Fox Ends CBS' Winning Streak

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERWednesday, November 3, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:ABC Wins; Atypical Results Due to Election Coverage National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of October 25, 2010 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 Chester A. Riley________________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings:ABC Wins; Atypical Results Due to Election Coverage Tuesday 11/02/10Note: The overnight data now includes DVR playback until 3 a.m. local time. One year earlier it was based on Live data only. HH Rtg/Shr ABC 9.0/14CBS 6.4/10NBC 4.6/ 7Fox 3.0/ 4CW 1.4/ 2 ---------- -Note: Due to Election night coverage, comparisons to the year-ago evening are not valid and are not included today. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:Dancing with the Stars (ABC) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats and election coverage):One Tree Hill (CW), Life Unexpected (CW) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:ABC won this atypical Tuesday, which featured four-and-one-half hours of election coverage. Led by Dancing with the Stars, the alphabet net beat normally overnight dominant CBS (which was in repeats from 8-10 p.m.) by a hefty 41 percent. Third overall was NBC, followed by Fox and The CW. A 90-minute edition of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, featuring the departure of nice guy Rick Fox, averaged a rock-solid 12.1 rating/18 share from 8-9:30 p.m., building by half-hour as follows: Dancing with the Stars (ABC)8:00 p.m.: 10.9/17 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 11.9/17 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 13.5/20 (#1) That led into ABC News: Vote 2010 at a 5.5/ 9 from 9:30-11 p.m. CBS slotted repeats of NCIS (#2: 8.1/12) and spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles (#2: 7.3/12) from 8-10 p.m., which still score in non-originals, followed by CBS News Election coverage at a last-place 3.9/ 7 from 10-11 p.m. Over at NBC, a one-hour edition of The Biggest Loser (which should only be one-hour every week at this point) finished third in the overnights in the 8 p.m. hour, with a 4.6/ 7. That led into two-hours of NBC News – Election Night 2010 at a 4.5/ 7 from 9-11 p.m. Elsewhere, Fox aired a repeat of Glee (#4: 3.8/ 6 at 8 p.m.) into America’s Election Headquarters: The 2010 Midterms at a mere (and fourth-place) 2.3/ 3 at 9 p.m. And The CW’s combination of veteran One Tree Hill (#5: 1.5/ 2) and sophomore Life Unexpected (#5: 1.4/ 2) did not benefit despite facing repeats and election coverage. To give you an idea of how the election coverage fared opposite each, here is the 10 p.m. hour broken out by half-hour: 10:00 p.m.ABC: 4.9/ 8, NBC: 4.5/ 7, CBS: 4.4/ 7 10:30 p.m.:ABC and NBC: 4.3/ 7 each, CBS: 3.4/ 6 The election coverage, needless to say, was not a ratings grabber. And CBS News remained in the No. 3 position as usual. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of October 25, 2010 Baseball populated Fox, which featured games one through four of The 2010 World Series, broke CBS’ winning streak, with a first-place finish in households, total viewers and the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. But the San Francisco vs. Texas match-ups dipped by double-digits from The New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia one year earlier, and Fox declined by a noticeable 18 to 26 percent in the five surveyed categories. Here were the results by game: MLB World Series (Fox) – San Francisco vs. Texas Wednesday 10/27/10Viewers: 15.01 million (#7), A18-49: 4.7/14 (#5t) Thursday 10/28/10Viewers: 14.13 million (#12), A18-49: 4.0/12 (#12t) Saturday 10/30/10Viewers: 11.46 million (#21), A18-49: 2.9/11 (#29t) Sunday 10/31/10Viewers: 15.54 million (#6), A18-49: 4.3/11 (#8t) Excluding a fourth-place finish among adults 18-34, CBS ranked second across-the-board, building year-to-year by as much as 13 percent in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. ABC was second in adults 18-34 and third elsewhere with very minor year-to-year losses, while fourth-place NBC was on the double-digit plus side. A good portion of that growth can be attributed to no Sunday Night Football match-up in the year-ago week. Last-place The CW suffered minor losses. In original specials news, holiday