CBS Dominates Tuesday Overnights Despite a Night of Repeats

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERWednesday, December 10, 2008 Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:CBS Dominates Despite Airing All Repeats Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of December 1, 2008 On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:CBS Dominates Despite Airing All Repeats Tuesday 12/09/08 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 8.1/13Fox 6.4/10NBC 5.9/ 9ABC 3.9/ 6CW 1.1/ 2 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007):CBS: +27, Fox: +14, NBC: - 8, ABC: -24, CW: -42 ---------- 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, December 9, 2008. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:NCIS R (CBS), House (Fox), The Mentalist R (CBS), Law & Order: SVU (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers (Excluding Repeats):According to Jim (ABC), Eli Stone (ABC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: Despite airing a night of all repeats, CBS still dominated Tuesday in the overnights, with a 1.7 rating point advantage over second-place Fox. Third overall was NBC, followed by ABC and the CW. A repeat of CBS warhorse NCIS took the 8 p.m. hour, with an 8.8 rating/14 share in the overnights. Although Fox’s American Idol will be returning to the time period in January, NCIS is the one show that can stand up to it. Next was Fox’s House (8.1/13), which will clearly win among adults 18-49, followed by a holiday themed edition of America’s Funniest Home Videos on ABC (4.8/ 8), the first half of NBC’s The Biggest Loser (4.6/ 7), and a repeat of the CW’s 90210 (1.2/ 2). CBS remained in the overnight winner’s circle at 9 p.m. care of a repeat of The Mentalist at a healthy 9.4/14. Just last week, The Mentalist ranked as the most-watched series in prime-time (see National Ratings in Prime-Time: Week of December 1, 2008 two sections below). Next was the second half of NBC’s The Biggest Loser at a 5.8/ 9. Overall, The Biggest Loser averaged a typical 5.2/ 8 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. and is expected to generate some interest among adults 18-49. Also airing in the 9 p.m. hour was a repeat of Fox’s Fringe (#3: 4.7/ 8), which has not exactly ignited conversation at the water-cooler, two episodes of ABC’s begging to be axed According to Jim (avg. 3.5/ 5), and a repeat of Privileged on the CW (1.1/ 2). NBC’s Law & Order: SVU may be down, but it’s not out with a first-place 7.3/13 in the overnights at 10 p.m. With Jay Leno heading to the 10 p.m. weeknight hour next season, it looks like SVU will have to settle for a 9 p.m. time period and it could be on another evening if The Biggest Loser remains two hours. Second was a repeat of CBS’ Without a Trace (6.2/10), followed by ABC’s soon-to-depart Eli Stone at a mere 3.6/ 6. Too bad creativity is not always awarded with a sizable audience. Source: Nielsen Media Research data _______________________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Record High The Big Bang Theory:Must see CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory reached a new zenith, with a 6.5/10 in households and 10.50 million viewers on Dec. 8. Comparably, it won its 8 p.m. time period in households and adults 18-34 (2.9/ 8), while tying for first among adults 18-49 with ABC’s perennial telecast of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Led by The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother at 8:30 p.m. finished first in households (6.4/10), adults 18-49 (4.2/11) and adults 25-54 (4.7/11), with its best performance in households since Feb. 5, 2007 and biggest audience (10.49 million) since Britney Spears’ first appearance on March 24, 2008. -National Ratings in Cable – Week of Dec. 1:What follows are the top 10 rated ad-supported cable networks in prime-time for the week of Dec. 1 based on total viewers, adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and adults 25-54: Total Viewers:USA: 2.90 million, ABC Family: 2.59 million, ESPN: 2.43 million, TNT: 2.37 million, Fox News: 2.01 million, TBS: 2.00 million, Lifetime: 1.97 million, Hallmark Channel: 1.82 million, Nick at Nite: 1.74 million, Cartoon Network: 1.36 million Adults 18-49:USA: 1.46 million, ABC Family and TBS: 1.23 million each, ESPN: 1.18 million, TNT: 1.03 million, Lifetime: 712,000, Discovery: 682,000, FX: 648,000, Comedy Central: 628,000, Nick at Nite: 609,000 Adults 25-54:USA: 1.46 million, ESPN: 1.20 million, TNT: 1.18 million, ABC Family: 1.10 million, TBS: 1.05 million, Lifetime: 821,000, Discovery: 666,000, A&E: 640,000, AMC: 621,000, History Channel: 612,000 Adults 18-34:TBS: 733,000, USA: 707,000, ABC Family: 600,000, ESPN: 568,000, Comedy Central and MTV: 413,000 each, TNT: 396,000, FX: 351,000, Nick at Nite: 326,000, Discovery: 325,000 Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of December 1, 2008 It was another week of split leadership on this holiday/repeat driven first seven days of December. CBS finished first in households, total viewers and adults 25-54; Fox was No. 1 among adults 18-49 and adults 18-34. ABC ranked second in the five surveyed categories, while the upcoming home of Jay Leno in prime-time, NBC, dipped to fourth in total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. Led by Friday Night Smackdown!, growing MyNetworkTV moved past the CW in households, total viewers and adults 25-54, building year-to-year by as much as 100 percent among adults 18-34. Comparably, this was MyNetworkTV’s most-watched week ever. Football-ignited Fox also increased from one year earlier (with gains ranging from 15 to 28 percent), while ABC, CBS and NBC were close to year-ago levels. But the CW took another tumble, dropping by as much as 42 percent among adults 18-34 (which cannot, of course, bode well for its target female audience). In series-premiere news, back-to-back Wednesday episodes of Fox’s non-scripted (and well intentioned) Secret Millionaire got off to a respectable start as follows: Secret Millionaire (Fox)Wed. 8 p.m. – Viewers: 6.67 million (#53), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#52)Wed. 9 p.m. – Viewers: 8.05 million (#42), A18-49: 3.0/ 8 (#31t) In the rare world of made-for TV movies, Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Front of the Class on CBS Sunday averaged 11.88 million viewers (#14 overall) and a 2.8 rating/7 share among adults 18-49 (#35t). And annual specials Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 on ABC, NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center and Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on CBS were on the map as follows: Barbara Walters Presents: The10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 (ABC) – Thurs. 10 p.m.Viewers: 13.19 million (#10), A18-49: 4.2/11 (#8t) Christmas in Rockefeller Plaza (NBC) – Wed. 8 p.m.Viewers: 10.32 million (#26); A18-49: 2.2/ 6 (#53t) Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (CBS) – Wed. 10 p.m. Viewers: 8.68 million (#33), A18-49: 3.6/10 (#17t) But it looks like the axe will officially swing on NBC’s sophomore Lipstick Jungle, which moved into the Friday 9 p.m. hour with a mere 3.44 million viewers (#86) and a 1.1/ 3 among adults 18-49 (#81t). Even worse: the Saturday 8 p.m. time period debut of NBC’s Crusoe at 2.42 million viewers (#88) and a 0.5/ 2 in the demo (#93t). Here are the final national ratings for the week of December 1, 2008 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by a listing of the new series results (in order of total viewers), the sophomore series report card, and the top 30 rated programs of the week. -Households:CBS: 6.9 rating/11 share (+ 5), ABC: 5.4/ 9 (- 5), NBC: 4.8/ 8 (- 8), Fox: 4.7/ 7 (+15), MNTV: 1.2/ 2 (+71), CW: 1.1/ 2 (-35) -Total Viewers: CBS: 10.90 million (+ 4), ABC: 8.62 (- 3), Fox: 7.66 (+20), NBC: 7.52 (- 7), MNTV: 1.98 (+90), CW: 1.70 (-34) -Adults 18-49:Fox: 2.9 rating/8 share (+26), ABC: 2.8/ 8 (- 