Freshman Series Update

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERFriday, October 16, 2009 Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins; ABC Expected to Finish First Among Adults 18-49 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: I Know Nothing – Nothing! ______________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings:CBS Wins; ABC Expected to Finish First Among Adults 18-49 Thursday 10/15/09 HH Rtg/Shr CBS 8.5/14ABC 6.8/11Fox 4.5/ 7NBC 3.7/ 6CW 2.1/ 3 ---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Thursday, October 16, 2008):Fox: +96, CBS: - 1, ABC: - 7, CW: -12, Fox: -33 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:Survivor: Samoa (CBS), CSI (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), The Mentalist (CBS) -Honorable Mention:Bones (Fox), The Office (NBC) -Yesterday’s Losers:Community (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), The Jay Leno Show (NBC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:CBS led this fourth Thursday of the 2009-10 season in the overnights, beating second-place ABC by 25 percent and finishing first in every half hour. But ABC remains the network to beat among adults 18-49. Third overall was Fox, followed by NBC and The CW. CBS’ veteran Survivor: Samoa opened the evening on a winning note, with a 6.2 rating/10 share in the overnights at 8 p.m. One year earlier, the season of Survivor set in Gabon was slightly higher at a 7.0/11. Second in the time period was Fox’s Bones (5.7/ 9), followed by ABC’s FlashForward (5.5/ 9), NBC’s low-rated combination of Community (3.2/ 5) and Parks and Recreation (3.2/ 5), and The Vampire Diaries on The CW (2.3/ 4), which should be getting its full season renewal stripes any day now. After four episodes, it looks like FlashFoward has settled in. Take a look at the metered market track: FlashForward (ABC)09/24/09: 7.6/1310/01/09: 6.2/1010/08/09: 5.6/ 910/15/09: 5.5/ 9 Look for FlashForward to finish second behind Survivor in the anchor hour among adults 18-49, with an estimated 3.0 rating in the demo. CBS’ overnight dominance continued at 9 p.m., with veteran CSI at a 9.3/15. But compared to one year earlier (11.2/17 on Oct. 16, 2008), that was a loss of 17 percent. Second was Grey’s Anatomy on ABC (8.3/13: down 14 percent from last year’s 9.6/15), followed by NBC sitcoms The Office (4.6/ 7) and the season-premiere of 30 Rock (4.1/ 6), Fox’s Fringe (3.5/ 5) and Supernatural on The CW (1.8/ 3). While Fringe is, of course, down significantly year-to-year in this highly competitive hour, early positive results in DVR usage is a positive to make note of. Since The Office always scores among adults 18-49, consider these overnight results “honorable mention.” Moving to 10 p.m., CBS’ dominant The Mentalist (10.1/17) remains a vast improvement over year-ago failed occupant Eleventh Hour (7.8/12), Second was ABC’s Private Practice (6.6/11), which had 78 percent retention out of the second half of lead-in Grey’s Anatomy (8.5/13 at 9:30 p.m.), followed by NBC dud The Jay Leno Show (3.6/ 6). Compared to year-ago occupant ER (6.7/11 on Oct. 16, 2008), Jay Leno dipped by a hefty 46 percent in the overnights. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)_____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Strong Return for FX’s Nip/Tuck:The sixth season-premiere as FX drama Nip/Tuck opened with 2.93 million viewers in the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour on Oct. 14 -- up 16 percent from its fifth season average (2.53 million). Results among adults 18-49 (1.91 million) were virtually equal, and retention from the fifth season-premiere (3.12 million) was 94 percent. National Ratings in Primetime – Week of Oct. 12 to-Date:Based on final Live Plus Same Day ratings for Monday, Oct. 12 through Wednesday, Oct. 14, here is how the networks are faring to-date on this fourth week of the current season. Keep in mind that games one and two of The 2009 American League Championship Baseball Series is scheduled on Fox tonight and tomorrow. Total Viewers:CBS: 13.19 million, ABC: 10.06, Fox: 8.73, NBC: 6.95, CW: 2.06 Adults 18-49:CBS and Fox: 3.6 rating/10 share each, ABC: 2.6/ 9, NBC: 2.3/ 6, CW: 1.0/ 3 Source: Nielsen Media Research data_______________________________________________________________________________ On the Air This Weekend:Prime-Time Programming Options Friday 10/16/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty (season premiere) 9:00 p.m. Ugly Betty10:00 p.m. 20/20 CBS: 8:00 p.m. Ghost Whisperer 9:00 p.m. Medium 10:00 p.m. Numbers NBC: 8:00 p.m. Law & Order 9:00 p.m. Dateline10:00 p.m. The Jay Leno Show Fox: 8:00 p.m. 2009 American League Baseball Championship, Game 1 CW: 8:00 p.m. Smallville 9:30 p.m. America’s Next Top Model (R) --------------- Saturday 10/17/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (R)10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC: 8:00 p.m. Mercy (R) 9:00 p.m. Trauma (R)10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. 