Clean Sweep for Fox for Week of May 18

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERThursday, May 28, 2009 Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:CBS Wins; Fox Poised for Victory Among Adults 18-49 Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: A Different Sam ______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:CBS Wins; Fox Poised for Victory Among Adults 18-49 Wednesday 5/27/09 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 6.1/10Fox 5.5/ 9NBC 4.8/ 8ABC 3.5/ 6CW 0.9/ 1 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday, May 28, 2008):CBS: + 7, ABC: + 6, Fox: + 4, NBC: - 9, CW: -25 ---------- Note: The listing of winners and losers will return in September. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: CBS led the Wednesday overnights with its line-up of two-hour special George Strait – ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert (6.2 rating/10 share from 8-10 p.m.) and a repeat of Criminal Minds (#1: 5.9/10 at 10 p.m.). But Fox will likely win the evening among adults 18-49 care of summer favorite So You Think You Can Dance (5.5/ 9 from 8-10 p.m.). Take a look at the half-hour breakdowns for George Strait – ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert and So You Think You Can Dance, which each built in every half-hour: George Strait – ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert (CBS)8:00 p.m.: 5.0/ 9 (#2)8:30 p.m.: 5.7/ 9 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 6.9/11 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 7.1/11 (#1So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)8:00 p.m.: 4.7/ 8 (#3)8:30 p.m.: 5.2/ 8 (#3)9:00 p.m.: 5.9/ 9 (#2)9:30 p.m.: 6.1/ 9 (#2) In series-premiere news, ABC’s animated The Goode Family was a complete bust, with a fourth-place 2.9/ 5 in the overnights at 9 p.m. Comparably, retention out the second-half of lead-in Wipeout (#2: 5.5/ 9 at 8:30 p.m.) was just 53 percent. Overall, this sophomore season-opening edition of Wipeout was second in the 8 p.m. hour with a 5.4/ 9, which should translate well in the young adult demographics. Leading out of The Goode Family was the time period premiere of sitcom Surviving Suburbia (#4: 2.1/ 3 at 9:30 p.m.), followed by canceled dramedy The Unusuals at a last-place 2.7/ 4 at 10 p.m. Although ABC has publicly said that Surviving Suburbia is still on the bubble for renewal, you can certainly forget about it now. Over at NBC, repeats of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (#4: 4.2/ 7), Law & Order: SVU (#3: 5.4/ 9) and Law & Order (#2: 4.9/ 8) resulted in an overall third-place metered market finish for NBC last night. In the distant No. 5 spot was The CW’s pairing of a repeat of America’s Next Top Model (#5: 1.0/ 1) and a repeat of Hitched or Ditched (#5: 0.9/ 1), which unsuccessfully debuted one night earlier. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) _____________________________________________________________________________ National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of May 18, 2009 Led by the season-finale of American Idol, it was a clean sweep for Fox with a first-place finish in households, total viewers and the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. Even so, the network still dipped by margins of 18 to 24 percent from one year earlier. Excluding a third-place finish among adults 18-34, CBS ranked second across the board at levels close to one year earlier. Just the opposite was ABC (second among adults 18-34, third elsewhere), with year-to-year losses of as much as 19 percent among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. Elsewhere, fourth-place NBC could not stop the bleeding, with erosion of 14 to 27 percent. Fifth-place The CW was also on the downside, while MyNetworkTV (which did not even have an upfront presentation) continues to benefit with Friday Night Smackdown! on the schedule. For more on MyNetworkTV, see TV Tidbits below. In series-preview news, Fox musical drama Glee was sampled in the Tuesday 9 p.m. hour, with 9.62 million viewers (#14 