3), CBS: 2.8/ 8 (-10), NBC: 2.6/ 7 (-10), MNTV: 0.6/ 2 (+50), CW: 0.6/ 2 (-40) -Adults 25-54:CBS: 3.6/ 9 (- 5), ABC: 3.3/ 8 (- 3), Fox: 3.2/ 8 (+28), NBC: 3.0/ 7 (- 9), MNTV: 0.7/ 2 (+75), CW: 0.6/ 2 (-40) -Adults 18-34:Fox: 2.6/ 8 (+24), ABC: 2.4/ 7 (+ 4), NBC: 2.3/ 7 (- 8), CBS: 1.9/ 6 (-10), CW: 0.7/ 2 (-42), MNTV: 0.6/ 2 (+100) -------------------- Freshman Series ResultsPre-empted: Gary Unmarried (CBS), Knight Rider (NBC), Life on Mars (ABC)Excluding repeats of CBS’ Worst Week and the CW’s Privileged The Mentalist (CBS) – Tuesday 9 p.m.Viewers: 18.47 million (#1), A18-49: 3.8/ 9 (#14t) Can anyone remember the last time a new series finished the week first overall in total viewers? ---------- Eleventh Hour (CBS) – Thursday 10 p.m.Viewers: 10.86 million (#20), A18-49: 2.7/ 7 (#37t) Midseason drama Harper’s Island will replace Eleventh Hour in the Thursday 10 p.m. hour on April 9, 2009. ---------- Fringe (Fox) – Tuesday 9 p.m.Viewers: 8.54 million (#34t), A18-49: 3.6/ 9 (#17t) Retention out of lead-in House (Viewers: 12.52 million; A18-49: 5.0/14) was 68 percent in total viewers and 72 percent among adults 18-49 this week. ---------- Kath & Kim (NBC) – Thursday 8:30 p.m. Viewers: 4.91 million (#76), A18-49: 2.2/ 6 (#53t) NBC needs to put this show out of its misery and trim the 22-episode order. ---------- My Own Worst Enemy (NBC) – Monday 10 p.m. Viewers: 3.94 million (#80), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#73t) Canceled; final episode scheduled for Dec. 15. ---------- Crusoe (NBC) – Saturday 8 p.m. (time period premiere)Viewers: 2.42 million (#88), A18-49: 0.5/ 2 (#93t) Does anyone remember the last time a new scripted series on NBC averaged fewer than 2.5 million viewers? ---------- Stylista (CW) – Wednesday 9 p.m. Viewers: 1.25 million (#95t), A18-49: 0.5/ 1 (#93t) Minus lead-in support from America’s Next Top Model, there is absolutely no interest in Stylista. ---------- Sophomore Series Report CardExcluding a repeat of The Big Bang Theory Life (NBC) – Wednesday 9 p.m. Viewers: 8.15 million (#40), A18-49: 2.4/ 6 (#47t) Private Practice (ABC) – Wednesday 9 p.m. Viewers: 7.78 million (#46), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#42t) Chuck (NBC) – Monday 8 p.m.Viewers: 7.34 million (#49), A18-49: 2.5/ 6 (#42t) Samantha Who? (ABC) – Monday 9:30 p.m.Viewers: 6.51 million (#55), A18-49: 2.1/ 5 (#61t) Samantha Who? (ABC) – Monday 9:00 p.m.Viewers: 6.04 million (#61), A18-49: 1.9/ 5 (#64t) Dirty Sexy Money (ABC) – Wednesday 10 p.m. Viewers: 5.64 million (#66), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#70t) Eli Stone (ABC) – Tuesday 10 p.m. Viewers: 4.94 million (#75), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#75t) Pushing Daisies (ABC) – Wednesday 8 p.m. Viewers: 4.87 million (#77), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#73t) Lipstick Jungle (NBC): - Friday 9 p.m. (time period premier)Viewers: 3.44 million (#86), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#81t) -------------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:The Mentalist (CBS): 18.74 million, NCIS (CBS): 18.52, CSI (CBS): 17.48, The OT (Fox): 16.22, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 16.09, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 15.28, 60 Minutes (CBS): 13.79, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 13.63, Sunday Night Football (NBC, Washington at Baltimore): 13.29, Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 (ABC): 13.19, Survivor: Gabon (CBS): 12.73, House (Fox): 12.52, Without a Trace (CBS): 12.32, Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Front of the Class (CBS): 11.88, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer R (CBS): 11.81, How the Grinch Stole Christmas R (ABC): 11.41, Law & Order (NBC): 11.31, CSI: Miami R (CBS): 11.16, Shrek the Halls R (ABC): 11.14, Eleventh Hour (CBS): 10.86, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 10.54, The Amazing Race (CBS, season finale): 10.50, Allstate BCS Selection