CBS Dominates the Week of Dec. 14

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERWednesday, December 23, 2009 Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:Still Potent CBS Despite All Repeats National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of December 14, 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: Everybody Loves Long Island ________________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:Still Potent CBS Despite All Repeats Tuesday 12/22/09 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 7.6/13NBC 3.1/ 5ABC 2.8/ 5Fox 2.8/ 5CW 0.6/ 1 ---------- Note: The year-to-year overnight comparisons are not available today. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:NCIS R (CBS), NCIS: Los Angeles R (CBS), The Good Wife R (CBS) -Yesterday’s Losers:Scrubs (ABC), Better Off Ted (ABC), The Jay Leno Show (NBC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:With 85 percent of the prime-time line-up in repeats (ABC’s Scrubs and Better Off Ted, and The Jay Leno Show on NBC were the exceptions), there was very little of note. CBS remained in the overnight winner’s circle with its encore combination of NCIS (#1: 9.4 rating/15 share), NCIS: Los Angeles (#1: 7.7/13) and The Good Wife (#1: 5.9/10). Next was NBC, which repeated two-hour special The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now? (#2: 2.9/ 5) and The Jay Leno Show (#2: 3.5/ 6), which still trailed CBS’ aforementioned The Good Wife encore by 41 percent in the overnights. Unfortunately, Leno is not picking up the steam NBC had hoped for opposite non-originals. Elsewhere, ABC opened this fourth Tuesday in December with a repeat of America’s Funniest Home Videos at a second-place 3.7/ 7 at 8 p.m. Next was the aforementioned combination of Scrubs (#4: 2.2/ 5) and Better Off Ted (#4: 1.8/ 3), which will be concluding in January, followed by repeat holiday hour Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special at a last-place 2.7/ 5 at 10 p.m. Why ABC needed the keep Scrubs and Better Off Ted on the air this season is beyond me. Fox filled the evening with a repeat of Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, which averaged a mere 2.8/ 5 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. And The CW capped it off with repeats of 90210 (#5: 0.7/ 1) and Melrose Place (#5: 0.5/ 1). It’s the holidays, folks…not much is going on. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)_____________________________________________________________________________ National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of December 14, 2009 Excluding a victory for Fox among adults 18-34, it was a clean sweep for CBS for the week of December 14, which featured all original programming on five nights of the week (Monday through Thursday, and Sunday). CBS held 14 of the top 15 shows in total viewers and 12 of the top 15 among adults 18-49, with above average performances for most of its line-up. NBC finished second across the board (tied with Fox among adults 18-49), with minor erosion from one year earlier. CBS built by as much as 11 percent in both adults 18-49 and adults 18-34. Elsewhere, Fox was on the year-to-year plus side, with growth ranging from 8 to 22 percent in the five surveyed categories. Deteriorating ABC finished fourth, with losses of as much as 15 percent among adults 18-49. Last was The CW, which was on par with the year-ago week (which, of course, included low-rated Sunday into the mix). In short-flight series-premiere news, NBC got enough mileage out of reality/competition The Sing-Off to assume this is not the last we will see of it. Here were the initial three night, six-hour results: The Sing-Off (NBC) – 8-10 p.m.Monday – Viewers: 6.89 million (#27), A18-49: 2.3/ 6 (#26t)Tuesday – Viewers: 6.86 million (#28), A18-49: 2.6/ 7 (#22t)Wednesday – Viewers: 6.51 million (#33), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (# 32t) In season-finale news, CBS’ Survivor: Samoa was on the Sunday charts with a solid 13.96 million viewers (#11) and a 4.4 rating/11 share among adults 18-49 (#4). Considerably less successful was the first (and probably last) fall edition of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance at a modest 7.09 million viewers (#23) and a 2.6/ 8 among adults 18-49 (#22t) in the Wednesday 8-10 p.m. block. In the original holiday specials department, there were two, NBC’s Saturday Night Live Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas and ABC’s Jennifer Hudson: Home for the Holidays, and they performed as follows: Saturday Night Live Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas (NBC) – Thursday 