overall) and a 3.9 rating/10 share among adults 18-49 (#7). But retention out of the final American Idol Performance Show (see rankings below) was just 40 percent in total viewers and 45 percent in the demo. Glee returns this fall in the Wednesday 9 p.m. hour out of So You Think You Can Dance. The season-premiere of ABC’s The Bachelorette in the Monday 9-11 p.m. block (Viewers: #18, 8.69 million; A18-49: #16, 3.0/ 8), meanwhile, had retention of 45 percent in total viewers and 68 percent among adults 18-49 out of the final Dancing With the Stars Performance Show. Over at Fox, season five of reality/competition So You Think You Can Dance got off to a positive start on Thursday, with 8.85 million viewers (#15) and a 3.4/11 among adults 18-49 (#13t). Two additional programs of note on ABC (one good, one bad) was Los Angeles versus Denver on game three of The NBA Playoffs on Saturday at 8.73 million viewers (tied for #16) and a 3.5/13 among adults 18-49 (tied for #11). Far less impressive was part one of ABC miniseries Diamonds with just 4.06 million viewers (#48) and a 0.9/ 3 in the demo (tied for #69) in the Sunday 9-11 p.m. block. Here are the final national ratings for the week of May 18, 2009 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the top 30 rated programs of the week. Keep in mind that Wednesday of this week marked the conclusion of the traditional (September to May) TV season. -Households:Fox: 5.9 rating/11 share (-19), CBS: 5.7/10 (+ 2), ABC: 4.7/ 8 (-16), NBC: 3.0/ 5 (-14), CW: 1.0/ 2 (-29), MNTV: 0.9/ 2 (+50) -Total Viewers: Fox: 10.19 million (-18), CBS: 8.89 (+ 4), ABC: 7.29 (-13), NBC: 4.44 (-16), CW: 1.40 (-37), MNTV: 1.33 (+45) -Adults 18-49:Fox: 3.6 rating/12 share (-20), CBS: 2.1/ 7 (no change), ABC: 2.1/ 7 (-19), NBC: 1.2/ 4 (-25), CW: 0.6/ 2 (-25), MNTV: 0.4/ 1 (+33) -Adults 25-54:Fox: 4.2/12 (-19), CBS: 2.8/ 8 (+ 4), ABC: 2.5/ 7 (-19), NBC: 1.5/ 4 (-21), MNTV: 0.5/ 1 (+25), CW: 0.5/ 2 (-37) -Adults 18-34:Fox: 2.9/11 (-24), ABC: 1.7/ 6 (-15), CBS: 1.3/ 5 (no change), NBC: 0.8/ 3 (-27), CW: 0.7/ 2 (-22), MNTV: 0.4/ 2 (+33) -------------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:American Idol – Wednesday (Fox, season finale): 28.84 million, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 23.82, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC, season finale): 20.31, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 19.17, The Mentalist (CBS, season finale): 16.82, NCIS (CBS, season finale): 16.50, Two and a Half Men (CBS, season finale): 16.18, CSI: Miami (CBS, season finale): 14.20, Criminal Minds (CBS, season finale): 13.99, Rules of Engagement (CBS, season finale): 12.87, Without a Trace (CBS, series finale): 11.21, CSI R (CBS): 9.88, 24 (Fox, season finale): 9.64, Glee (Fox, preview): 9.62, So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, season premiere): 8.85, NBA Playoffs (ABC) and How I Met Your Mother (CBS, season finale): 8.73 each, The Bachelorette (ABC, season premiere): 8.69, 60 Minutes R (CBS): 8.14, Dancing With the Stars R (ABC, Tues. 8 p.m.): 7.65, Rules of Engagement (CBS, Mon. 8 p.m.): 7.50, Flashpoint R (CBS, Thurs. 10 p.m.): 7.37, NCIS R (CBS, Thurs. 8 p.m.): 7.34, Cold Case R (CBS): 7.01, Law & Order: SVU (NBC): 6.93, Law & Order (NBC): 6.67, Medium (NBC): 6.56, Flashpoint R (CBS): 6.50, Southland (NBC): 6.45, Numbers R (CBS): 6.39 -Adults 18-49:American Idol – Wednesday (Fox, season finale): 10.0 rating/28 share, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 8.6/25, Two and a Half Men (CBS, season finale): 5.3/14, Dancing With the Stars – Tuesday (ABC, season finale): 5.2/14, Dancing With the Stars – Monday (ABC): 4.4/13, Rules of Engagement (CBS, season finale): 4.4/11, Glee (Fox, preview): 3.9/10, CSI: Miami (CBS, season finale): 3.8/10, How I Met Your Mother (CBS, season finale) and The Mentalist (CBS, season finale): 3.7/10 each, NBA Playoffs (ABC): 3.5/13, Criminal Minds (CBS, season finale): 3.5/ 9, So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, season premiere): 3.4/11, NCIS (CBS, season finale): 3.4/10, 24 (Fox, season finale): 3.1/ 9, The Bachelorette (ABC, season premiere): 3.0/ 8, Rules of Engagement (CBS, Mon. 8 p.m.): 2.7/ 8, Law & Order: SVU (NBC) and Without a Trace CBS, series finale): 2.5/ 7 each, Law & Order (NBC): 2.0/ 5, CSI R (CBS), Southland (NBC) and Ugly Betty (ABC): 1.9/ 6 each, Medium (NBC): 1.9/ 5, Dancing With the Stars R (ABC): 1.8/ 5, Flashpoint R (CBS, Thurs. 