Considerable Thursday Overnight Dominance for CBS

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERFriday, December 12, 2008 Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins by a Hefty Margin 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:Top Rated Theatrical_______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins by a Hefty Margin Thursday 12/11/08Note: The following results exclude Boston, New Orleans and Austin. HH Rtg/Shr CBS 9.5/15NBC 4.9/ 8ABC 4.0/ 6Fox 3.5/ 5CW 1.7/ 3 ---------- -Year-to-year comparisons were not available today. ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Thursday 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 Thursday, December 11, 2008. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:Survivor: Gabon (CBS), CSI (CBS), Eleventh Hour (CBS) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Secret Millionaire (Fox), Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: CBS won this second Thursday in December, with a hefty 94 percent overnight advantage over second-place NBC. Next was ABC, followed by Fox and the CW. With a lead this significant, CBS dominated in every half-hour with its combination of Survivor: Gabon (7.0/12), CSI (12.6/20) and Eleventh Hour (8.8/15). Comparably, that was a season-high for Eleventh Hour. NBC had nothing extraordinary to report with its line-up of My Name is Earl (#2: 4.2/ 7), Kath & Kim (#4: 3.5/ 6), The Office (#2: 5.2/ 8), 30 Rock (#2: 4.8/ 7) and ER (#2: 6.0/10). But keep in mind that The Office always manages to generate plenty of interest among adults 18-49. Next was ABC care of repeats of Ugly Betty (#2: 4.1/ 7), Grey’s Anatomy (#3: 4.8/ 7) and the time period premiere of Private Practice (#3: 3.1/ 5), which only held 66 percent of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Grey’s Anatomy. Fourth overall was Fox with its combination of Secret Millionaire (#4: 3.7/ 6) and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (#4: 3.3/ 5). And the CW capped off Thursday with repeats of Smallville (#5: 1.9/ 3) and Supernatural (#5: 1.6/ 2). Source: Nielsen Media Research data _______________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Dominant Season Finale for Sci Fi Channel’s Ghost Hunters:The season four finale of Sci Fi Channel’s Ghost Hunters rose to a 1.9 household rating, with 2.8 million viewers, 1.6 million adults 18-49 and 1.7 million adults 25-54 at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Compared to the season three finale, that was up by as much as 32 percent in total viewers. -Top 10 Rated Programs in Syndication – Week of Nov. 24:What follows is the top tier in syndication nationally for the holiday week of Nov. 24 based on households (AA – average audience), followed by any highlights of note. Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 6.7 ratingJeopardy (CBS): 5.4Oprah (CBS): 4.9*Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 3.5**Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 4.5Judge Judy (CBS): 4.4**Family Guy (Twentieth Television): 3.8Dr. Phil (CBS): 3.7**CSI: NY (CBS): 3.6Seinfeld Weekend (Sony Pictures Television): 3.4 * four-day average – Thursday, Nov. 27 excluded** three day average – Thursday, Nov. 27 and Friday, Nov. 28 excluded -Oprah extended its dominance in talk to 500 consecutive weeks, beating the neatest competitor, Dr. Phil, by 32 percent in households. -Two and a Half Men extended its winning streak in the off-network sitcom category to 58 consecutive weeks. -Warner Bros.’ The Ellen DeGeneres Show (three day average) rose to a series-high 2.5 in households -- up 19 percent from the year-ago week. Ratings among women 18-49 (1.4) and women 25-54 (1.6) were up by 17 percent and 14 percent, respectively. -TMZ, also from Warner Bros., scored a 1.9 in households, topping all syndicated magazines among adults 18-34 (1.1) and men 18-34 (1.0) -For the first time ever, CBS Television Distribution’s The Doctors (1.9) topped the first-run freshman strips in households. And The Doctors has been officially renewed for a second season, with clearances to-date at 95 percent of the country for 2009-10. Source: Nielsen Media Research data________________________________________________________________________________ EXTRA, EXTRA…READ ALL ABOUT IT Have a message you want to get out…quickly?Want to reach your target audience in network, cable, syndication and the buying community? Send the copy and we will tailor a colorful text advertisement suited to your needs. For more information, contact Jessica Ryan at 646/654-5502 or via email at Jryan@adweek.com. GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT NOW!!! On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options Friday 12/12/08 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Wife Swap 9:00 p.m. Supernanny10:00 p.m. 20/20 CBS: 8:00 p.m. Frosty the Snowman (R) 8:30 p.m. Frosty Returns (R) 9:00 p.m. The Flight Before Christmas 10:00 p.m. Numb3rs (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Greatest Holiday Moments: Songs of the Season Countdown 9:00 p.m. Lipstick Jungle10:00 p.m. Dateline Fox: 8:00 p.m. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? 9:00 p.m. Don’t Forget the Lyrics CW: 8:00 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris 8:30 p.m. The Game 9:00 p.m. The 10th Annual Family Entertainment Awards MNTV 8:00 p.m. Friday Night Smackdown! ION7:00 p.m. Movie: A Grandpa for Christmas (R, from 7 p.m.) 9:00 p.m. Movie – Silent Night (R) --------------- Saturday 12/13/08 ABC:8:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos (R) 9:00 p.m. Movie – Surviving Christmas (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. Eleventh Hour (R) 9:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery 10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC: 8:00 p.m. Movie – It’s a Wonderful Life (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. Cops 9:00 p.m. America’s Most Wanted MNT 8:00 p.m. Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties (R) ION 8:00 p.m. Movie – Hogfather R (from 7 p.m.) --------------- Sunday 12/14/08 ABC: 7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos (R) 8:00 p.m. Movie: The Santa Claus (R)10:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives (R) CBS: 7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes 8:00 p.m. Survivor: Gabon (season finale) 10:00 p.m. Survivor: Gabon Reunion NBC: 7:00 p.m. Football Night in America 8:25 p.m. Sunday Night Football: New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys Fox: 7:00 p.m. King of the Hill (R) 7:30 p.m. King of the Hill (R) 8:00 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 8:30 p.m. King of the Hill (R) 9:00 p.m. Family Guy (R) 9:30 p.m. American Dad (R) CW: 7:00 p.m. Jericho (R) 8:00 p.m. Sunday Movie: Spaceballs (R) ION7:00 p.m. Movie – Pinocchio (three hours) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Lauren Graham to Headline ABC Sitcom:Former Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham will star in an untitled ABC comedy about a self-help guru who teaches women how to live a stress-free life but does not follow her own advice. This will actually be Graham’s fifth sitcom, with appearances to-date in short-live half hours Conrad Bloom (NBC, 1988), Good Company (CBS, 1996), Townies (ABC, 1996) and M.Y.O.B. (NBC, 2000). -The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards…And the Nominations Are…:HBO led the television pack of the just announced Golden Globe Award nominations, with 22, including five for freshman drama In Treatment, and multiple nods for the recently introduced True Blood, Entourage and made-for movies Recount and Bernard and Doris. Next was Showtime, with eight, including sitcoms Californication and Weeds; dramas Dexter and The Tudors; and made-for An American Crime. AMC’s Mad Men was also on the ballot with three nominations, including Best Television Series – Drama, and Jon Hamm and January Jones in the lead acting categories. NBC topped the broadcast networks with six nominations, including sitcoms 30 Rock and The Office, and prior winner Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama. ABC received five nominations, including Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths for Sunday drama Brothers & Sisters. Fox had three (for House and 24: Redemption), while CBS’ sole nomination was for How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris as Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television. The CW was not recognized. Notably missing from the ballot was ABC critic darling Pushing Daisies, and the majority of top-rated network shows, including CBS’ CSI, NCIS and The Mentalist; and Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy on ABC. The 66th Annual Golden Awards will be presented live on NBC on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET. Best Television Series – Drama:Dexter (Showtime)House (Fox)In Treatment (HBO)Mad Men (AMC)True Blood (HBO) Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical:30 Rock (NBC)Californication (Showtime)Entourage (HBO)The Office (NBC)Weeds (Showtime) Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made-For Television:A Raisin in the Sun (ABC)Bernard and Doris (HBO)Cranford (PBS)John Adams (HBO)Recount (HBO) Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama:Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters, ABC)Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU, NBC)January Jones (Mad Men, AMC)Anna Paquin (True Blood, HBO)Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT) Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama:Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment, HBO)Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)Jon Hamm (Mad Men, AMC)Hugh Laurie (House, Fox)Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors, Showtime) Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical:Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?, ABC)America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, ABC)Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)Debra Messing (The Starter Wife, USA)Mary Louise Parker (Weeds, Showtime) Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical:Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)Steve Carell (The Office, NBC)Kevin Connolly (Entourage, HBO)David Duchovny (Californication, Showtime)Tony Shalhoub (Monk, USA) Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:Judi Dench (Cranford, PBS)Catherine Keener (An American Crime, Showtime)Laura Linney (John Adams, HBO)Shirley MacLaine (Coco Chanel, Lifetime)Susan Sarandon (Bernard and Doris, HBO) Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:Ralph Fiennes (Bernard and Doris, HBO)Paul Giamatti (John Adams, HBO)Kevin Spacey (Recount, HBO)Kiefer Sutherland (24: Redemption, Fox)Tom Wilkinson (Recount, HBO) Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:Eileen Atkins (Cranford, PBS)Laura Dern (Recount, HBO)Melissa George (In Treatment, HBO)Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters, ABC)Dianne Wiest (In Treatment, HBO) Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, CBS)Denis Leary (Recount, HBO)Jeremy Piven (Entourage, HBO)Blair Underwood (In Treatment, HBO)Tom Wilkinson (John Adams, HBO)_____________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Top Rated Theatrical Which one of the following theatrical movies scored the highest household rating on the small screen? a) Airportb) Gone With the Windc) Love Storyd) The Sound of Musice) The Wizard of Oz The answer to yesterday’s trivia question… What nickname did Karen fondly call Jack by? a) Babyb) Darlingc) Honeyd) Jack-Boye) Poodle Is: e) Poodle. To the masses who answered darling, that was Karen’s pet word that she basically used in every other sentence. -Current kudos goes to:Mark Amato, Brian Armistead, Mary Bancroft, Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins (2x), Kay Copeland, Margo Cross, Chris Dykhuisen, Holley Ford, Adam Giagni, Maureen Goldman, Zach Grey, Brad Hight, Bob Ingersoll, Cara Jacobs, Jodi Karp, Tricia McKee, Mashawn Nix, Patrick Preblick, Gordon Purcell, Con Rigg, Lisa Tatum-Roehrig, Staci Rothchild, Ronnie Tallant

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Considerable Thursday Overnight Dominance for CBS

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