3/ 8 (#4) NBC’s veteran Law & Order: SVU, featuring a guest appearance by the legendary Carol Burnett, finished a typical second in the overnights, with a 7.3/12 at 10 p.m. But it will, of course, win the hour among adults 18-49. ABC’s competing Primetime: Would You Do That? finished third with a 5.1/ 9. CBS stood up well opposite the glut of non-scripted programming with its combination of NCIS (#2: 9.6/16), bona fide freshman hit The Mentalist (#2: 9.9/15) and on-the-fence Without a Trace (#1: 8.2/14). Although CBS is claiming Without a Trace may be too expensive to keep on the air, the show skews older and the Eye wants younger viewers. Doesn’t everyone? The CW, meanwhile, could not compete with its combination of Reaper (#5: 1.5/ 2) and a repeat of 90210 (#5: 0.7/ 1), which has already been picked-up for next season. Note to the CW: repeats of serialized dramas do not play well. Give us more original programming, please. Source: Nielsen Media Research data _______________________________________________________________________________________ National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of March 9, 2009 Once again, leadership was mixed between CBS and Fox for the week of March 9, 2009 (which was the first full week of the delayed February 2009 sweeps). CBS dominated in households and total viewers, while Fox was No. 1 in the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. With more original programming on the menu (versus an abundance of repeats in the year-ago week), CBS was on the plus side, building by margins of 33 to 46 percent. Fox was close to year-ago levels. And both networks are expected to share the top spot for the remainder of the traditional (September through May) TV season. Excluding a second-place finish among adults 18-34, improved ABC finished third elsewhere, also growing significantly from the year-ago week (hence more original programming). Lagging NBC came in fourth across the board, with mixed results from one year earlier, followed by declining the CW and improved MyNetworkTV, which is still benefiting from the arrival of Friday Night Smackdown! this season. There were three series premieres this week, ABC’s Castle and NBC’s The Chopping Block and Kings. Leading out of the season-premiere of Dancing With the Stars, drama Castle led the trio, with 10.76 million viewers and a 3.0 rating/8 share among adults 18-49 in the Monday 10 p.m. hour. But before anyone gets too excited, overall retention out of DWTS was just 47 percent in total viewers and 49 percent in the demo. The two-hour debut of older skewing Kings built significantly from lead-in Dateline, but just 6.08 million viewers and a 1.6/ 4 among adults 18-49 in the Sunday 8-10 p.m. block is a huge disappointment. And The Chopping Block will, no doubt, will be living up to its title with a lackluster 3.77 million viewers and a 1.4/ 4 in the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour. It looks like former occupant Knight Rider was not so bad after all. Elsewhere, episode two of the new season of America’s Next Top Model on the CW rose to 4.5 million viewers in the Wednesday 8 p.m. anchor spot -- the second largest audience for the veteran reality/competition of the 2008-09 season. If CBS is serious, meanwhile, about canceling the still potent Cold Case (Viewers: 13.02 million; A18-49: 2.9/ 7 Sunday at 9 p.m.), another network like TNT could very well benefit by it. As for other shows on the fence for renewal, take a look (in order of day and time period): Chuck (NBC): Monday 8 p.m.Viewers: 5.80 million (#56), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#46t) Heroes (NBC): Monday 9 p.m.Viewers: 6.70 million (#49), A18-49: 3.2/ 8 (#27) Medium (NBC): Monday 10 p.m.Viewers: 7.13 million (#45), A18-49: 2.5/ 6 (#40t) Reaper (CW): Tuesday 8 p.m.Viewers: 2.17 million (#90), A18-49: 0.9/ 2 (#87t) Primetime: What Would You Do? (ABC): Tuesday 10 p.m.Viewers: 5.25 million (#60), A18-49: 1.9/ 5 (#52t) The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) – Wednesday 