8 p.m.Viewers: 7.79 million (#20), A18-49: 3.1/ 9 (#17t) Jennifer Hudson: Home for the Holidays (ABC) – Monday 8 p.m.Viewers: 5.60 million (#42), A18-49: 1.2/ 3 (#59t) Here are the final national ratings for the week of December 14, 2009 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the freshman series results (including The Jay Leno Show being broken out separately), and the top 30 rated programs of the week. -Households:CBS: 7.0 rating/12 share (no change), NBC: 4.5/ 8 (- 4), Fox: 4.1/ 7 (+ 8), ABC: 3.1/ 5 (- 3), CW: 1.0/ 2 (no change) -Total Viewers: CBS: 11.49 million (+ 2), NBC: 7.26 (- 3), Fox: 6.70 (+10), ABC: 4.86 (- 5), CW: 1.48 (+ 1) -Adults 18-49:CBS: 3.0 rating/9 share (+11), Fox: 2.4/ 7 (+14), NBC: 2.4/ 7 (- 8), ABC: 1.4/ 4 (-12), CW: 0.6/ 2 (no change) -Adults 25-54:CBS: 3.9/10 (+ 5), NBC: 2.8/ 7 (- 7), Fox: 2.7/ 7 (+12), ABC: 1.7/ 4 (-11), CW: 0.6/ 2 (no change) -Adults 18-34:Fox: 2.2/ 7 (+22), NBC: 2.1/ 7 (- 5), CBS: 2.0/ 7 (+11), ABC: 1.1/ 3 (-15), CW: 0.7/ 2 (+17) -------------------- Original Freshman Series Results (in order of total viewers)Pre-Empted This Week: Brothers (Fox), Community (NBC), Melrose Place (CW), Mercy (NBC), Trauma (NBC)In Repeats: The Cleveland Show (Fox), Cougar Town (ABC), The Middle (ABC), Modern Family (ABC), The Vampire Diaries (CW) NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) – Tuesday 9 p.m. ETViewers: 17.50 million (#3), A18-49: 3.6/10 (#12)Grade: A The Good Wife (CBS) – Tuesday 10 p.m. ETViewers: 14.17 million (#10), A18-49: 2.8/ 8 (#20t)Grade: B+ Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) – Monday 8:30 p.m. ETViewers: 8.82 million (#18), A18-49: 3.2/ 9 (#16)Grade: B- The Jay Leno Show (NBC) – Wednesday 10 p.m. ETViewers: 5.49 million (#43), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#46t)Grade: D The Jay Leno Show (NBC) – Friday 10 p.m. ETViewers: 5.45 million (#44), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#52t)Grade: C- Find My Family (ABC) – Monday 9 p.m. ETViewers: 5.44 million (#45), A18-49: 1.3/ 3 (#55t)Grade: F The Jay Leno Show (NBC) – Thursday 10 p.m. ETViewers: 5.21 million (#49), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#41t)Grade: F The Jay Leno Show (NBC) – Tuesday 10 p.m. ETViewers: 5.20 million (#50), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#38t)Grade: D The Jay Leno Show (NBC) – Monday 10 p.m. ETViewers: 4.75 million (#56), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#50t)Grade: F Eastwick (ABC) – Wednesday 10 p.m. ETViewers: 3.66 million (#70), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#55t)Grade: F --------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:NCIS (CBS): 20.69 million, Sunday Night Football: Minnesota at Carolina (NBC): 18.19, NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS): 17.50, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 16.37, The Mentalist (CBS): 15.77, The Big Bang Theory (CBS) and CSI (CBS): 15.58 each, Criminal Minds (CBS): 14.68, CSI: Miami (CBS): 14.18, The Good Wife (CBS): 14.17, Survivor: Samoa (CBS, season finale, Sun. 8 p.m.): 13.97, CSI: NY (CBS): 13.55, 60 Minutes (CBS): 12.72, Survivor: Samoa (CBS): 12.46, Survivor: Samoa Reunion (CBS): 11.68, Football Night in America, Part 3 (NBC): 9.83, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 9.64, Accidentally on Purpose (CBS): 8.82, The Simpsons R (Fox): 8.15, Saturday Night Live Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas (NBC): 7.79, Gary Unmarried (CBS): 7.76, The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS): 7.64, So You Think You Can Dance – Wednesday (Fox, season finale): 7.09, ABC Sunday Movie: The Santa Clause 3: Escape Clause: 7.08, Frosty the Snowman R (CBS): 7.08, America’s Funniest Home Videos R (ABC): 6.99, The Sing-Off – Monday (NBC, series premiere): 6.89, The Sing-Off – Tuesday (NBC): 6.86, 20/20 (ABC): 6.79, House R (Fox): 6.72 -Adults 18-49:Sunday Night Football: Minnesota at Carolina (NBC): 6.5 rating/17 share, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 5.6/14, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 5.2/13, Survivor: Samoa (CBS, season finale, Sun. 8 p.m.): 4.4/11, NCIS (CBS): 4.3/13, CSI: Miami (CBS): 4.1/11, Survivor Samoa (CBS): 3.9/12, Criminal Minds (CBS), The Simpsons R (Fox) and Survivor Samoa: Reunion (CBS): 3.8/10 each, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 3.7/10, NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS): 3.6/10, CSI (CBS) and The Mentalist (CBS): 3.5/10 each, Football Night in America, part 3 (NBC): 3.3/10, Accidentally on Purpose (CBS): 3.2/ 9, CSI: NY (CBS) and Saturday Night Live Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas: 