Another Thursday Victory for CBS

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERFriday, November 5, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins; Solid ABC from 9-11 p.m. 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:It’s a Boy! _______________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins; Solid ABC from 9-11 p.m. ` Thursday 11/04/10Note: The overnight data now includes DVR playback until 3 a.m. local time. One year earlier it was based on Live data only. HH Rtg/Shr CBS 9.0/14ABC 6.7/10Fox 4.9/ 7NBC 3.7/ 6CW 2.3/ 3 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Thursday, November 5, 2009):Fox: +17, CW: +15, ABC and CBS: + 5 each, NBC: + 3 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), CSI (CBS), The Mentalist (CBS), Private Practice (ABC) -Honorable Mention:Bones (Fox), The Office (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Community (NBC), 30 Rock (NBC), Outsourced (NBC), Fringe (Fox), The Apprentice (NBC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:It was another easy Thursday overnight victory for CBS, with a 34 percent advantage over second-place ABC. Next was Fox, which remains on the map thanks to underrated Bones, followed by NBC and The CW. CBS’ relocated The Big Bang Theory is the show to beat at 8 p.m., with a very healthy 9.3 rating/15 share in the overnights. One year earlier, Survivor: Samoa averaged a 6.3/10 on Nov. 5, 2009. Next was week seven of $#*! My Dad Says at a typical (and also first-place) 7.0/11 at 8:30 p.m. But the retention of 75 percent out of The Big Bang Theory could be better. Here is the seven-week overnight track for $#*! My Dad Says: $#*! My Dad Says (CBS) 9/23/10: 7.7/12 9/20/10: 6.7/1110/07/10: 6.3/1010/14/10: 6.6/1010/21/10: 7.0/1110/28/10: 6.8/1111/04/10: 7.0/11 Next on CBS was veteran CSI at a dominant 9.2/14 in the overnights at 9 p.m., which was equal to one year earlier, followed by The Mentalist at a 9.6/16 at 10 p.m. The Mentalist, once again, was the highest rated show of the evening. ABC needs to find a permanent Thursday 8 p.m. occupant, with a third-place 3.2/ 5 for a repeat of Grey’s Anatomy no solution. Next was the original installment of Grey’s Anatomy at a second-place 9.0/14 at 9 p.m. (eight percent above one year earlier), followed by Private Practice at an above-average (and second-place) 7.9/13 at 10 p.m. Retention for Private Practice out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Grey’s Anatomy (9.0/14) was an improved 88 percent. Expect a first-place time period finish among adults 18-49 for the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off. Over at Fox, underrated Bones finished a comfortable second in the overnights at 8 p.m., with a 6.3/10. But lead-out Fringe is lacking at a fourth-place 3.4/ 5 at 9 p.m. Retention for Fringe out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of Bones (6.5/10) was just 52 percent. NBC’s Community, which just received an order for two additional episodes, remained out of the competitive loop at 8 p.m. with a distant third-place 3.4/ 5. That led into 30 Rock at an also lackluster (and third-place) 3.8/ 6 at 8:30 p.m., followed by The Office (#3: 5.1/ 8), week seven of Outsourced (#3: 3.7/ 6) and The Apprentice (#3: 3.1/ 5) from 9-11 p.m. The Office, as always, will resonate among adults 18-49 and the overnight growth of 34 percent out of 30 Rock is worth positively noting. But the rest of the network’s Thursday night line-up is lacking. Here is the seven-week overnight track for Outsourced: Outsourced (NBC) 9/23/10: 5.0/ 8 9/20/10: 4.1/ 610/07/10: 3.8/ 610/14/10: 3.8/ 610/21/10: 3.5/ 510/28/10: 3.9/ 611/04/10: 3.7/ 6 As for The Apprentice, just what we needed…another son of Donald Trump participating! The CW closed the night with its combination of The Vampire Diaries (#5: 2.6/ 4), which built by eight percent from one year earlier, and recent entry Nikita (#5: 1.9/ 3). Retention for Nikita out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of The Vampire Diaries (2.6/ 4) was 73 percent. And there you have it…that’s Thursday. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)_____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -The Daily Show Dominates Among Adults 18-49:Based on the month of October (live + 7 day data through Oct. 18, live plus same day for the rest of the month), Comedy Central’s Emmy Award winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart finished first among all late night talkers among adults 18-49, with 1.3 million viewers in the demo. Comparably, this is the first time since at least 2000 that any talk show other than The Tonight Show or Late Night with David Letterman has claimed the top spot in the demographic. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman averaged 1.2 million viewers each, followed by Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report (900,000), NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (800,000), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live and CBS’ The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (700,000 each), E!’s Chelsea Lately (650,000) and Lopez Tonight on TBS (450,000). TBS is hoping, of course, that the arrival of Conan O’Brien on Monday will give George Lopez a much-needed boost. ---------- -New Series Report Card:Based on Live Plus Same Day ratings, here are the results (in order of total viewers) for the freshman Wednesday class: ABC’s Better with You, CBS’ The Defenders, NBC’s Undercovers and Law & Order: Los Angeles and Hellcats on The CW. The Defenders (CBS) – Wed. 10 p.m.Viewers: 9.94 million (#1), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#1)Grade: C What looks good on paper is still a question mark, with erosion out of Criminal Minds this week (Viewers: 14.58 million; A18-49: 3.9/10 at 9 p.m.) of 4.64 million viewers and 41 percent among adults 18-49. Plus, year-ago occupant CSI: NY was stronger at 12.00 million viewers and a 2.8/ 8 in the demo (on Nov. 4, 2009). -----Law & Order: Los Angeles (NBC) – Wed. 10 p.m.Viewers: 7.83 million (#2), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#2) The fit out of Law & Order: SVU (Viewers: 8.14 million; A18-49: 2.2/ 6 at 9 p.m.) is flawless. But the overall performance is nothing to crow about.Grade: C -----Better with You (ABC) – Wed. 8:30 p.m.Viewers: 7.73 million (#2), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#2) A stronger delivery from growing lead-in The Middle (Viewers: 9.42 million; A18-49: 2.9/ 9 at 8 p.m.) gave Better with You a boost. But this is still not a show that looks like it could ever anchor an hour.Grade: C+ ----- Undercovers (NBC) – Wed. 8 p.m.Viewers: 5.91 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#4t) Canceled after 13 episodes.Grade: F ----- Hellcats (CW) – Wed. 9 p.m.Viewers: 1.94 million (#5), A18-49: 0.9/ 2 (#5) Better than anything The CW aired one year earlier, but still lacking.Grade: D+ --------------- -Final Wednesday Nationals:What follows are the overall results for this seventh Wednesday of the new TV season, Nov. 3. Total Viewers:CBS: 12.27 million, ABC: 8.22, NBC: 7.29, Fox: 3.21, CW: 2.45 Adults 18-49:CBS: 3.3 rating/9 share, ABC: 2.8/ 8, NBC: 1.8/ 5, Fox: 1.3/ 4, CW: 1.1/ 3 Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options Friday 11/05/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Supernanny (season premiere) 9:00 p.m. Primetime: What Would You Do?10:00 p.m. 20/20 CBS: 8:00 p.m. Medium 9:00 p.m. CSI: NY 10:00 p.m. Blue Bloods NBC: 8:00 p.m. School Pride 9:00 p.m. Dateline (two hours) Fox: 8:00 p.m. House (R) 9:00 p.m. The Good Guys CW: 8:00 p.m. Smallville 9:00 p.m. Supernatural --------------- Saturday 11/06/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Saturday Night Football CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. The Defenders (R) 10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC: 8:00 p.m. Outlaw 9:00 p.m. Law & Order: Los Angeles (R)10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. Cops (original and repeat) 8:30 p.m. America’s Most Wanted --------------- Sunday 11/07/10 ABC: 7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos 8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives 10:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters CBS: 7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes 8:00 p.m. The Amazing Race 9:00 p.m. Undercover Boss10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami NBC: 7:00 p.m. Football Night in America 8:30 p.m. Sunday Night Football: Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers Fox: 7:00 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 7:30 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 8:00 p.m. The Simpsons 8:30 p.m. The Cleveland Show 9:00 p.m. Family Guy 9:30 p.m. American Dad ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -NBC’s Undercovers to Conclude:NBC has passed on ordering any future episodes of freshman spy thriller Undercovers, which will officially end after the initial 13 installments. Undercovers is now the fifth casualty of the seven-week old TV season, joining already canceled dramas My Generation and The Whole Truth on ABC, Outlaw on NBC and Fox’s Lone Star. Created and executive produced by Lost creator J.J. Abrams, and compared to past Abrams scripted hour Alias, Undercovers created an early buzz by casting two African American actors, Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, in the lead roles. But viewers never warmed up to this tale of a so-called typical married couple who are reinstated into the world of the CIA after their fellow spy and friend goes missing. Based on the live plus same day ratings, Undercovers finished a distant fourth in the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour with just 5.91 million viewers and a 1.3 rating/4 share among adults 18-49 on Nov. 3. The first half of the six remaining episodes will run as planned as the Wednesday anchor through Dec. 1, but there is no confirmed airdate for the final three. NBC has not announced what will step in for Undercovers in midseason. ---------- -Vampire Diaries Marathon:Sophomore CW drama The Vampire Diaries will get a ton of exposure the week of Dec. 13 when the network airs a five-night, 10-episode encore marathon beginning on Monday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. ET. The second-season premiere rebroadcast will kick-off the event. -Jane Lynch Moonlights on Fox:Glee Emmy winner Jane Lynch will host two-hour Fox special, TV’s Funniest Holiday Moments: A Paley Center for Media Special, which airs on Friday, Nov. 26. Lynch will help count down the small screen’s most memorable seasonal moments in the history of television. ________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:It’s a Boy! Which one of the following TV characters is male? a) Sandy Cohen b) Quinn Fabrayc) Kelly Kapoord) Elliott Reide) Peyton Sawyer The answer to yesterday’s question… Which one of the following TV characters is female? a) Lynn Belvedere b) Robin Colcordc) Casey Denault d) Ralph Monroee) Jackie Thomas Is: d) Ralph Monroe. Played by Mary Grace Canfield, Ralph was the all-thumbs carpenter sister of her handyman brother Alf on 1965-71 CBS sitcom Green Acres. As for the others: -Lynn Belvedere: Christopher Hewitt on Mr. Belvedere -Robin Colcord: Roger Rees on Cheers-Casey Denault: Andrew Stevens on Dallas-Jackie Thomas: Tom Arnold on The Jackie Thomas Show All together now… Green acres is the place for me. Farm livin' is the life for me. Land spreadin' out so far and wide Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside. New York is where I'd rather stay. I get allergic smelling hay. I just adore a penthouse view. Dahling I love you but give me Park Avenue. ...The chores. ...The stores. ...Fresh air. ...Times Square You are my wife. Good bye, city life. Green Acres we are there.-Current kudos goes to:Don Abel, Steve Albright, David Ballarotto, Gerry Bixenspan, John Brooker, Kay Copeland, Leslie Creason, Reid Davis, Andy Ehlen, George Gardner, Jerry Gibbons, Maureen Goldman, Vicky Gregorian, Ed Griffis, Carolyn Becker Hayes, Michael Holland, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Deb Kainer, Mary Kalnin, Tomn Kilgallon, Synda Kollman, Rick Locke, Patty Lynch, Tom Mertes, Debbie Mirr, Jim Moore, Alan Perris, Gordon Purcell, Colleen Roth, Neal Sabin, Anthony Salerno, Carly Schinzing, Martin Siddall, Michelle Stanton, Joe Swaney, Rick Vosk, Tammy Wiard, Abbott Wool

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Another Thursday Victory for CBS

Marc Berman

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