The Programming Insider: Basketball Dominates on ABC

In Today's Issue Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings: Basketball Dominates on ABC; Love Bites DOA on NBC 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: Injured Robert PRIME-TIME METERED MARKET THURSDAY RATINGS: Basketball Dominates on ABC; Love Bites DOA on NBC Thursday 6/02/11 Note: The overnight data now includes DVR playback until 3 a.m. local time. One year earlier it was based on Live data only. All times are ET/PT. Household Rating/Share ABC: 7.8/13, CBS: 5.3/ 9, Fox: 4.2/ 7, NBC: 2.2/ 4, CW: 0.7/ 1 Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Thursday, June 3, 2010): CBS: + 8, NBC: + 5, ABC: - 2, CW: -30, Fox: -32 Yesterday’s Winners: NBA Finals, Game 2 (ABC) Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats): Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC), Love Bites (NBC) Ratings Breakdown: ABC stood well above the competition on this first Thursday in June care of game two of The NBA Finals, Mavericks at Heat, at an estimated 10.0 rating/17 share in the overnights in primetime (from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT). Comparably, the game one year-ago Thursday night match-up between Boston and Los Angeles averaged a very similar 10.4/18 on June 3, 2010. As a reminder, results for any live sporting competition are always approximate. Earlier in the evening on ABC was another 8 p.m. edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live (#3: 3.3/ 6), which should stick to late night, and the half-hour basketball pre-game at a 3.5/ 6 at 8:30 p.m. (#3). Fox was also on the map care of So You Think You Can Dance, which finished first in the 8 p.m. hour with a 5.7/10 in the overnights (and was on par with one year earlier). But a repeat of lead-out Glee, which will air in the Thursday 9 p.m. hour this summer, sunk to a third-place 2.8/ 5. In series-premiere news, the long-awaited arrival of NBC’s Love, American Style-like Love Bites did not resonate, with a last-place 2.4/ 4 in the overnights at 10 p.m. When a network delays a fall premiere until the beginning of summer season, you know the expectations are nil. Earlier in the evening on NBC were fourth-place finishes for encore telecasts of sitcoms Community (1.9/ 3), 30 Rock (1.9/ 3), The Office (2.3/ 4) and Parks and Recreation (2.1/ 3) from 8-10 p.m. One of NBC’s biggest mistakes next fall is keeping low-rated Community in the Thursday 8 p.m. anchor position. CBS, which traveled the repeat route, finished as the No. 2 network last night with its combination of The Big Bang Theory (#2: 5.3/ 9), Rules of Engagement (#2: 4.3/ 7), CSI (#2: 5.3/ 9) and The Mentalist (#2: 5.9/10). Corporate cousin The CW, meanwhile, was virtually invisible as a result of repeats of The Vampire Diaries and Nikita, which each averaged a miniscule 0.8/ 1 in the overnights. As a reminder, Nikita moves into the Friday 8 p.m. hour next fall in place of retired Smallville (and into Supernatural). High profile Thursdays next fall will feature seven new series, tying Wednesday as the most new shows on any night of the week. The 8 p.m. revival of Charlie’s Angels on ABC will certainly be an improvement over short-lived fall 2010 occupant My Generation, while The X Factor on Fox is poised to lead the freshman pack. Also promising is CBS crime solver Person of Interest, which inherits the CSI time period, NBC’s pairing of sitcom Whitney and drama Prime Suspect from 9:30-11 p.m., and perfectly compatible sounding The Secret Circle out of The Vampire Diaries on The CW. While you can’t judge a show by a few minutes of clips, new CBS comedy How to Be a Gentleman does not look all that much better than former failed occupant $#*! My Dad Says. Here is the fall 2010 Thursday night line-up: ABC 8:00 p.m.: CHARLIE’S ANGELS 9:00 p.m.: Grey’s Anatomy 10:00 p.m.: Private Practice CBS 8:00 p.m.: The Big Bang Theory 8:30 p.m.: HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN 9:00 p.m.: PERSON OF INTEREST 10:00 p.m.: The Mentalist NBC 8:00 p.m.: Community 8:30 p.m.: Parks and Recreation (new time) 9:00 p.m.: The Office 9:30 p.m.: WHITNEY 10:00 p.m.: PRIME SUSPECT Fox 8:00 p.m.: THE X FACTOR (Results Show) 9:00 p.m.: Bones CW 8:00 p.m.: The Vampire Diaries 9:00 p.m.: THE SECRET CIRCLE Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) _____________________________________________________________ RATINGS BOX: What’s Hot/What’s Not Modest Opening for Franklin & Bash on TNT: Light-hearted legal drama Franklin & Bash, headlined by Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer, opened on Wednesday, June 1 with 2.75 million viewers in the 9 p.m. hour. Demographically, Franklin & Bash averaged 1.14 million adults 18-49 and 1.22 million adults 25-54. Lead-out Men of a Certain Age, starring Ray Romano, Scott Baluka and Andre Braugher, dipped to 1.85 million viewers at 10 p.m., with 591,000 adults 18-49 and 