NBC Wins Wednesday Overnights; Fox No. 2

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERThursday, July 15, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:NBC Wins; Fox Second Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: So Long, Walshes________________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:NBC Wins; Fox Second Wednesday 7/14/10 HH Rtg/Shr NBC 5.1/ 9Fox 4.7/ 8CBS 4.3/ 7ABC 2.6/ 4CW 0.9/ 1 ---------- -Note: Comparisons to the year-ago evening are not available today. ---------- -Percent of Schedule in Repeats: 62 ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:America’s Got Talent (NBC) -Down but Far From Out: So You Think You Can Dance (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Nothing…more than half of the line-up was in repeats. -Shout Out to Hot in Cleveland:Unfortunately, I do not have any rating results at press time for last night’s Hot in Cleveland on TV Land. But kudos to Suzanne Martin and company for another laugh-out-loud installment. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:Led by summer favorite America’s Got Talent, NBC dominated this second Wednesday in July with a 0.4 rating point advantage over No. 2 Fox. Third overall was CBS, followed by a night of repeats on ABC and The CW. America’s Got Talent stood well above anything else last night, with a 7.1 rating/12 share in the overnights at 9 p.m. Comparably, that outdelivered lead-in Minute to Win It (#3: 4.0/ 8 at 8 p.m.) by a hefty 77 percent. While a 4.0 rating may not sound like much for Minute to Win It, look for another potential top-20 finish among adults 18-49 for the week. A repeat of Law & Order: SVU closed the night for NBC with a dominant 4.3/ 7 at 10 p.m. Word of advice to new host Howie Mandel on America’s Got Talent: make up your mind faster, please. Over at Fox, two-hours of So You Think You Can Dance was on the map with a 4.7/ 8 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m., and the half-hour breakdown as follows: So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)8:00 p.m.: 4.6/ 8 (#1)8:30 p.m.: 4.9/ 8 (#1)9:00 p.m.: 4.6/ 8 (#2t)9:30 p.m.: 4.6/ 7 (#3) Once upon a time, Fox had a lock for dominance among adults 18-49 on the evenings So You Think You Can Dance aired. But the combination of aforementioned Minute to Win It and America’s Got Talent could give NBC the advantage in the demo. In time period premiere news, Big Brother on CBS finished second in the overnights in the 8 p.m. hour, with a 4.2/ 8. All I can say is hooray to Brendon for winning POV. If new nominee Annie gets voted off over Rachel…go Brendon and Rachel! No summer on TV is complete without Big Brother, right? Personally speaking, I think Britney is the saboteur and the two contestants most likely to have known each other before the game began are Matt and Ragan. We shall see. Airing out of Big Brother were repeats of Criminal Minds (#2: 4.9/ 8) and CSI: NY (#2: 4.0/ 7) from 9-11 p.m. ABC had nothing positive of note to report with its encore combination of special Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown (#4: 2.5/ 4), The Middle (#4: 2.2/ 4), Modern Family (#4: 2.8/ 5), Cougar Town (#4: 2.2/ 4) and Castle (#3: 2.9/ 5). Based on last night’s episode of Modern Family, Julie Bowen should snag this year’s Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Two repeat episodes of America’s Next Top Model on The CW closed the night with a distant last-place 0.9/ 1 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. As a reminder, here is what you will be seeing on the broadcast networks on Wednesday this fall (with new shows in caps and bolded): ABC 8:00 p.m.: The Middle (new time) 8:30 p.m. BETTER TOGETHER 9:00 p.m.: Modern Family 9:30 p.m. Cougar Town 10:00 p.m.: THE WHOLE TRUTH CBS 8:00 p.m.: Survivor: Nicaragua (new day) 9:00 p.m.: Criminal Minds 10:00 p.m.: THE DEFENDERS NBC 8:00 p.m.: UNDERCOVERS9:00 p.m.: Law & Order: SVU (new time)10:00 p.m. LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES Fox 8:00 p.m. Lie To Me (new day and time) 9:00 p.m.: Hell’s Kitchen (new day) CW 8:00 p.m.: America’s Next Top Model 9:00 p.m. HELLCATS Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -Soft Start for The Big Willie Show:The Big Willie Show, the tentatively titled daytime talker hosted by radio’s Bill Cunningham and taped by Tribune, began a four-day test run yesterday in seven markets -- Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and New Orleans. (A fifth test show, featuring child beauty pageant contestants and their mothers will not air). Based on the seven markets, The Big Willie Show averaged a 1.0 rating/3 share in households on Tuesday, dropping by 44 percent from the lead-in average (1.8/ 5). The year-ago (July 2009) time period was a 1.3/ 4. Big Willie had its best results on WXIX in Cincinnati at 3 p.m., with a 2.8/ 7 (out of a 0.9/ 2 for the off-net run of America’s Funniest Home Videos). The July 2009 time period average was a 1.0/ 3. -Solid Farewell to The Hills:MTV’s The Hills concluded on Tuesday with close to 3-million viewers – up 72 percent from last season’s finale. Comparably, The Hills series-ender was