Show (Fox): 10.46, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 10.40, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 10.33, Christmas in Rockefeller Center (NBC): 10.32, Numb3rs (CBS): 9.88, Ghost Whisperer (CBS); 9.71, Sunday Night Football Pre-Kick (NBC): 9.59, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town R (NBC): 8.90 -Adults 18-49:The OT (Fox): 6.3 rating/17 share, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 6.0/14, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 5.5/14, House (Fox): 5.0/14, Sunday Night Football (NBC, Washington at Baltimore): 5.0/12, CSI (CBS): 4.6/12, The Office (NBC): 4.4/11, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer R (CBS): 4.2/12, Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 (ABC): 4.2/11, Allstate BCS Selection Show (Fox): 4.1/11, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 4.0/10, Survivor: Gabon (CBS): 3.9/11, Brothers & Sisters (ABC): 3.9/ 9, How the Grinch Stole Christmas R (ABC) and The Mentalist (CBS): 3.8/ 9 each, NCIS (CBS): 3.7/10, Law & Order: SVU (NBC) and Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (CBS): 3.6/10 each, Heroes (NBC) and Fringe (Fox): 3.6/ 9 each, The Biggest Loser (NBC): 3.4/ 9, 30 Rock (NBC): 3.4/ 8, Shrek the Halls R (ABC) and Sunday Night Pre-Kick (NBC): 3.3/ 9 each, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC): 3.3/ 8, ER (NBC): 3.2/ 9, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town R (ABC), CSI: Miami R (CBS) and The Amazing Race (CBS, season finale): 3.1/ 8 each, Family Guy R (Fox): 3.1/ 7 Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Wednesday 12/10/08 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Pushing Daisies 9:00 p.m. Private Practice10:00 p.m. Dirty Sexy Money CBS: 8:00 p.m. The New Adventures of Old Christine 8:30 p.m. Gary Unmarried 9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds10:00 p.m. CSI: NY NBC: 8:00 p.m. Little Spirit: Christmas in New York 9:00 p.m. Life 10:00 p.m. Law & Order Fox: 8:00 p.m. Secret Millionaire 9:00 p.m. Bones (R) CW: 8:00 p.m. Stylista (R) 9:00 p.m. Stylista MTNV 8:00 p.m. Movie: Home Alone (R) ION 8:00 p.m. Boston Legal (R) 9:00 p.m. Boston Legal (R)10:00 p.m. Boston Legal (R) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -More Battlestar Webisodes on SciFi.com:SciFi.com will launch a new set of 10 two to three minute Battlestar Galactica webisodes called The Face of the Enemy on Friday, Dec. 12 at 12 p.m. ET. Two webisodes will air each week leading up to the return of Battlestar Galactica on Friday, Jan. 16, 2009. -On a Sad Note:Tony nominated actor and former Hill Street Blues star Robert Prosky, who joined the Emmy winning crime drama in 1984, has passed away from complications of a heart procedure. He was 78. His most recent role was in 2008 thriller The Skeptic. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman What state was comical Norman Lear serial Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman set in? a) Illinoisb) Indianac) Mississippid) Ohioe) Pennsylvania The answer to yesterday’s question… Which one of the following choices was not the real name of a TV character? a) Red Formanb) Dana Greenc) Violet Newsteadd) David Silver e) Perry White Is: b) Dana Green. There was Rachel Green (Friends) and Natalie Green (The Facts of Life), but no Dana Green. As for the others… -Red Forman: That’70s Show-Violet Newstead: 9 to 5-David Silver: Beverly Hills, 90210-Perry White: The Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman -Current kudos goes to:Brian Armistead, Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins (2x), Audrey Davis, James Davison, Harold Goetz, Maureen Goldman, Bob Ingersoll, Marie Lefevre Karp, Kelly Lindley, Lisa Menin, Tillie Nutter, Francine Purcell, Gordon Purcell, Colleen Roth, Myndi Weinraub

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CBS Dominates Tuesday Overnights Despite a Night of Repeats

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