NBC Sweeps Week of Feb. 8

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERThursday, February 18, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:New High for The Winter Olympics on NBC National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of Feb. 8, 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: My Married Son________________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:New High for The Winter Olympics on NBC Wednesday 2/17/10 HH Rtg/Shr NBC 19.3/29Fox 8.6/13CBS 4.6/ 7ABC 2.8/ 4CW 0.7/ 1 ---------- Note: The metered market comparisons to the year-ago evening were not available today. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:Vancouver Olympic Winter Games (NBC), American Idol (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Noting – ABC, CBS and The CW aired all non-originals. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:Ongoing coverage of The Vancouver Olympic Winter Games exploded on dominant NBC last night, with a 19.3 rating/29 share in the overnights for the prime-time portion (from 8-11 p.m.). Comparably, this beat the first Wednesday from Torino in 2006 (12.4/19 on 2/15/06) by 56 percent. Here is the half-hour breakdown: Vancouver Olympic Winter Games (NBC)8:00 p.m.: 16.4/26 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 19.0/29 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 19.1/28 (#1)9:30 p.m.: 20.4/29 (#1)10:00 p.m.: 20.6/31 (#1)10:30 p.m.: 20.0/33 (#1) Comparably, The Winter Olympics bested Fox’s competing American Idol in the 9 p.m. hour (12.3/18) by 62 percent. American Idol officially unveiled the top 24 contestants, so let’s see next week if new judge Ellen DeGeneres has anything to offer. Up to now her participation has been minimal. Earlier in the evening on Fox was recently introduced drama Human Target at a distant second-place 4.9/ 8 in the overnights from 8-9 p.m. Considering Human Target faced The Winter Olympics, this is still a respectable showing. In the battle of the repeat 8-9 p.m. sitcoms, ABC’s Modern Family (#3: 3.6/ 6) and The Middle (#3: 3.1/ 5) outdelivered CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine (#4: 3.3/ 5) and Gary Unmarried (#4: 3.0/ 5) by an average of six percent. ABC, in fact, aired comedy encores all evening, with Modern Family (#4: 3.1/ 5), The Middle (#4: 2.3/ 3) and two episodes of Cougar Town (#3: avg. 2.2/ 4) filling the 9-11 p.m. block. CBS ran repeats of Criminal Minds (#2: 5.6/ 8) and CSI: NY (#2: 5.1/ 8) from 9-11 p.m. Although The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried are considered “bubble” shows (translation: up in the air for renewal), the CBS sitcom probably not returning next season is Accidentally on Purpose, which moves to Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in April. The CW closed the evening with repeats of Life Unexpected (#5: 0.9/ 1) and already renewed Gossip Girl (#5: 0.5/ 1), which returns to its regularly scheduled Monday 9 p.m. time period on March 8. As for the future of Life Unexpected, I personally do not think The CW is done with it yet. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) National Ratings in Prime-Time:Week of Feb. 8, 2010 Led by the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games (Opening Ceremony on Friday, plus nights one and two), NBC dominated the week of Feb. 8, with a first-place finish in households, total viewers and the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. Without the Winter Olympics in the year-ago mix, NBC built by 9.71 million viewers and as much as 128 percent among adults 25-54. Needless to say, NBC will also win the following two weeks on the strength of the stellar Vancouver Games. But there was more to this week that just sports. Fox juggernaut American Idol held the top two spots for the week among adults 18-49, with the network finishing second overall in the three surveyed demos (at levels close to one year earlier). That alone is evidence of more people tuning into network television this week. CBS was just the opposite of Fox (second in households and total viewers; third demographically), with its star performer the Sunday 