10 p.m.) and Gary Unmarried (CBS, season finale): 1.7/ 5 each, The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS, season finale): 1.6/ 5, Cold Case R (CBS): 1.5/ 5, Deal or No Deal (NBC, Mon. 9 p.m.) and The Office R (NBC): 1.5/ 5 each Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) _____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Top 20 Rankings in Syndication – Week of May 11:What follows are the top 20 rated programs in syndication (first-run and off-network) based on households for the week of May 11: Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 6.4 rating, Jeopardy (CTD): 5.4, Oprah (CTD): 5.3, Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 4.6, Entertainment Tonight (CTD): 4.2, Judge Judy (CTD): 4.0, Family Guy (Twentieth): 3.7, CSI: NY (CTD): 3.4, Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 3.3, Dr. Phil (CTD): 3.0, Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) and Inside Edition (CTD): 2.9 each, Wheel of Fortune Weekend (CTD): 2.8, George Lopez (Warner Bros.) and Law & Order; SVU (NBC Universal): 2.7 each, Seinfeld – Weekend (SPT): 2.6, Live With Regis & Kelly (Disney/ABC) and King of the Hill (Twentieth): 2.5 each, House (NBCU), King of Queens (SPT) and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney/ABC): 2.2 each ---------- -Top Rated Cable Networks in Prime-Time – Week of May 18:What follows are the top 10 rated basic cable networks in prime-time based on the week of May 18: Total Viewers:TNT: 3.32 million, USA: 2.82, ESPN: 2.22, Fox News: 1.89, TBS: 1.53, Nick at Nite: 1.42, FX: 1.33, A&E: 1.17, Discovery: 1.11, VS: 1.09 Adults 18-49:TNT: 1.75 million, ESPN: 1.16 million, USA: 1.15 million, TBS: 902,000, FX: 755,000, VS: 653,000, Discovery: 612,000, A&E: 546,000, Spike TV: 528,000, Nick at Nite: 496,000 Adults 25-54:TNT: 1.72 million, USA: 1.28 million, ESPN: 1.10 million, TBS: 792,000, FX: 712,000, VS: 641,000, Discovery: 604,000, Sci Fi: 565,000, A&E: 553,000, History: 528,000 Adults 18-34:TNT: 891,000, ESPN: 654,000, TBS: 501,000, USA: 493,000, FX: 355,000, VS: 324,000, MTV: 310,000, Spike TV: 297,000, Discovery: 276,000, Comedy Central: 268,000 Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Thursday 5/28/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. The 2009 Scripp’s National Spelling Bee10:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. CSI (R)10:00 p.m. Without a Trace (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. My Name is Earl (R) 8:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation (R) 9:00 p.m. The Office (R) 9:30 p.m. 30 Rock (R)10:00 p.m. The Office (R, one hour) Fox: 8:00 p.m. So You Think You Can Dance (two hours) CW 8:00 p.m. Smallville (R) 9:00 p.m. Supernatural (R) MTNV 8:00 p.m. Movie: Just Cause (R) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Roseanne Heads to TV Land:Classic half-hour Roseanne, one of the most underrated sitcoms in the history of television, will join TV Land’s line-up week a week-long marathon beginning on Friday, June 5 through Friday, June 12 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET. Effective the following week, a double dose of Roseanne will air weeknights from 9-10 p.m. ET and 12-1 a.m. ET. -CBS Announces Return Date for Big Brother:Season 11 of CBS summer favorite Big Brother will begin on Thursday, July 9 at 8 p.m. ET. Big Brother will also air in the Sunday 8 p.m. ET and Tuesday 9 p.m. ET hours. -Casting News::Former 3rd Rock From the Sun star John Lithgow will join the cast of Showtime drama Dexter next season, which returns on Sunday, Sept. 27, as an unassuming suburbanite who happens to be Miami’s latest serial killer. Freddie Prinze, Jr., meanwhile, will head to