the top-rated program on cable in 10 p.m. half-hour in persons 12-34 (2.8 rating) and females 12-34 (4.4). -Solid Launch for USA’s Covert Affairs:New USA drama Covert Affairs kicked-off on Tuesday with 4.9 million viewers at 10 p.m. -- 14 percent than the season-premiere of lead-in White Collar (4.3 million at 9 p.m.). Results among adults 18-49 (2.1) and adults 25-54 (2.3 million) beat White Collar (A18-49: 1.6 million; A25-54: 1.8 million) by 31 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Thursday 7/15/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Wipeout 9:00 p.m. Rookie Blue 10:00 p.m. Boston Med CBS: 8:00 p.m. Big Brother 9:00 p.m. CSI (R)10:00 p.m. The Mentalist (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Community (R) 8:30 p.m. 30 Rock (R) 9:00 p.m. The Office (R) 9:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation (R)10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R) Fox: 8:00 p.m. Glee (R) 9:00 p.m. So You Think You Can Dance CW 8:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaries (R) 9:00 p.m. Moonlight (R) Of Note on Cable:-Mary Knows Best (Syfy): 9 p.m. ET (series premiere)-Fact or Faked: Paranormal Investigators: 10 p.m. ET (series premiere) ______________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Busy Betty White Has Another Gig:Beloved Betty White will spend part of her hiatus from TV Land hit Hot in Cleveland guest starring in the second season-premiere of NBC sitcom Community. White will play an unorthodox anthropology professor. For more on the great Betty White, click here for my Q&A in this week’s issue of Mediaweek. -Luck on HBO:HBO has picked up a new drama for next season called Luck, which will focus on the worlds of horseracing and gambling told through a diverse group of characters surrounding a racetrack. The ensemble cast includes Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Kevin Dunn, Richard Kind, Jason Gedrick, Ritchie Coster, Ian Hart, Tom Payne, Kerry Condon and Gary Stevens. Production begins this fall at Santa Anita Park and other Los Angeles locations. -Modern Family Honored by GLSEN:GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, will honor ABC sitcom Modern Family at the Respect Awards – Los Angeles on October 8 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The Respect Awards, which are held annually in New York and Los Angeles, recognize individual and corporate leaders who have helped propel GLSEN’s efforts to ensure safe schools for all of the country’s students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. -Amber Tamblyn Has a New House:Former Joan of Arcadia star Amber Tamblyn will join the cast of Fox drama House in a multi-episode story arc next season. Tamblyn will play a brilliant and aggressive medical student (a typical TV show combination) whom Dr. House hires as a new team member despite not being officially qualified to practice medicine. -Jane Lynch in Wax:Emmy nominated Glee star Jane Lynch will be immortalized by Madame Tussauds Hollywood, with a life-size wax figure to be unveiled on Aug. 4. -Judge Jeanine Pirro Joins Forces With NDVH:Judge Jeanine Pirro, host of Emmy nominated Warner Bros. court show strip Judge Pirro, is teaming with the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) to start an educational initiative about domestic violence prevention. In the upcoming 2010-11 season, Judge Pirro will offer safety tips and action plans within the show and at www.judgejp.com to raise awareness on this issue. More information about the National Domestic Violence Hotline can be obtained by clicking on www.ndvh.org. -Andrew Young Presents Snags Three Emmys:Andrew Young Presents, the quarterly one-hour first-run series from Sewee Entertainment that explores current national and global issues, was awarded with three Emmys by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) during a recent event in Atlanta. The awards were for writing and HD production for the installments titled "How We Got Over", "What's Wrong with Nigeria" and "Tanzania - Stories of Life.” _________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:So Long, Walshes Where did Cindy and Jim Walsh move to when they left California at the end of the fifth season of Beverly Hills, 90210? a) Australiab) Chekoslovakiac) Hong Kongd) Italye) Norway The answer to yesterday’s question… Which one of the following TV characters considered leg of lamb his favor meal? a) Peter Bradyb) Joe Carsonc) Sam Malone d) Adrian Monke) Andy Taylor Is: e) Andy Taylor of The Andy Griffith Show. When Andy began dating Helen, Barney was concerned because she could not cook. But good ol’ Andy had more on his mind than food and the two eventually married, had a son and moved away from Mayberry. -Current kudos goes to:Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield, John Brooker, Johanna Cipau, Larry Collins, Audrey Davis, Karen Gardner, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Synda Kollman, Melinda Lujan, Ted Zawislak

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NBC Wins Wednesday Overnights; Fox No. 2

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