9 p.m. time period premiere of Undercover Boss. Opposite The Winter Olympics, Undercover Boss scored a healthy 15.45 million viewers (#11 overall), with a 5.2 rating/13 share among adults 18-49 (#8). Comparably, that built from the season-premiere of lead-in The Amazing Race (Viewers: #27, 9.00 million; A18-49: #30t, 2.8/ 7 at 8 p.m.) by 6.45 million viewers and 86 percent in the demo), and it could very well beat competing Desperate Housewives on ABC when the two face-off opposite The Winter Olympics this Sunday. Elsewhere, fourth-place ABC suffered losses of 13 to 24 percent in the five surveyed categories, while last-place The CW was up across the board. Don’t forget, of course, that the year-ago averages included The CW’s low-rated Sunday. In series-premiere news, Fox drama Past Life was dead on arrival. On paper, 8.32 million viewers (#31 overall) and a 2.8/ 7 among adults 18-49 (tied for #30) for the Tuesday 9 p.m. preview sounds promising. But retention for Past Life out of lead-in American Idol was just 30 percent in total viewers and 28 percent in the demo. By Thursday, Past Life at 9 p.m. (out of Bones) dipped to 5.31 million viewers (#52) and a 1.4/ 4 among adults 18-49 (tied for #64). In other season-premiere news, a two-hour edition of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains kicked-off on CBS Thursday with its largest audience (Viewers: #14, 14.15 million) since Dec. 13, 2007 (Survivor: China), its best adult 18-49 rating (#11, 4.5/12) since Feb. 19, 2009 (Survivor: Tocantins), and best among adults 25-54 (5.6/16) since February 12, 2009 (Survivor: Tocantins). But all was not perfect on the Eye net with relocated Cold Case (Viewers: #30, 8.73 million; A18-49: #45t, 2.1/ 5 on Sunday at 10 p.m.) not benefiting by the lead-in support from Undercover Boss. As we delve firth into development season, here is the freshman series scorecard (excluding repeats and ranked in order of total viewers). NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) – Tuesday 9 p.m.Viewers: 17.91 million (#7), A18-49: 4.1/10 (#13t)Grade: A Undercover Boss (CBS) – Sunday 9 p.m. (time period premiere)Viewers: 15.45 million (#11), A18-49: 5.2/13 (#8)Grade: A The Good Wife (CBS) – Tuesday 10 p.m.Viewers: 14.75 million (#12), A18-49: 3.1/ 9 (#27t)Grade: A Human Target (Fox) – Wednesday 8 p.m.Viewers: 8.91 million (#28), A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#35t)Grade: C+ Past Life (Fox) – Tuesday 9 p.m. (preview)Viewers: 8.32 million (#31), A18-49: 2.8/ 7 (#30t)Grade: F Mercy (NBC) – Wednesday 8 p.m.Viewers: 6.78 million (#40), A18-49: 1.8/ 5 (#52t)Grade: D+ The Deep End (ABC) – Thursday 8 p.m.Viewers: 5.70 million (#50), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#61t)Grade: D Past Life (Fox) – Thursday 9 p.m. (time period premiere)Viewers: 5.31 million (#52), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#64t)Grade: D- Community (NBC) – Thursday 8 p.m.Viewers: 5.15 (#55) million (#), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#41t)Grade: C- The Vampire Diaries (CW) – Thursday 8 p.m.Viewers: 3.51 million (#69), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#61t)Grade: B Life Unexpected (CW) – Monday 9 p.m.Viewers: 2.00 million (#80), A18-49: 0.9/ 2 (#77t)Grade: F Here are the final national ratings for the week of February 8, 2010 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the top 30 rated programs of the week and the top rated networks on basic cable. Keep in mind that The Winter Olympics did not air in the comparable year-ago week (hence the significant increases for NBC). -Households:NBC: 8.9 rating/14 share (+117), CBS: 6.5/10 (- 8), Fox: 5.8/ 9 (- 2), ABC: 4.1/ 7 (-15), CW: 1.2/ 2 (+ 9) -Total Viewers: NBC: 16.08 million (+152), CBS: 10.64 (- 6), Fox: 10.11 (- 1), ABC: 6.62 (-13), CW: 1.79 (+15) -Adults 18-49:NBC: 4.7 rating/13 share (+124), Fox: 3.6/10 (- 8), CBS: 2.9/ 8 (+ 4), ABC: 2.2/ 6 (-21), CW: 0.8/ 2 (+33) -Adults 25-54:NBC: 5.7/14 (+128), Fox: 4.1/10 (- 7), CBS: 3.7/ 9 (- 3), ABC: 2.6/ 6 (-16), CW: 0.7/ 2 (+17) -Adults 18-34:NBC: 3.5/11 (+106), Fox: 3.0/ 9 (-14), CBS: 1.9/ 6 (+ 6), ABC: 1.9/ 6 (-24), CW: 0.9/ 3 (+29) -------------------- Top 30 Rankings -Total Viewers:201 Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremonies (NBC): 32.64 million, American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 27.89, Winter Olympics – Sunday (NBC): 26.37, Winter Olympics – Saturday (NBC): 26.19, American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 25.17, NCIS (CBS): 19.75, NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS): 17.91, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 17.66, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 16.26, The Mentalist (CBS): 15.86, Undercover Boss (CBS, Sun. 9 p.m. time period premiere): 15.45, The Good Wife (CBS): 14.75, Criminal Minds (CBS): 14.33, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (CBS, season premiere): 14.15, House (Fox): 13.60, CSI: Miami (CBS): 13.53, CSI: NY (CBS): 12.98, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 12.74, The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (ABC): 12.35, Lost (ABC): 11.05, 24 (Fox): 10.27, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 10.00, Modern Family (ABC): 9.83, Castle (ABC): 9.54, Accidentally on Purpose (CBS): 9.09, Private Practice (ABC): 9.04, The Amazing Race (CBS, season premiere): 9.00, Human Target (Fox): 8.91, The Biggest Loser (NBC): 8.89, Cold Case (CBS, Sun. 10 p.m. time period premiere): 8.73 -Adults 18-49:American Idol – Tuesday (Fox): 10.1 rating/26 share, American Idol – Wednesday (Fox): 9.5/23, 2010 Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremonies (NBC): 9.0/27, Winter Olympics – Saturday (NBC): 7.6/23, Winter Olympics – Sunday (NBC): 7.0/19, The Big Bang Theory (CBS): 6.0/14, Two and a Half Men (CBS): 5.7/14, Undercover Boss (CBS, Sun. 9 p.m. time period premiere): 5.2/13, House (Fox): 5.1/13, Lost (ABC): 5.0/12, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (CBS, season premiere): 4.5/12, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): 4.4/11, NCIS (CBS): 4.1/11, The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (ABC), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) and Modern Family (ABC): 4.1/10 each, CSI: Miami (CBS): 3.9/11, How I Met Your Mother (CBS): 3.8/10, The Mentalist (CBS) and The Office (NBC): 3.7/10 each, Criminal Minds (CBS): 3.6/ 9, The Biggest Loser (NBC): 3.5/ 9, CSI: NY (CBS): 3.3/ 9, Accidentally on Purpose (CBS), 24 (Fox) and Family Guy (Fox): 3.3/ 8 each, The Good Wife (CBS) and Private Practice (ABC): 3.1/ 9 each, The Middle (ABC): 2.9/ 8, Past Life (Fox), 30 Rock (NBC) and The Amazing Race (CBS, season premiere): 2.8/ 7 CABLE What follows are the top 10 rated networks on cable in prime-time for the week of Feb 1 based on total viewers and the three key demos: Total Viewers:TNT: 2.84 million, USA: 2.77, Fox News: 2.30, Nick at Nite: 1.81, A&E: 1.69, TBS: 1.57, History: 1.54, ESPN: 1.46, ABC Family: 1.31, Cartoon: 1.28 Adults 18-49:TNT: 1.46 million, USA: 1.22 million, TBS: 943,000, A&E: 787,000, History: 686,000, FX: 656,000, ESPN: 648,000, Discovery: 573,000, ABC Family: 560,000, Comedy Central: 559,000 Adults 25-54:TNT: 1.33 million, USA: 1.26 million, A&E: 842,000, TBS: 819,000, History: 789,000, ESPN: 605,000, FX: 598,000, Fox News: 583,000, Discovery: 553,000, Tru TV: 544,000 Adults 18-34:TNT: 837,000, USA: 580,000, TBS: 537,000, ESPN: 364,000, Comedy Central: 359,000, MTV: 355,000, FX: 343,000, A&E: 335,000, VH1: 332,000, ABC Family: 319,000 Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Updated Olympic Winter Tallies:Based on the first five nights of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, NBC is estimating that 138 million people have tuned in for some portion on the networks of NBC Universal, with 26.4 million average viewers. Comparably, this is the best results for a non-United States Winter Olympics since the Lillehammer Games in 1994 (38.1 million). The 26.4 million is 4.8 million above the 21.6 million for the first five nights from Turin in 2006. On Tuesday (and opposite Fox’s American Idol), NBCU’s broadcasts were seen in part by 72 million total viewers, 10 million more than the first Tuesday from the 2006 Winter Games in Turino (68 