3.1/ 9 each, Family Guy R (Fox): 3.1/ 8, The Good Wife (CBS): 2.8/ 8, The Cleveland Show R (Fox): 2.8/ 7, So You Think You Can Dance – Wednesday (Fox, season finale): 2.6/ 8, The Sing-Off – Tuesday (NBC): 2.6/ 7, Gary Unmarried (CBS): 2.5/ 7, American Dad R (Fox): 2.5/ 6, The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS): 2.3/ 6, A Charlie Brown Christmas R (ABC) and So You Think You Can Dance – Tuesday (Fox): 2.3/ 7 each, The Sing-Off – Monday (NBC, series premiere): 2.3/ 6 Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Hallmarks The Three Gifts Tops the Charts:Original Hallmark Channel made-for The Three Gifts topped the charts among all basic cable network movies for the week of Dec. 14, with a 2.9 household rating on Saturday, Dec. 19. The Three Gifts boosted Hallmark to an eighth-place finish for the week in prime-time. -National Ratings in Syndication – Week of December 7:Here are the top 20 rated programs in syndication for the week of December 7 based on households, followed by any highlights worth noting. Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 7.5 rating. Jeopardy (CBS): 6.3, Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.1, Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 4.8, Judge Judy (CBS): 4.7, Oprah (CBS): 4.2, Inside Edition (CBS): 3.6, CSI: NY (CBS): 3.5, Family Guy (Twentieth Television): 3.4, The Office (NBC Universal): 3.1, Dr. Phil (CBS), Live With Regis & Kelly (Disney-ABC) and Wheel of Fortune – Weekend (CBS): 2.9 each, Ellen DeGeneres (Warner Bros.), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) and Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 2.8 each, Dr. Oz (SPT), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) and Seinfeld – Weekend (SPT): 2.7 each -Entertainment Tonight extended its winning streak in the category of magazine to 700 consecutive weeks. -Judge Judy was the only court strip on the rise, building by two percent both year-to-year and week-to-week.-CBS Television Distribution’s The Rachael Ray Show matched its season high, with a 1.9 in households. -Ellen rose to a season high, with growth of as much as 25 percent among women 18-34 from the year-ago week.-NBC Universal’s extended its winning streak among adults 18-34 (1.1 – tied with Oprah) to three consecutive weeks. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Wednesday 12/23/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas (R) 8:30 p.m. The Middle (R) 9:00 p.m. Modern Family (R) 9:30 p.m. The Middle (R)10:00 p.m. Cougar Town (R)10:30 p.m. Cougar Town (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. The 11th Annual Home for the Holidays 9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds10:00 p.m. CSI: NY NBC: 8:00 p.m. Mercy (R) 9:00 p.m. Mercy (R)10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show Fox: 8:00 p.m. Glee (R) 9:00 p.m. Glee (R) CW 8:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (R) 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (R) ______________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Home Improvement Heads to TV Land:Former hit ABC sitcom Home Improvement, which aired from 1991 to 1999, will be joining TV Land’s line-up with a week-long marathon beginning Monday, January 4 at 8 p.m. ET. Effective January 11, Home Improvement can be seen weeknights at 9 p.m. ET. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Everybody Loves Long Island What town in Long Island did the Barones live in on sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond? BellmoreHuntingtonLynbrookMassapequaPort Washington The answer to yesterday’s question… Which one of the following options was not the real title of a TV series? Barney Miller Bernie Diamond Charlie GraceLucas Tanner Temple Houston Is: b) Bernie Diamond. There was late 1950s detective drama called Richard Diamond, Private Eye, which featured the sexy legs of a very young Mary Tyler Moore, but never a Bernie Diamond. As for the real shows: -Barney Miller (ABC): 1975-82-Charlie Grace (ABC): 1995-Lucas Tanner (NBC): 1974-75-Temple Houston (NBC): 1963-64 -Current kudos goes to:Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield (2x), Larry Collins, Reid Davis, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Maureen Goldman, Bob Ingersoll, Synda Kollman, Mark Krause, Steven Kurtzer, Jim Moore, Tony Naldrett, Alan Perris, Francine Purcell, Gordon Purcell, Colleen Roth, Joe Rubi, Maxine Schulman (2x), Larry Weinstock, Joel Wolk,

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CBS Dominates the Week of Dec. 14

Marc Berman

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