CBS and Fox Share Weekend Leadership

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERMonday, April 12, 2010 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:At School with the White Shadow _______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Ratings:Weekend Highlights Friday 4/09/10Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/ShrCBS 4.6/ 8NBC 3.3/ 6ABC 2.9/ 5Fox 2.3/ 4CW 1.1/ 2 -Total Viewers:CBS: 7.02 million, NBC: 4.86, ABC: 4.38, Fox: 3.62, CW: 1.66 -Adults 18-49:CBS: 1.5 rating/4 share, Fox: 1.3/ 5, ABC: 1.3/ 4, NBC: 1.2/ 4, CW: 0.6/ 2 -------------------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 30 percent at this same point last year to approximately 36 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Friday’s Winners:Nothing -Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats):The night overall…it seems to get worse every season. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:CBS led this second Friday in April, but just 7.02 million total viewers and a 1.5 rating/5 share among adults 18-49 is nothing to boast about. The Eye net opened with aging 8 p.m. anchor Ghost Whisperer at a dominant 6.48 million viewers and a 1.5/ 6 among adults 18-49, followed by also on-the-fence Medium (Viewers: #1, 7.46 million; A18-49: #1, 1.7/ 6 at 9 p.m.) and week two of Miami Medical (Viewers: #1, 7.13 million; A18-49: #1t, 1.4/ 5 at 10 p.m.). Comparatively, Miami Medical dipped by 330,000 viewers and 12 percent in the demo from its debut on April 2 (Viewers: 7.49 million; A18-49: A18-49: 1.6/ 5 at 10 p.m., based on the final nationals). Worth noting for Medium at this pivotal renewal time was the growth out of Ghost Whisperer of 980,000 viewers and 13 percent among adults 18-49. My prediction is one of those two dramas will be back next season. NBC opened the evening with a repeat of just renewed Who Do You Think You Are?, which finished a distant second overall at 8 p.m. in total viewers (4.14 million) and tied for second among adults 18-49 (1.1/ 4). The Who Do You Think You Are? encore led into a two-hour edition of Dateline, which averaged 5.22 million viewers and a 1.3/ 5 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows: Dateline (NBC)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 4.80 million (#2), A18-49: 1.1/ 1 (#4)9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.33 million (#2), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#4)10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.46 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#1t)10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.29 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#1t) ABC pulled a last minute switch and yanked recent 8 p.m. returnee Wife Swap for a repeat of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which averaged just 3.57 million viewers (#3) and a 0.9/ 4 among adults 18-49 (#4) at 8 p.m. The regularly scheduled edition of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution could not compete at 9 p.m., with 4.72 million viewers (#3) and a 1.6/ 5 in the demo (#2). And veteran 20/20 capped off the evening for ABC with a last-place finish in both total viewers (4.83 million viewers) and adults 18-49 (1.3/ 4) at 10 p.m. Fox filled declining Friday with a repeat of House (Viewers: #4, 3.53 million; A18-49: #2t, 1.1/ 4) and an original installment of Kitchen Nightmares (Viewers: #4, 3.70 million; A18-49: #3, 1.5/ 5). And The CW aired already renewed Smallville (Viewers: #5, 2.13 million; A18-49: #5, 0.8/ 3) and a repeat of America’s Next Top Model (Viewers: #5, 1.20 million; A18-49: #5, 0.5/ 2). In the event you missed my recent feature on Friday television, “Friday’s Dead Zone,” click here: Source: Nielsen Media Research data -------------------- Saturday 4/10/10Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr CBS 3.8/ 7Fox 3.5/ 7NBC 2.5/ 5ABC 1.8/ 3 -Total Viewers:Fox: 5.78 million, CBS: 5.67, NBC: 3.56, ABC: 2.77 -Adults 18-49:Fox: 1.6 rating/6 share, CBS: 1.1/ 4, ABC and NBC: 0.9/ 3 each --------------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 30 percent at this same point last year to approximately 36 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. --------------- -Saturday’s Winners: Nothing -Saturday’s Losers (excluding repeats):The night overall ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:CBS and Fox shared the top spot on this typically mundane Saturday, with CBS the most-watched network and Fox No. 1 among adults 18-49. But under 6-million viewers and a mere 1.6 rating in the demo for the dominant network is nothing to boast about. With that in mind, CBS kicked-off this lackluster night with a repeat of CSI: Miami (Viewers: #2, 