million). -Top 20 in Syndication – Week of Feb. 1:Here are the top 20 rated programs in syndication (first-run and off-network) based on household rating for the week of Feb. 1, followed by any highlights worth noting: Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 7.5 rating, Jeopardy (CBS): 6.3, Oprah (CBS): 5.6, Two and a Half Men (Warner Bros.): 5.5, Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 4.9, Judge Judy (CBS): 4.8, CSI: NY (CBS) and Wheel of Fortune – Weekend (CBS): 3.8 each, Family Guy (Twentieth): 3.5, Inside Edition (CBS): 3.3, Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC Universal): 3.2, Dr. Phil (CBS): 3.1, Dr. Oz (Sony Pictures Television) and The Office (NBCU): 3.0 each, Live With Regis & Kelly (Disney-ABC), Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), Seinfeld (SPT), CSI: Miami (CBS) and Two and a Half Men – Weekend (Warner Bros.): 2.8 each, George Lopez (Warner Bros.): 2.7 -Judge Judy, a Mr. TV favorite, finished first in syndicated court for the 700th consecutive week, while corporate cousin Entertainment Tonight has now dominated the category of magazine for 700 straight weeks.CBS Television Distribution’s The Insider (1.9) tied its season high, building six percent from one week earlier.-Two and a Half Men equaled is season high in households for the third consecutive week. -Warner Bros.’ The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2.6) matched its best household rating in six weeks, while the distributor’s People’s Court (2.2) equaled its season high for the third week in a row. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Thursday 2/18/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. The Deep End 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. The Mentalist (R)10:00 p.m. CSI (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. 2010 Winter Olympics Fox: 8:00 p.m. Bones (R) 9:00 p.m. Past Life CW 8:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaries (R) 9:00 p.m. Supernatural (R) ______________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Pilot Alert:As the networks continue to plan for next season, here are the latest projects vying for a spot on the prime-time schedule: Friends With Benefits (NBC)Friends in their 20s deal with the realities of modern dating in this single camera ensemble comedy. Nomads (CW)A group of young financially struggling backpackers travel overseas to work secret missions for the CIA in this action/adventure. _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:My Married Son What was the name of Chip’s wife on long-running sitcom My Three Sons? a) Barbarab) Dorothyc) Katied) Pollye) He was never married on the sitcom The answer to yesterday’s question… What instrument was Lucy Ricardo known for playing not all that well on classic I Love Lucy? a) Clarinetb) Drumsc) Fluted) Pianoe) Saxophone Is: e) Saxophone. Take a look at the description for episode five of season two of I Love Lucy: When Lucy fails her saxophone audition for Ricky's band, she tries to stop him from going on the road by pretending there's another man in her life. Ricky gets back at her by hiring several "lovers," and hiding them in Lucy's closet. But Lucy gets the last laugh in the end! -Current kudos goes to:Mary Bancroft, Barbara Berman, Gerry Bixenspan, Kimay Bloch, Rob Brittain, Larry Collins, Jim Colucci, Tom Condosta, Jacqueline Cutler, Audrey Davis, Reid Davis, Phyllis Epstein, Christina D’Esposito, Arleen Fong, Doren Fronterhouse, Adam Giagni, Adam Goldberg, Maureen Goldman, Geoffrey Gordon, Vicky Gregorian, Michael Grewe, Scott Hamula, Sherrie Hentschel, Bob Ingersoll, Deb Kainer, Synda Kollman, Steve Kurtzer, Howard Lieboff, Kathy Martin, Charlene Maville, Michael McCray, Debbie Mirr, Mark Misiano, Jim Moore, Michael Murphy, Gordon Purcell, Juliana Reis, Joe Rubi, Neal Sabin, Ron Salmon, Maxine Schulman, David Shearer, Kristen Signore, Mindy Staley, Michael Stern, Joe Swaney, Margaret Thomas, Victoria Trombley, Larry Weinstock, Joel Wolk, Abbott Wool

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NBC Sweeps Week of Feb. 8

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