2009 American League Baseball Championship, Game 2 --------------- Sunday 10/18/09 ABC: 7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos 8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives10:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters CBS: 7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes 8:00 p.m. The Amazing Race 9:00 p.m. Three Rivers 10:00 p.m. Cold Case NBC: 7:00 p.m. Football Night in America 8:00 p.m. Sunday Night Football Pre-Game 8:20 p.m. Sunday Night Football (Chicago at Atlanta) Fox: 7:00 p.m. The Cleveland Show (R) 7:30 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 8:00 p.m. The Simpsons 8:30 p.m. The Cleveland Show 9:00 p.m. Family Guy 9:30 p.m. American Dad ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Jorja Fox Extends Run on CSI:It looks like Sara Siddle is here to stay. Former CSI cast member Jorja Fox was slated to return for five episodes of the forensics crime drama this season. But the actress will now apparently be appearing indefinitely. Given the ongoing decline in viewership, consider that a good thing. -Mia Michaels Exits So You Think You Can Dance:No, I am not watching the current fall edition of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. My commitment, as always, is ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. But one of my favorite choreographers, quirky Mia Michaels, has exited the dance competition. Said creator/judge Nigel Lythgoe in a statement: "We are thrilled to have given a talent such as Mia Michaels a platform to create Emmy Award-winning choreography. During the auditions this season she has helped choose the best, most diverse top 20 we have ever had. She knows that she is always welcome to return later this season or next. She's chosen to move on to new challenges and we will continue to support her and wish her all the best." ---------- -Big Brother Fans, Take Note:Recent Big Brother 11 winner Jordan Lloyd and “America’s Favorite Houseguest,” Jeff Schroeder, will appear on CBS daytime soap The Bold and The Beautiful on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Given the caliber of housemates this past summer, being named America’s Favorite Houseguest is nothing to boast about! -New Gig for Glee:NBC bounced the cast of Glee from appearing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. But the actors have been booked to sing the national anthem during game three of the Baseball World Series on Saturday, Oct. 31. Maybe they should sing in costumes since in is Halloween. -Freshman Series Scorecard:Wondering what the future is for your favorite, and not so favorite, new primetime series this season? Here is the status to-date in a nutshell (by network, in order of airing) ABC -Shark Tank (Tuesday 8:00 p.m. ET): the remake of V steps into time period on Nov. 3-The Forgotten (Tuesday 10 p.m. ET): lackluster to-date, but additional episodes are expected-Hank (Wednesday 8:00 p.m. ET): not capable of anchoring the evening-The Middle (Wednesday 8:30 p.m. ET): full season renewal despite lackluster performance-Modern Family (Wednesday 9:00 p.m. ET): full season renewal, bona fide hit-Cougar Family (Wednesday 9:30 p.m. ET): full season renewal, solid retention out of Modern Family-Eastwick (Wednesday 10:00 p.m. ET): the cancellation clock is ticking-FlashForward (Thursday 8:00 p.m. ET): full season renewal, but losing steam ----- CBS -Accidentally on Purpose (Monday 8:30 p.m. ET): modest at present, but additional episodes expected-NCIS: Los Angeles (Tuesday 9:00 p.m. ET): full season renewal, biggest new hit of the season-The Good Wife (Tuesday 10:00 p.m. ET): full season renewal, good retention out of NCIS: Los Angeles-Three Rivers (Sunday 9:00 p.m.): the cancellation clocking is ticking ----- NBC -Trauma (Monday 9:00 p.m. ET): planned midseason replacement Day One has been downgraded to a miniseries-The Jay Leno Show (Monday to Friday 10:00 p.m. ET): third place finish on most nights, a clear disappointment -Mercy (Wednesday 8:00 p.m.): adequate performer in a modest time period-Community (Thursday 8:00 p.m. ET): not capable of anchoring the evening, but additional episodes expected ----- Fox -Glee (Wednesday 9:00 p.m. ET): full season renewal, expected Emmy attention-Brothers (Friday 8:00 p.m. ET): the cancellation clock is ticking-The Cleveland Show (Sunday 8:30 p.m. ET): renewed for two full seasons, builds regularly from The Simpsons lead-in ----- The CW -Melrose Place (Tuesday 9:00 p.m. ET): failing to deliver, but The CW is marred with other problems-The Beautiful Life (Wednesday 9:00 p.m. ET): first cancellation of the season-The Vampire Diaries (Thursday 8:00 p.m. ET): full season pick-up is expected any minute --------------- -Correction:As reported yesterday, ABC has ordered 13 episodes of a drama in midseason called The Gates, which is set in a suburban community. But production may not begin until as late as mid 2010, which means it is not expected to debut in midseason._________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:I Know Nothing – Nothing! What was the name of Col. Klink’s secretary on sitcom Hogan’s Heroes? a) Brigitte b) Gretelc) Hildad) Ingride) Katinka The answer to yesterday’s question… One of the following five freshman series titles was already the name of a prior short-lived TV show. Which one was it? a) The Good Wifeb) Hankc) Mercyd) The Middlee) Three Rivers Is: b) Hank, which was a 1965-66 sitcom on NBC set on a college campus. -Current kudos goes to:Mary Bancroft, Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Bob Eisenstaedt, Maureen Goldman, Todd Goldsbie, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Ken Jobe, Mark Krause, Steven Kurtzer, Tom Lawrenson, Kevin Lee, Rick Locke, Debbie Mirr, Bill Nuss, Gordon Purcell, Greg Salerno, Marlene Cookson-Wallace, Ted Zawislak

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Freshman Series Update

Marc Berman

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