Fox's Idol Juggernaut Continues

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERThursday, March 4, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:Idol Juggernaut Continues; SVU Lifts the 10 p.m. Hour on NBC Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: Life Before Charlie’s Angels ________________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:Idol Juggernaut Continues; SVU Lifts the 10 p.m. Hour on NBC Wednesday 3/03/10 HH Rtg/Shr Fox 15.1/23CBS 7.1/11NBC 5.3/ 8ABC 4.3/ 7CW 0.6/ 1 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday, March 4, 2009):Fox: +57, NBC: +51, CBS: +22, ABC: -2, CW: -80 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:American Idol (Fox), Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI: NY (CBS) -Notable Improvement From The Jay Leno Show:Law & Order: SVU (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Mercy (NBC), The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS), Gary Unmarried (CBS), Cougar Town (ABC), An Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special (ABC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:Fox got over the hump in significant winning fashion, with another two-hour Wednesday installment of American Idol at a 15.1 rating/23 share in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. Compared to a one-hour edition of Idol on the year-ago evening (12.9/21 on March 4, 2009), this was an unprecedented improvement of 17 percent. I refer to this as unprecedented because I have no knowledge of a veteran series picking up steam in its ninth season. Here is the half-hour breakdown: American Idol (Fox)8:00 p.m.: 14.3/22 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 15.5/23 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 15.4/23 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 15.3/23 (#1) My picks for the next two females to bid adieu tonight: Haeley Vaughn and Didi Benami. My prediction on the male side: John Park and Jermaine Sellers. We shall see! Second-place CBS opened the evening with on-the-fence Wednesday sitcoms The New Adventures of Old Christine (#2: 4.2/ 7) and Gary Unmarried (#4: 3.9/ 6) from 8-9 p.m., followed by Criminal Minds (#2: 9.1/14) and CSI: NY (#1: 8.0/14) from 9-11 p.m. While American Idol has took its toll on Old Christine and Gary Unmarried, which closes the season on March 17, keep in mind that most shows do. The CBS crime dramas faced a two-hour installment of NBC’s relocated Law & Order: SVU, which averaged a 5.9/ 9 in the overnights from 9-11 p.m., building by half-hour as follows: Law & Order: SVU (NBC)9:00 p.m.: 5.1/ 8 (#4)9:30 p.m.: 5.6/ 8 (#3)10:00 p.m.: 6.4/10 (#2)10:30 p.m.: 6.5/11 (#2) Comparably, the 10-11 p.m. portion of SVU is a notable improvement over former occupant The Jay Leno Show. Beginning next week, SVU airs in its new Wednesday 10 p.m. time period out of a repeat of the crime drama. Earlier in the evening on NBC was medical drama Mercy at a lackluster 4.1/ 6 (#3t) from 8-9 p.m. Over at ABC, Modern Family remains the standout sitcom, with a 6.1/ 9 in the overnights at 9 p.m. (#3) an improvement of a hefty 45 percent out of lead-in The Middle (#2: 4.2/ 6 at 8:30 p.m.). While the ratings for The Middle are nothing to crow about, personally speaking this show gets better every week. ABC may want to reconsider renewing Cougar Town, meanwhile, which dipped to a fourth-place 4.0/ 6 at 9:30 p.m. Comparably, retention out of lead-in Modern Family was just 66 percent. Earlier in the evening on the alphabet net was a repeat of Modern Family at a fourth-place 4.0/ 6 at 8 p.m. At 10 p.m., normally unstoppable Oprah Winfrey took a backseat to CSI: NY and Law & Order: SVU, with The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special at an uneventful 3.9/ 6 in the overnights. In the distant No. 5 spot was The CW as a result of repeats of Life Unexpected (0.8/ 1) and Gossip Girl (0.4/ 1), which heads back to its former Monday 9 p.m. time period on March 8. To the masses emailing me to see if there will be a second season of Life Unexpected, my personal guess is The CW will be patient. Stay tuned. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Respectable Sampling for NBC’s Parenthood on Tuesday:CBS’ competing The Good Wife had considerably more total viewers. But the debut of NBC’s Parenthood, based on the 1989 Ron Howard theatrical, won the Tuesday 10 p.m. hour among adults 18-49, with a 3.1 rating/10 share in the demo. Retention out of lead-in The Biggest Loser (Viewers: 8.75 million; A18-49: 3.3/ 8 at 9:30 p.m.) was a very solid 93 percent in total viewers and 94 percent in the demo. Parenthood also outdelivered ABC special 20/20: Before They Were Famous with ease. Here are the Live Plus Same Day ratings results for the Tuesday 10 p.m. hour on March 2: The Good Wife (CBS)Viewers: 13.32 million (#1), A18-49: 2.7/ 8 (#2) Parenthood (NBC) – series premiereViewers: 8.10 million (#2), A18-49: 3.1/ 9 (#2) 20/20: Before They Were Famous (ABC)Viewers: 5.20 million (#3), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#3) Overall grade for the debut of Parenthood: B+. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Thursday 3/04/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy (R) 9:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy 10:00 p.m. Private Practice CBS: 8:00 p.m. Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains 9:00 p.m. CSI 10:00 p.m. The Mentalist NBC: 8:00 p.m. Community 8:30p.m. Parks and Recreation 9:00 p.m. The Office (one hour)10:00 p.m. The Marriage Ref (time period premiere) Fox: 8:00 p.m. American Idol Results Show 9:00 p.m. Kitchen Nightmares CW 8:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaries 9:00 p.m. Supernatural ______________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Gilligan’s Island – The Feature:Warner Bros. and Atlas Entertainment have inked a deal on a feature film based on inane 1964-67 CBS sitcom Gilligan’s Island. There is no word on casting yet, but my personal suggestions for Ginger and Mary Ann are Cameron Diaz and Hillary Swank. Owen Wilson, meanwhile, would make a good Gilligan. -President Barack Obama on America’s Most Wanted:Fox Saturday staple America’s Most Wanted will celebrate its upcoming 1,000th episode this weekend with a special appearance by President Barack Obama. Host John Walsh will sit down with President Obama to discuss some of the administration's crime-fighting initiatives and the impact AMW has had to society. -Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards:Jimmy Kimmel will host his annual After the Academy Awards special on Sunday with guests Robert Downey, Jr. and Grammy Award winner Keith Urban. It begins at approximately 12:05 a.m. on Sunday. -Speaking of the Academy Awards:Viewers in New York, including myself, are no doubt concerned about the current fracas between Cablevision and WABC. According to Rebecca S. Campbell, president and general manager of WABC: "It's time for Cablevision to stop spinning this issue and get serious about doing right by their customers. The fact is that, over and over again, Cablevision picks fights with programmers, and it is Cablevision subscribers who suffer the loss. The inconvenient truth about Cablevision is that it pockets hundreds of millions of dollars in subscriber fees each year by carrying ABC7. Dropping our station would be the latest insult. Their customers should know they have choices: They can switch service now and take their business to a provider that values them and isn't threatening them with the loss of programming every few months, or get us free-over-the-air." WABC is urging concerned viewers to call 1-877-990-ABC7 or visit http://www.saveABC7.com.Cablevision, in response, issued the following statement:“We believe Senator Kerry is correct and ABC Disney should not pull the plug and should work with us in good faith to reach an agreement that is fair for Cablevision customers. Cablevision already pays ABC Disney more than $200 million a year for their programming, and now they want $40 million in new fees, a 20 percent increase, for exactly the same channels. ABC Disney should not put viewers in the middle and instead work with us to reach agreement."---------- -Handicapping The Oscars:With The 82nd Annual Academy Awards now just three days away, here are my picks in the best actor and actress categories. BEST ACTOR The Nominees:Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)George Clooney (Up in the Air)Colin Firth (A Single Man)Morgan Freeman (Invictus)Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) Who Should Win: Jeff BridgesWho Will Win: Jeff Bridges He sings, he acts and this is his fifth Oscar nomination with no wins to-date. With recent Best Actor trophies from The Golden Globes and The Screen Actors Guild, this should be an easy (and long overdue) victory for Jeff Bridges. My second pick, Jeremy Renner, does not even have a shot. Nor do Colin Firth, and Oscar winners George Clooney and Morgan Freeman. ----- BEST ACTRESS The Nominees:Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)Carey Mulligan (An Education)Helen Mirren (The Last Station)Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) Who Should Win: Meryl StreepWho Will Win: Sandra Bullock With a record 16 nominations and two wins for one of a kind Meryl Streep, most people do not seem to realize that Streep’s last victory was 27 long years ago (for Sophie’s Choice). That said, maybe it is time to honor the best actress on this planet with her third statuette for her warm, funny and uncanny portrayal of Julia Child. But beloved Sandra Bullock has never been nominated before, The Blind Side found a spot on the ballot for Best Picture, and Bullock topped Streep at the SAG Awards. In this neck-and-neck battle, Bullock should have the edge. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Life Before Charlie’s Angels Which one of the following series featured guest appearances in separate episodes by future Charlie’s Angels stars Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd? a) Love, American Styleb) Marcus Welby, M.D.c) The Partridge Familyd) The Rookiese) Room 222 The answer to yesterday’s question… Remember camp classic serial Prisoner: Cell Block H? What country was it produced in? a) Australiab) Francec) Irelandd) Italye) Russia Is: a) Australia. Prisoner: Cell Block H, which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, ran on Network 10 for 692 episodes from 1979 to 1986. -Current kudos goes to:Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield, Michael Bobble, Michael Cascio, Larry Collins, Jim Colucci, Tom Condosta, Mark Cosenza, Audrey Davis, Reid Davis, Josh Emmett, John Ferlazzo, Arleen Fong, Jan Frazier, George Gardner, Jerry Gibbons, Maureen Goldman, Robert Gori, Barb Hemberger, Kerry Hughes, Amy Hutton, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Deb Kainer, Marie Lefevre Karp, Mark Krause, Steve Kurtzer, Patty Lynch, Jim Moore, Michael Murphy, Alan Perris, Joe Rubi, Ron Salmon, Maxine Schulman, Michelle Stanton, Mickie Steinmann, Carol Teichman, Ted Zawislak

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Fox's Idol Juggernaut Continues

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