special Scared Shrekless on NBC lifted the net’s struggling Thursday 8 p.m. half-hour to 8.33 million viewers (#37 overall) and a 2.6/ 8 among adults 18-49 (#35t). What follows are the live plus same day ratings for the week of October 25, 2010 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the freshman series scorecard, the top 30 rated programs for the week, and the top rated networks on basic cable. -Households:Fox: 7.1 rating/12 share (-19), CBS: 6.8/11 (+10), ABC: 5.9/10 (- 2), NBC: 4.0/ 7 (+14), CW: 1.4/ 2 (no change) -Total Viewers: Fox: 11.98 million (-18), CBS: 11.00 (+11), ABC: 9.24 (- 2), NBC: 6.55 (+17), CW: 2.22 (- 2) -Adults 18-49:Fox: 3.7 rating/11 share (-23), CBS: 2.6/ 7 (+13), ABC: 2.6/ 7 (- 7), NBC: 2.3/ 7 (+21), CW: 1.0/ 3 (- 9) -Adults 25-54:Fox: 4.3/11 (-19), CBS: 3.5/ 9 (+13), ABC: 3.2/ 8 (- 3), NBC: 2.7/ 7 (+23), CW: 0.9/ 2 (-10) -Adults 18-34:Fox: 3.1/10 (-26), ABC: 2.0/ 6 (- 9), NBC: 1.9/ 6 (+19), CBS: 1.6/ 5 (+ 7), CW: 1.2/ 4 (- 8) ---------- New Series Scorecard (in order of total viewers)Grades are based on competitive time period rank; retention from the lead-in (if not the 8 p.m. show), the recent and year-ago time period; and the buzz factor, if any. Note: Any repeat telecasts are excluded. Blue Bloods (CBS) – Fri. 10 p.m. Viewers: 11.62 million (#20 overall), A18-49: 1.8/ 6 (#53t) Grade: B+ Yes, Blue Bloods does skew older. But close to 12-million viewers on Friday makes this drama a keeper. ----- Mike & Molly (CBS) – Mon. 9:30 p.m. Viewers: 10.81 million (#24t), A18-49: 3.7/ 9 (#15t) Grade: B+ Retention out of Two and a Half Men (Viewers: 13.77 million; A18-49: 4.4/11 at 9 p.m.) this week was a respectable 79 percent in total viewers and 84 percent among adults 18-49. ----- $#*! My Dad Says (CBS) – Thurs. 8:30 p.m. Viewers: 10.81 million (#24t), A18-49: 3.1/ 9 (#25t) No, Emmy will not come calling. But retention out of The Big Bang Theory (Viewers: 13.04 million; A18-49: 4.2/13 at 8 p.m.) was adequate at 83 percent in total viewers and 74 percent in the demo. Grade: B ----- Hawaii Five-O (CBS) – Mon. 10 p.m. Viewers: 10.23 million (#30), A18-49: 2.8/ 8 (#32) Grade: B- The growing older skew could be an eventual concern. Year-ago occupant CSI: Miami was noticeably stronger. ----- The Defenders (CBS) – Wed. 10 p.m. Viewers: 9.80 million (#31), A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (#47) Grade: C Given the lead-in support from Criminal Minds (Viewers: 13.94 million; A18-49: 3.4/ 9 at 9 p.m.), CBS could, and should, be doing better in the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour. ----- Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC) – Tues. 10 p.m. Viewers: 8.45million (#36), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#51t) Retention out of the live Dancing with the Stars Results Show (Viewers: 15.93 million; A18-49: 3.1/ 8 at 9 p.m.) remains questionable at 53 percent in total viewers and 61 percent among adults 18-49 this week. Grade: C- ----- Better with You (ABC) – Wed. 8:30 p.m. Viewers: 7.67 million (#44), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#38t) Grade: C Above average this week because of stronger support from lead-in The Middle (Viewers: 9.54 million; A18-49: 2.9/ 9 at 8 p.m.), but still disappointing given that HUT levels are higher at 8:30 p.m. ----- No Ordinary Family (ABC) – Tues. 8 p.m. Viewers: 7.38 million (#46), A18-49: 2.0/ 5 (#48t) Grade: C Still respectable given the mammoth competition: CBS’ NCIS and Fox’s Glee. But the bleeding needs to stop before the demo falls under a 2-rating. ----- Raising Hope (Fox) – Tues. 9 p.m. Viewers: 6.00 million (#52), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#38t) Grade: C- A second telecast of Raising Hope at 9:30 p.m. dipped to 5.37 million viewers, with a 2.2/ 6 in the demo. ----- The Event (NBC) – Mon. 9 p.m. Viewers: 5.97 million (#53), A18-49: 2.0/ 5 (#48t) Grade: D Considering The Event barely built out of Chuck (Viewers: 5.44 million; A18-49: 1.9/ 5 at 8 p.m.), the future looks bleaker by the week. Will NBC really produce a full season worth of episodes? ----- Outsourced (NBC) – Thurs. 