4.77 million; A18-49: #2t, 0.8 rating/ 3 share at 8 p.m.), followed by a repeat of Criminal Minds (Viewers: #2, 5.64 million; A18-49: #2, 1.1/ 4) and 48 Hours Mystery (Viewers: #1, 6.61 million; A18-49: #1, 1.6/ 5) from 9-11 p.m. The double-digit growth for 48 Hours Mystery out of the Criminal Minds encore is a positive worth noting. Fox replaced its regular line-up of Cops and America’s Most Wanted with NASCAR 2010, which averaged 5.78 million viewers and a 1.6/ 6 among adults 18-49, performing as follows by half-hour: NASCAR 20108:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.80 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 6 (#1)8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.91 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 6 (#1)9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 5.70 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 6 (#1)9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 5.72 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 6 (#1) If anything, ratings for NASCAR were consistent! NBC aired encore telecasts of Parenthood (Viewers: #3, 2.52 million; A18-49: #4, 0.6/ 2), Law & Order (Viewers: #3, 3.71 million; A18-49: #4, 0.8/ 3) and Law & Order: SVU (Viewers: #2, 4.45 million; A18-49: #2, 1.2/ 4). And last-place ABC got minimal mileage out of repeat theatrical Anchor Man: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Viewers: #4, 2.29 million; A19-49: #4, 0.9/3 from 8-10 p.m.) and a repeat of Castle (Viewers: #3, 3.71 million; A18-49: #3, 0.9/ 3 at 10 p.m.). Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Sunday 4/11/10 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 9.3/15ABC 5.5/ 9NBC 3.9/ 6Fox 3.0/ 5 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Sunday, April 12, 2009):CBS: +21, ABC: +20, Fox: +15, NBC: -22 ---------- 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, April 11, 2010. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:The Masters (CBS), 60 Minutes (CBS), The Amazing Race (CBS), Undercover Boss (CBS), Brothers & Sisters (ABC), Family Guy (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats): Dateline (NBC), ‘Til Death (Fox) -----------Ratings Breakdown:CBS stood well above the Sunday competition, besting second-place ABC by a hefty 69 percent in the overnights. Third overall was NBC, followed by Fox, which is dependent, of course, on the young adult demographics. Since approximately 15 minutes of The 2010 Masters Golf Tournament bled into primetime, all individual program results for CBS are approximate and are broken down by half-hour as follows: CBS/Sunday7:00 p.m. – The Masters / 60 Minutes: 12.0 rating/22 share (#1)7:30 p.m. – 60 Minutes: 11.5/20 (#1)8:00 p.m. – 60 Minutes / The Amazing Race: 9.7/16 (#1)8:30 p.m. – The Amazing Race: 7.9/12 (#1)9:00 p.m. – The Amazing Race / Undercover Boss (season finale): 9.0/14 (#1)9:30 p.m. – Undercover Boss (season finale): 9.6/15 (#1)10:00 p.m. – Undercover Boss (season finale) / Cold Case: 8.7/1410:30 p.m. – Cold Case: 6.3/10 (#2) Congratulations to Undercover Boss for a stellar first season. Too bad CBS did not have the foresight to order more episodes initially. Next up was ABC care of American’s Funniest Home Videos (#3: 3.9/ 7), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (#2: 5.0/ 8) and two episodes of Brothers & Sisters, which performed admirably as follows: Brothers & Sisters (ABC)9:00 p.m.: 6.6/10 (#2)10:00 p.m.: 6.8/11 (#2) Comparably, Brothers & Sisters outdelivered NBC’s competing The Celebrity Apprentice (5.0/ 8 from 9-11 p.m.) by 34 percent, building from the 8:30 p.m. portion of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (5.4/ 8) by 24 percent. Here is the half-hour breakdown for The Celebrity Apprentice, which is a real snore compared to the battle of Joan Rivers versus Annie Duke one year earlier. The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)9:00 p.m.: 4.5/ 7 (#4)9:30 p.m.: 4.5/ 7 (#3)10:00 p.m.: 5.3/ 8 (#3)10:30 p.m.: 5.8/10 (#3) At this point, Sharon Osbourne really should not longer be in the competition. Earlier in the evening on NBC was Dateline (#3: 2.7/ 5) and a repeat of Minute to Win It (#4: 2.8/ 5) from 7-9 p.m. Airing the game show two times per week with a combination of originals and repeats has only confused the audience. Over at Fox was canceled ‘Til Death (#4: 1.3/ 2), a repeat of The Simpsons (#4: 1.8/ 3), the regularly scheduled edition of The Simpsons (#3: 3.9/ 6), The Cleveland Show (#3: 3.4/ 5), Family Guy (#3: 4.6/ 7) and American Dad (#4: 3.2/ 5). Growth of 44 percent in the overnights for American Dad out of Family Guy lands it in the winners circle. Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Above Average SNL:Saturday’s telecast of NBC’s veteran Saturday Night Live, hosted by Tina Fey and featuring musical guest Justin Bieber, averaged a 5.7 rating/14 share in the metered markets -- its best performance since the February 27th telecast with Jennifer Lopez as host. Comparably, this beat every telecast in primetime for the evening. Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Monday 4/12/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (two hours) 10:00 p.m. Castle CBS:8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother 8:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement 9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men 9:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory 10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami NBC: 8:00 p.m. Chuck 9:00 p.m. Trauma 10:00 p.m. Law & Order (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. House 9:00 p.m. 24 CW: 8:00 p.m. Life Unexpected (season or series finale) 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl _____________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -TBS New Series Premiere Dates:TBS has announced the series debut dates for two new comedies – Are We There Yet?, which is based on the Ice Cube theatrical, and animated Neighbors From Hell. Are We There Yet? will open with back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, June 2 beginning at 9 p.m. ET, out of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and into Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns. Neighbors From Hell, the story of a typical All-American family who happen to be from Hell, premieres on Monday, June 7 at 10 p.m. ET (following a late night preview on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 p.m. ET). Both series have 10 episode orders. -Remembering Dixie Carter:It is with tremendous sadness to report on the passing of Dixie Carter, who died on Saturday from complications of endometrial cancer at the age of 70. Remembered, of course, for her role as feisty Julia Sugarbaker on CBS sitcom Designing Women, Dixie was born on May 25, 1939 in McLemoresville, Tennessee. After graduating from Memphis State with a degree in English in 1960, she made her professional debut in a local production of Carousel. Three years later, Dixie moved to New York and landed a role in Joseph Papp’s production of Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale. After leaving the stage for eight years to raise her two young daughters, Dixie uprooted the family to Los Angeles for a supporting role in sitcom On Our Own, which aired on CBS in the 1977-78 season (out of Rhoda). Two years later, she was upgraded to headline status on ABC sitcom Out of the Blue, but the series lasted just three months in the fall of 1979. After numerous guest starring roles in series like Best of the West, Quincy M.E., The Greatest American Hero and Lou Grant, Dixie appeared opposite future Designing Women co-star Delta Burke in CBS comedy Filthy Rich, a take-off of Dallas in the 1982-83 season. Following Filthy Rich, Dixie played Philip Drummond’s (Conrad Bain) wife on Diff-rent Strokes for one season, one year before her seven-season stint on Designing Women. Following Designing Women, Dixie returning to regular series television in sitcom Ladies Man (1999-2000) and legal drama Family Law (1999-2002). More recently, she played Gloria Hodge, Bree’s mother-in-law, on ABC’s Desperate Housewives. Dixie is survived by third husband Hal Holbrook and daughters Ginna and Mary Dixie Carter. For more on this Ms. Carter, please listen to today’s PIPodcast at www.marcberman.tv. ______________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:At School with the White Shadow What was the name of the high school on 1978-81 drama The White Shadow? a) Benjamin Harrisonb) Carverc) Franklind) Fillmoree) George Washington The answer to Friday’s question… Remember hulking character “Bull” Shannon on long-running sitcom Night Court? What was his real first name? FrancisGeorgeIrvingNostradamusSeymour Is: d) Nostradamus. No wonder he had a nickname! -Current kudos goes to:Suzanne Ackley, Mark Amato, Michelle Amundson, Michelle Yarborough Bauer, Mikki Beno, Barbara Berman, Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Mark Cosenza, John Ferlazzo, Maureen Goldman, Carolyn Becker Hayes, Bob Ingersoll, Greg Janover, Mary Kinoshita, Steve Kurtzer, Patty Lynch, Richard Mann, Debbie Mirr, Michael Murphy, Mark Penney, Alan Perris, Gordon Purcell, Colleen Roth, Joe Rubi, Mary Ryan, Maxine Shulman, Michelle Stanton, Jeanne Yonkers, Ted Zawislak

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CBS and Fox Share Weekend Leadership

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