Fox’s veteran 24 as a recently returned Marine who wants to follow in Jack Bauer’s (Kiefer Sutherland) footsteps. -The Lippin Group and The jLINE Group Form Partnership:Public relations firm The Lippin Group and event development and entertainment marketing firm The jLINE Group have entered into an exclusive brand-focused alliance. As a result, The Lippin Group’s Brand2Hollywood unit will expand in the areas of programming brand integration, event development and production, and product placement. -MyNetworkTV Unveils Fall 2009 Line-Up:MyNetworkTV has confirmed its five-night prime-time schedule this fall, with the former home of serialized telenovelas and non-scripted programming now an arena for off-network product. Excluding returning WWE Friday Night Smackdown!, the Monday to Thursday 8-10 p.m. block of programming will consist of all repeats. Back-to-back encore telecasts of Law & Order: Criminal Intent will occupy Monday, followed by two repeats each of the half-hour versions of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (which debuts in first-run syndication this fall) and Deal or No Deal on Tuesday. MyNetworkTV will present back-to-back episodes of just canceled military drama The Unit on Wednesday, followed by a Thursday movie and the aforementioned WWE Friday Night Smackdown! Based on the different themed programming every season, one of the movies should, no doubt, be Sybil. Here is MyNetworkTV’s fall 2009 schedule: Monday8:00 p.m.: Law & Order: Criminal Intent (R)9:00 p.m.: Law & Order: Criminal Intent (R) Tuesday8:00 p.m.: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (R)8:30 p.m.: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (R)9:00 p.m.: Deal or No Deal (R)9:30 p.m.: Deal or No Deal (R) Wednesday8:00 p.m.: The Unit (R)9:00 p.m.: The Unit (R) Thursday8:00 p.m.: My Thursday Night Movie Friday8:00 p.m. WWE Friday Night Smackdown! _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:A Different Sam We all remember Elizabeth Montgomery, of course, for her long-running role as witch Samantha Stephens on sitcom Bewitched. But who was the first choice for the role? a) Whitney Blakeb) Tina Cole c) Barbara Edend) Tammy Grimese) Donna Reed The answer to yesterday’s question… What kind of business was Rhoda’s husband Joe in? a) automotive b) fitnessc) foodd) insurance e) wrecking Is: e) wrecking. Joe owned a struggling wrecking company, which was keep afloat after nagging Mama Ida lent Rhoda and Joe $7,000. “Is my money dirty?,” she questioned the pair after they initially refused to take the check. All together now… "My name is Rhoda Morgenstern. I was born in the Bronx, New York, in December, 1941. I’ve always felt responsible for World War II. The first thing I remember liking that liked me back was food. I had a bad puberty: it lasted 17 years. I’m a high school graduate; I went to art school. My entrance exam was on a book of matches. I decided to move out of the house when I was 24. My mother still refers to this as the time I ran away from home. Eventually I ran to Minneapolis where it’s cold, and I figured I’d keep better. Now I’m back in Manhattan. New York, this is your last chance!" -Current kudos goes to:Mark Amato, Barbara Berman, Gerry Bixenspan, Mitch Burg, Paul Certo, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Mark Cosenza, Annie Courtney, Paulette Dittrick, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Arleen Fong, Jan Frazier, Jerry Gibbons, Maureen Goldman, Geoffrey Gordon, Sharron Harmening, Carla Snell-Hatfield, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Deb Kainer, Marie Lefevre Karp, Mary Kinoshita, Claudia Martin, Kathy Martin, Kathy McClung, Tricia McKee, Jeff Meier, Lyle Merdler, Jim Moore, Rick Morris, Michael Murphy, Alan Perris, Gordon Purcell, Arthur Reinstein, Con Rigg, Alan Rosenfeld, Colleen Roth, Mary Ryan, Neal Sabin, Ron Salmon, Maxine Schulman, Arlyn Sinsay, Ronnie Tallant

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Clean Sweep for Fox for Week of May 18

Marc Berman

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