9:30 p.m. Viewers: 5.94 million (#54), A18-49: 2.3/ 6 (#44) Grade: C- NBC is in great need of a breakout hit sitcom and Outsourced is not it. ----- Undercovers (NBC) – Wed. 8 p.m. Viewers: 5.45 million (#57), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#62t) Grade: F Tick, tock…the cancellation clock is ticking. ----- Chase (NBC) – Mon. 10 p.m.Viewers: 4.89 million (#66), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#69t) Grade: F Had NBC been in better shape, there would not have been a full season episode order for crime solver Chase. ----- The Whole Truth (ABC) – Wed. 10 p.m.Viewers: 4.40 million (#70), A18-49: 1.1/ 3 (#76t) Grade: F ABC will fill the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour this month with specials Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville (Nov. 3), The 44th Annual CMA Awards (Nov. 10), 25 Years if Sexy: People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive! (Nov. 17) and Primetime: Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far? (Nov. 24). ----- Nikita (CW) – Thurs. 9 p.m. Viewers: 2.48 million (#83), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#79t) Grade: C Retention of only 59 percent among adults 18-49 out of The Vampire Diaries (Viewers: 3.55 million; A18-49: 1.7/ 5) means more male-driven Nikita may not be the best fit. ----- School Pride (NBC) Viewers: 2.32 million (#85), A18-49: 0.6/ 2 (#89t) Grade: F Fuggetaboutit. ----- Hellcats (CW) Viewers: 2.03 million (#86), A18-49: 0.9/ 2 (#82t) Grade: C- Still better than anything populating the hour one year earlier, but 2-million viewers and a 0.9 among adults 18-49 is nothing to boast about. -------------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:Dancing with the Stars – Monday (ABC): 20.41 million, NCIS (CBS): 20.18, Sunday Night Football (NBC, Pittsburgh at New Orleans): 18.11, NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS): 15.99, Dancing with the Stars – Tuesday (ABC): 15.93, World Series, Game 4: San Francisco at Texas (Fox): 15.54, World Series, Game 1: Texas at San Francisco (Fox): 15.01, The Mentalist (CBS): 14.76, World Series Game 4 Pre-Game (Fox): 14.67, The OT (Fox): 14.31, CSI (CBS): 14.27, The World Series, Game 2, Texas at San Francisco (Fox): 14.13, Criminal Minds (CBS): 13.94, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 13.77, Modern Family (ABC): 13.14, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 13.04, The Good Wife (CBS): 12.59, Survivor: Nicaragua (CBS): 11.82, Glee (Fox): 11.76, Blue Bloods (CBS): 11.62, The World Series, Game 3, San Francisco at Texas (Fox): 11.46, Castle (ABC): 11.32, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 11.10, Mike & Molly (CBS) and $#*! My Dad Says (CBS): 10.81 each, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 10.79, Undercover Boss (CBS): 10.74, 60 Minutes (CBS): 10.67, CSI: NY (CBS): 10.44, Hawaii Five-O (CBS): 10.23 -Adults 18-49:Sunday Night Football (NBC, Pittsburgh at New Orleans): 7.3 rating/19 share, The OT (Fox): 5.1/17, Modern Family (ABC): 5.1/14, Glee (Fox): 4.9/13, World Series, Game 1: Texas at San Francisco (Fox) and World Series Game 4 (Fox): 4.7/14 each, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 4.4/11, Dancing with the Stars – Monday (ABC) and World Series, Game 4: San Francisco at Texas (Fox): 4.3/11 each, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 4.2/13, NCIS (CBS): 4.1/11, World Series, Game 2: Texas at San Francisco (Fox): 4.0/12, The Office (NBC): 4.0/11, Football Night in America, part 3 (NBC): 3.7/11, Mike & Molly (CBS): 3.7/ 9, Survivor: Nicaragua (CBS): 3.5/10, Desperate Housewives (ABC): 3.5/ 9, NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) and Criminal Minds (CBS): 3.4/ 9 each, Cougar Town (ABC) and CSI (CBS): 3.3/ 9 each, How I Met Your Mother (CBS) and The Mentalist (CBS): 3.2/ 9 each, $#*! My Dad Says (CBS): 3.1/ 9, Dancing with the Stars – Tuesday (ABC): 3.1/ 8, Rules of Engagement (CBS): 3.0/ 8, Undercover Boss (CBS): 3.0/ 7, The World Series, Game 3, San Francisco at Texas (Fox): 2.9/11, The Middle (ABC): 2.9/ 9, Castle (ABC): 2.9/ 8 -------------------- CABLE What follows are the top 10 rated networks on cable in prime-time for the week of October 18 based on total viewers and the three key demos. -Total Viewers:ESPN: 4.16 million, USA: 3.01, Disney: 2.32, TNT: 2.29, Fox News: 2.25, History: 1.91, AMC and Nick at Nite: 1.55 each, Cartoon: 1.41, TBS: 1.35 -Adults 18-49:ESPN: 2.14 million, TNT: 1.14 million, USA: 1.06 million, History: 931,000, AMC: 820,000, TBS: 755,000, Syfy: 631,000, FX: 618,000, Comedy Central and MTV: 589,000 each -Adults 25-54:ESPN: 206 million, USA: 1.19 million, TNT: 1.09 million, History: 963,000, AMC: 811,000, Syfy: 692,000, TBS: 658,000, A&E: 613,000, Discovery: 591,000, FX: 580,000 -Adults 18-34:ESPN: 1.08 million, TNT: 605,000, MTV: 467,000, USA: 442,000, TBS: 439,000, History: 410,000, AMC: 387,000, Comedy Central: 378,000, FX: 313,000, Disney: 307,000 Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat; t = tie) Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -National Ratings in Syndication – Week of Oct. 18:What follows are the top 20 rated programs in syndication (first-run and off-network) based on AA (average audience) households for the week of Oct. 18. Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 6.3 rating, Jeopardy (CBS): 5.4, Oprah (CBS) and Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.2 each, Judge Judy (CBS): 4.3, The Office (NBC Universal): 4.2, Family Guy (Twentieth): 4.0, Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 3.9, Criminal Minds (CBS): 2.9, Inside Edition (CBS) and Two and a Half Men – Weekend (Warner Bros.) - B: 2.8 each, Two and a Half Men – A (Warner Bros.): 2.7, Dr, Phil (CBS), My Wife and Kids (Warner Bros.) and Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS): 2.6 each, Live with Regis & Kelly (Disney-ABC), American Dad (Twentieth) and Seinfeld – Weekend (Sony Pictures Television): 2.4 each Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Wednesday 11/03/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. The Middle 8:30 p.m. Better with You 9:00 p.m. Modern Family 9:30 p.m. Cougar Town 10:00 p.m. In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts CBS: 8:00 p.m. Survivor: Nicaragua 9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds 10:00 p.m. The Defenders NBC: 8:00 p.m. Undercovers 9:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU 10:00 p.m. Law & Order: Los Angeles Fox: 8:00 p.m. Hell’s Kitchen (R, two hours) CW 8:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model 9:00 p.m. Hellcats______________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Skating with the Stars Participants:The “celebrity” participants of upcoming ABC reality/competition Skating with the Stars, which launches on Monday, Nov. 22 at 9 p.m. ET (out of Dancing with the Stars) have been unveiled. They are All My Children actress Rebecca Budig, reality star Bethenny Frankel, Olympic skier Jonny Moseley, musician Vince Neil, Disney Channel star Brandon Mychal Smith, and actress Sean Young. The six will be paired with professional skaters in a competition mirroring Dancing with the Stars, only set on the ice. For my thoughts on this cast, listen to today’s PIPodcast at www.marcberman.tv. -No Full Season Pick-Up for Life Unexpected:The CW has decided not extend the sophomore season of drama Life Unexpected past 13 episodes, meaning that it is likely to officially conclude in January. Minus the lead-in support from relocated One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected has floundered in the Tuesday 9 p.m., ranking dead last at #107 in total viewers for the season, with a mere 1.67 million. __________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:A Different Chester A. Riley William Bendix is fondly remembered for playing lovable bumbler Chester A. Riley on 1950s sitcom The Life of Riley. But who originated the role in the 1949-50 season? a) Jack Bennyb) Jackie Gleasonc) Arthur Godfrey d) Red Skeltone) Alan Young The answer to yesterday’s question… Who played Simon Baker’s father on legal drama The Guardian? a) Ed Asnerb) Dabney Colemanc) Lee Majorsd) Karl Maldene) Robert Prosky Is: b) Dabney Coleman, who played Burton Fallin in the 2001-04 CBS legal drama. -Current kudos goes to:Daniel Abashian, Barbara Berman, Laurie Biddle, Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield, Michael Bobble, Jim Brams, Tom Condosta, Kay Copeland, Mark Cosenza, Reid Davis, Sue Doron, Connie Falcone, John Ferlazzo, George Gardner, Adam Giagni, Gail Gions, Maureen Goldman, Ed Griffis, Jerry Hermes, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Mary Kinoshita, Steven Kurtzer, Rick Locke, Patty Lynch, Kathy Martin, Debbie Mirr, Bill Nuss, Alan Perris, Greg Phelan, Francine Purcell, Gordon Purcell, Colleen Roth, Anthony Salerno, David Shearer, Michelle Stanton, Tammy Wiard

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Fox Ends CBS' Winning Streak

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