8 p.m.Viewers: 7.46 million (#42), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#46t) Gary Unmarried (CBS) – Wednesday 8:30 p.m.Viewers: 7.63 million (#40), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#43) Ugly Betty (ABC) – Thursday 8 p.m.Viewers: 7.12 million (#46t), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#46t) Eleventh Hour (CBS) – Thursday 10 p.m.Viewers: 11.61 million (17#), A18-49: 2.7/ 7 (#38t) Wife Swap (ABC) – Friday 8 p.m.Viewers: 3.96 million (#77), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#73t) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox) – Friday 8 p.m.Viewers: 3.39 million (#83), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#76t) Everybody Hates Chris (CW) – Friday 8 p.m.Viewers: 1.46 million (#93), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#92t) The Game (CW) – Friday 8:30 p.m.Viewers: 1.53 million (#92), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#92t) Supernanny (ABC) – Friday 9 p.m.Viewers: 4.51 million (#67), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#66t) Flashpoint (CBS) – Friday 9 p.m.Viewers: 8.81 million (#34), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#57t) Friday Night Lights (NBC) – Friday 9 p.m.Viewers: 4.03 million (#76), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#68t) The Unit (CBS) – Sunday 10 p.m.Viewers: 10.87 million (#21), A18-49: 2.7/ 7 (#38t) Here are the final national ratings for the week of March 9, 2009 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the new midseason series report card and the top 30 rated programs of the week. -Households:CBS: 6.9 rating/11 share (+38), Fox: 6.4/10 (- 6), ABC: 5.3/ 9 (+32), NBC: 3.9/ 6 (-22), CW: 1.2/ 2 (-25), MNTV: 1.0/ 2 (+25) -Total Viewers: CBS: 11.13 million (+46), Fox: 10.93 (- 3), ABC: 8.29 (+37), NBC: 6.10 (-19), CW: 1.76 (-26), MNTV: 1.57 (+30) -Adults 18-49:Fox: 4.0 rating/11 share (- 2), CBS: 2.8/ 8 (+33), ABC: 2.5/ 7 (+19), NBC: 2.2/ 6 (no change), CW: 0.7/ 2 (-30), MNTV: 0.5/ 2 (no change) -Adults 25-54:Fox: 4.7/12 (no change), CBS: 3.7/ 9 (+37), ABC: 3.1/ 8 (+24), NBC: 2.6/ 6 (- 4), CW: 0.7/ 2 (-22), MNTV: 0.6/ 1 (+20) -Adults 18-34:Fox: 3.4/11 (no change), ABC: 2.0/ 6 (+18), CBS: 1.8/ 6 (+38), NBC: 1.7/ 5 (+21), CW: 0.8/ 2 (-27), MNTV: 0.5/ 2 (+25) -------------------- New Midseason Series Scorecard (excluding repeats) Lie to Me (Fox) – Wednesday 8 p.m. (new time period)Viewers: 11.25 million (#19), A18-49: 3.4/10 (#24) Castle (ABC) – Monday 10 p.m. (series premiere)Viewers: 10.76 million (#23), A18-49: 3.0/ 8 (#29t) Kings (NBC) – Sunday 8 p.m. (series premiere, two hours)Viewers: 6.08 million (#53), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#62t) Homeland Security USA (ABC) – Tuesday 8 p.m. Viewers: 5.14 million (#63), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#68t) Dollhouse (Fox) – Friday 9 p.m. Viewers: 4.26 million (#72), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#62t) Howie Do It (NBC) – Friday 8 p.m. Viewers: 4.08 million (#75), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#76t) The Chopping Block (NBC) – Wednesday 8 p.m. (series premiere)Viewers: 3.77 million (#79), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#68t) -------------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 25.77 million, American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 25.55, Dancing With the Stars (ABC, season premiere): 22.83, CSI (CBS): 17.13, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 14.60, Criminal Minds (CBS): 14.34, The Mentalist R (CBS): 14.32, CSI: Miami (CBS): 14.21, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 13.64, CSI: NY (CBS): 13.63, NCIS R (CBS): 13.52, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 13.44, Cold Case (CBS): 13.02, 60 Minutes (CBS); 12.87, Survivor: Tocantins (CBS): 12.82, House (Fox): 12.38, Eleventh Hour (CBS): 11.61, 24 (Fox): 11.37, Lie to Me (Fox): 11.25, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 11.07, The Unit (CBS): 10.87, ER (NBC): 10.86, Castle (ABC, series premiere): 10.76, Ghost Whisperer (CBS): 10.57, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 10.43, The Amazing Race (CBS): 10.33, Without a Trace R (CBS): 10.22, Rules of Engagement (CBS): 9.95, Bones (Fox): 9.67, Numb3rs (CBS): 9.51 -Adults 18-49:American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 9.5 rating/25 share, American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 9.1/23, Dancing With the Stars (ABC, season premiere): 6.1/15, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 5.1/12, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 5.0/12, House (Fox): 4.8/13, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 4.8/12, CSI: Miami (CBS): 4.3/11, CSI (CBS): 4.2/11, Survivor: Tocantins (CBS): 4.1/12, The Office (NBC): 4.1/10, ER (NBC): 4.0/11, The Biggest Loser (NBC): 3.8/10, Rules of Engagement (CBS) and Family Guy: 3.7/ 9 each, The Big Bang Theory (CBS) and Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 3.6/10 each, How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 24 (Fox), Criminal Minds (CBS) and Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 3.6/ 9 each, CSI: NY (CBS): 3.5/10, Hell’s Kitchen (Fox): 3.5/ 9, Lie to Me (Fox): 3.4/10, Private Practice (ABC): 3.3/ 9, 30 Rock (NBC): 3.3/ 8, Heroes (NBC): 3.2/ 8, The Amazing Race (CBS): 3.1/ 8, Castle (ABC, series premiere) and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 3.0/ 8 each Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)______________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Top 20 Rated Shows in Syndication – Week of March 2:What follows are the top 20 ranked programs in syndication (first-run and off-network) based on households for the week of March 2: Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 7.7 rating, Jeopardy (CBS): 6.5, Oprah (CBS): 5.4, Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.1, Judge Judy (CBS): 4.6, Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 4.5, Family Guy (Twentieth Television): 4.1, Wheel of Fortune – Weekend (CBS): 3.9, Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 3.8, Dr. Phil (CBS) and CSI: NY (CBS): 3.6 each, Seinfeld Weekend (3.5), Law & Order: SVU (NBC Universal): 3.4, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) and Inside Edition (CBS): 3.1 each, George Lopez (Warner Bros.) and Two and a Half Men Weekend (Warner Bros.): 2.9 each, Live With Regis & Kelly (Disney-ABC): 2.8, Friends (Warner Bros.) and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC): 2.7 each -Above Average The Doctors:No, CBS Television Distribution’s The Doctors is not in the top 20…yet. But the freshman talker rose to a 2.0 rating in households for the week of March 2 -- its best performance since January. The Monday telecast, featuring guest Dr. Phil, scored a record 2.5. Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Wednesday 3/18/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Scrubs 8:30 p.m. Better Off Ted (premiere) 9:00 p.m. Lost 10:00 p.m. Life on Mars CBS: 8:00 p.m. The New Adventures of Old Christine 8:30 p.m. Gary Unmarried 9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds 10:00 p.m. CSI: NY NBC: 8:00 p.m. The Chopping Block 9:00 p.m. Life 10:00 p.m. Law & Order Fox: 8:00 p.m. Lie to Me 9:00 p.m. American Idol CW: 8:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model 9:00 p.m. 90210 (R) MTNV 8:00 p.m. World Magic Awards (R) New Program Descriptions Better Off Ted (ABC)A successful good guy (Jay Harrington) has to wrestle with his conscience as the head of the research and development department at his morally questionable firm. Portia de Rossi co-stars. Although this is one of the least competitive hours in prime-time, minimal lead-in support from Scrubs will not benefit long-shot Better Off Ted. ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Fox Yanks Hole in the Wall:For the second time this season, Fox has yanked inane reality/competition Hole in the Wall off the schedule. Effective this Sunday, repeats of American Dad and King of the Hill will air in the Sunday 7 p.m. hour. -Speaking of Fox:If you watch American Idol, I assume you have seen the promos for horrific looking The Osbournes: Reloaded, which will air as a series of variety specials. The first one, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31 has been trimmed to 40-minutes and pushed back to 9:20 p.m. ET. Lead-in American Idol will air for 80-minutes. Hopefully, daughter Kelly “singing” will end up on the cutting room floor. -American Idol – The Trading Card:American Idol production company FremantleMedia and trading card publisher Upper Deck will be introducing a new line of American Idol trading cards featuring Ryan Seacrest, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and contestants past and present. The initial 138-card line will be available on April 21. -Other TV Shows Spun-Off Into Trading Cards:American Idol will, of course, not be the only TV show historically to launch a line of trading cards. Others include The Addams Family, Alias, American Bandstand, The Andy Griffith Show, Angel, The Avengers, Babylon 5, Batman, Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, The Brady Bunch, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Charlie’s Angels, Charmed, Chips, Combat, CSI, Dallas, Flipper, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Gong Show, Growing Pains, Gunsmoke, Happy Days, I Love Lucy, The Incredible Hulk, JAG, Lost, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mork & Mindy, The Prisoner, Roswell, The Six Million Dollar Man, Saturday Night Live, Space 1999, Star Trek, Three’s Company, 24, Twin Peaks and Welcome Back, Kotter. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:That Little Rascal, Beaver What was “Beaver” Cleaver’s real first name on classic sitcom Leave it to Beaver? AlbertBernardClarenceErnestTheodore The answer to yesterday’s question… Which one of the following five TV characters would be the least likely to be looking green today? The Great Gazoo Herman MunsterThe JokerThe Lone RangerThe Riddler Is: d) The Lone Ranger. Wearing green was not apparently the correct fashion statement when you were out tracking bad guys in the old west. According to TV guru Bob Ingersoll: The Lone Ranger’s wardrobe consisted of a white hat, with a red bandana, light blue shirt and pants, black belt and holsters, black gloves and black boots. There was not a speck of green on him. To the people who answered Herman Munster, The Munsters may have been filmed in black and white, but 1966 theatrical Munster, Go Home was filmed in color and Herman was clearly green. Click here for a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf2v5uvt-Hk -Current kudos goes to:Don Abel, Michelle Yarborough-Bauer, Becky Beaty, Laurie Biddle, Gerry Bixenspan, Brian Carney, Paul Certo, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Harold Cooper, Annie Courtney, James Davison, John Ferlazzo, Serri Ferrante, Arleen Fong, Holley Ford, Ellen Foust, Adam Giagni, Bob Goldman, Maureen Goldman, Geoffrey Gordon (2x), Vicky Gregorian, Carla Snell-Hatfield, Barb Hemberger, Valerie Henley, Sherrie Hentschel, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Ken Jobe, Deb Kainer, Mary Kalnin, Marie Lefevre Karp, Irene Kirchner, Charmaine Leary, Roberta Lee, Jay Liebenguth, Howard Lieboff, Kathy Martin, John Merrill, Rick Millikan, Debbie Mirr, Joanne Albrecht Murnane, Michael Natale, Jay Ogletree, Stephen O’Rourke, Joe Pedri, Alan Perris, Cliff Pozner, Gordon Purcell, Arthur Reinstein, Con Rigg, Lisa Tatum-Roehrig, Deanna Rosolen, Jay Rossi, Bruce Starin, Harley David Rubin, David Ruckman, Marilyn Rutkowski, Neal Sabin, Ron Salmon, Mike Stallcup, Michelle Stanton, Bruce Starin, Micke Steinmann, Joe Swaney, Julie Syers, Ivan Tafur, Ronnie Tallant, David Vickers, Don Webb, David Williams, Ted Zavales

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American Idol Dominates, but Audience Erosion is Visible This Season

Marc Berman

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