825,000 adults 25-54. Record Haunted Collector on Syfy: Haunted Collector, which focuses on paranormal investigators tracking down haunted items like paintings, guns, jewelry and dolls, debuted on Syfy on Wednesday, June 1 with 1.44 million viewers in the 10 p.m. hour. Comparably, that was the cable net’s most-watched reality series premiere this year to-date. Haunted Collectors also averaged a 1.1 household rating, with 730,000 adults 18-49 and 799,000 adults 25-54. River Monsters Closes Top-Rated Season on Animal Planet: River Monsters, Animal Planet’s most-watched series to-date, concluded season three on Monday, averaging a record 1.5 million viewers for the season. Comparably, River Monsters built from season two by as much as 24 percent among men 18-34 (297,000). Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ____________________________________________________________ ON THE AIR THIS WEEKEND: Prime-Time Programming Options Friday 6/03/11 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Shark Tank (R) 9:00 p.m. Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution 10:00 p.m. 20/20 CBS: 8:00 p.m. Flashpoint 9:00 p.m. CSI: NY (R) 10:00 p.m. Blue Bloods (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Friday Night Lights 9:00 p.m. Dateline (two hours) Fox: 8:00 p.m. Bones (R) 9:00 p.m. Lie to Me (R) CW 8:00 p.m. Smallville (R) 9:00 p.m. Supernatural (R) Saturday 6/04/11 ABC: 8:00 p.m. The Bachelorette (R, two hours) 10:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. Chaos 9:00 p.m. Hawaii Five-O (R) 10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery NBC: 8:00 p.m. Stanley Cup Finals, Game 2 Fox: 8:00 p.m. Cops (two repeats) 9:00 p.m. America’s Most Wanted Sunday 6/05/11 ABC: 7:00 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel Live 7:30 p.m. NBA Pre-Game 8:00 p.m. NBA Finals, Game 3 CBS: 7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes 8:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (R) 9:00 p.m. Undercover Boss (R) 10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami (R) NBC: 7:00 p.m. Dateline 8:00 p.m. Minute to Win It (R) 9:00 p.m. America’s Got Talent (R, two hours) Fox: 7:00 p.m. American Dad (R, new time period) 7:30 p.m. Bob’s Burgers (R, new time period) 8:00 p.m. The Simpsons (R) 8:30 p.m. The Cleveland Show (R, new time period) 9:00 p.m. Family Guy (R) 9:30 p.m. American Dad (R) ______________________________________________________________ TV TIDBITS: Notes of Interest Fear Factor to Return on NBC: Former non-scripted NBC staple Fear Factor, which aired from 2001-06, will return on the network next season. There is no news at present if original host Joe Rogan will also be back. Jane Lynch to Host The Emmy Awards: Glee star Jane Lynch, who snagged the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy last season for her role as bitter Sue Sylvester on Fox’s Glee, has been named host of the upcoming 63rd Annual Emmy Awards. It airs live on Fox on Sunday, September 18. Upcoming at Univision: Univision will introduce two new series this summer, drama El Equipo (beginning Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on June 16) and family-driven variety hour Pequenos Gigantes (Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on June 19). Several existing series will move to new time periods, with the schedule as follows: Cuando Me Enamoro: Friday 7 p.m. ET/PT Teresa: Friday 8 p.m. ET/PT El Triunfo Del Amor: Friday 9 p.m. ET/PT Don Francisco Presenta: Monday 10 p.m. ET/PT Aqui y Ahora: Tuesday 10 p.m. ET/PT La Rosa de Guadalupe: Wednesday and Friday 10 p.m. ET/PT La Copa de Oro: Thursday 8:55 p.m. ET/PT (effective June 9) El Equipo: Thursday 10 p.m. ET/PT (June 16) Pequenos Gigantes (Auditions Pre-Show): Wednesday 10 p.m. ET/PT (June 15) Pequenos Gigantes: Sunday 8 p.m. ET/PT (June 19) ______________________________________________________________ TV TRIVIA TIME: Injured Robert Note: To respond to the trivia, please click HERE. Do not click Reply In an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, Officer RobertBarone was injured by an animal. What kind of animal was it? a) bull b) dog c) hawk d) horse e) tiger The answer to yesterday’s question… What was Larry’s occupation on classic sitcom Three’s Company? a) Actor b) Clothing store owner c) Nurse d) Pediatrician e) Used car salesman Is: e) Used Car Salesman, which was the perfect occupation for slimy Larry Dallas. Current kudos goes to: David Ballarotto, Michael Baum, Gerry Bixenspan, Barbara Bloomfield, John Carlo, Kristin Conner, Andy Ehlen, David Heraux, Deb Kainer, Synda Kollman, Steven Kurtzer, Tom Lawrenson, Charmaine Leary, Michael Murphy, Jay Rossi, Anthony Salerno, Maxine Shulman, Kat Spofford, Julie Syers

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The Programming Insider: Basketball Dominates on ABC

Love Bites DOA on NBC

Marc Berman

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