The Programming Insider: NBC Axes The Paul Reiser Show

In Today's Issue: Prime-Time Ratings: Weekend Results Ratings Box: What’s Hot/What’s Not On the Air Tonight: Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow PRIME-TIME RATINGS: Weekend Results Friday 4/22/11 Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). Household Rating/Share CBS: 4.8/ 9, NBC: 3.5/ 6, ABC: 2.9/ 5, Fox: 1.9/ 3, CW: 1.3/ 2 Total Viewers: CBS: 7.66 million, NBC: 5.28, ABC: 4.44, Fox: 3.12, CW: 2.10 Adults 18-49: CBS: 1.4 rating/ 5 share, ABC and NBC: 1.2/ 4 each, Fox: 1.1/ 4, CW: 0.9/ 3 Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 33 percent at this same point last year to approximately 38 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. Friday’s Winners: Girl’s Night Out: Superstar Women of Country (CBS) Disappointing: Smallville (CW), Supernatural (CW) Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats): Friday Night Lights (NBC), Primetime: What Would You Do? (ABC), Fringe (Fox), 20/20 (ABC), and the night overall Ratings Breakdown: CBS led the ratings-challenged Friday night troops, with a first-place finish in total viewers and adults 18-49 thanks to 9-11 p.m. special Girl’s Night Out: Superstar Women of Country. The special averaged 8.48 million viewers with a 1.6 rating/5 share from 9-11 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows: Girl’s Night Out: Superstar Women of Country (CBS) 9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 7.91 million (#1), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#1) 9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 8.18 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#1) 10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 8.82 million (#1), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#1) 10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 8.99 million (#1), A18-49: 1.7/ 5(#1) For low HUT-level Friday, consider this a “winning performance.” Earlier in the evening on CBS was a repeat of CSI: NY in place of canceled three-episode Chaos at 6.04 million viewers (#1) and a second-place 1.0/ 3 (tied with NBC and Fox) among adults 18-49. Once upon a time, crime dramas of this nature were not allowed to lead off the evening. Second-place NBC (which tied ABC in the demo) populated this third Friday in April with episode two of the final season of family drama Friday Night Lights (Viewers: #3, 3.75 million; A18-49: #2t, 1.0/ 3 at 8 p.m.), which just never resonated universally, and another two-hour edition of Dateline (Viewers: #2, 6.05 million; A18-49: #2, 1.4/ 4 from 9-11 p.m.). Elsewhere, ABC’s Shark Tank, a Mr. TV favorite, won the 8 p.m. hour in adults 18-49 (1.4/ 5), which is certainly nothing to brag about, with a second-place finish in total viewers (4.90 million). Next was Primetime: What Would You Do? at an unimpressive 3.80 million viewers (#3) and a 1.1/ 4 in the demo (#4) at 9 p.m., followed by 20/20 at 4.44 million viewers (#3) and a 1.2/ 4 among adults 18-49 (#3). Primetime: What Would You Do? would be better served as a summer series only. Unfortunately, the novelty has worn off. Fox opened with a repeat of Kitchen Nightmares (Viewers: #4, 2.74 million; A18-49: #3t, 1.0/ 4 at 8 p.m.) into already renewed Fringe (Viewers: #4, 3.51 million; A18-49: #3, 1.2/ 4), which concludes for the season on May 6. And The CW capped off the tired night with veteran Smallville (Viewers: #5, 2.23 million; A18-49: #5, 0.9/ 3), which officially ends with a two-hour episode on May 13, followed by Supernatural (Viewers: #5, 1.97 million; A18-49: #5, 0.9/ 3). Chances are Supernatural will inherit the Friday 8 p.m. hour next season despite its ongoing lackluster performance. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) Saturday 4/23/11 Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). Household Rating/Share ABC: 4.0/ 7, CBS: 3.0/ 6, Fox: 2.7/5, NBC: 2.2/ 4 Total Viewers: ABC: 7.05 million, CBS: 4.65, Fox: 4.48, NBC: 3.44 Adults 18-49: ABC: 1.6 rating/5 share, Fox: 1.3/ 5, CBS: 0.8/ 3, NBC: 0.7/ 2 Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 33 percent at this same point last year to approximately 38 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. Saturday’s Winners: Nothing Saturday’s Losers (excluding repeats): Chase and the night overall Ratings Breakdown: ABC got some mileage out of classic theatrical The Ten Commandments, which won the evening with 7.05 million viewers and a 1.6 rating/5 share among adults 18-49 from 8-11 p.m. Outside of ABC there was little of note. In return-series news, axed freshman NBC crime solver Chase earned its cancellation stripes with just 3.05 million viewers (#4) and a 0.6/ 2 among adults 18-49 (#3t) for the first of its remaining episodes in the Saturday 8 p.m. hour. Next on NBC was a repeat of Law & Order: Los Angeles (Viewers: #4, 3.24 million; A18-49: #4, 0.6/ 2 at 9 p.m.), which is not expected back next season, followed by a repeat of Law & Order: SVU (Viewers: #3, 4.03 million; A18-49: #3, 0.9/ 3 at 10 p.m.). Elsewhere, CBS finished second overall in total viewers and a distant third among adults 18-49 with its combination of a repeat of CSI: NY (Viewers: #3, 4.03 million; A18-49: #3t, 0.6/ 2), a repeat of CSI: Miami (Viewers: #2, 4.85 million; A18-49: #3, 0.8/ 3), and long-running 48 Hours (Viewers: #2, 5.08 million; A18-49: #2, 1.0/ 3), which is the real deal if you like forensic crime solvers. After a two-week absence, Fox’s combination of Cops (original and repeat – Viewers: #2, avg. 4.32 million; A18-49: #1t, avg. 1.3/ 5) and America’s Most Wanted (Viewers: #3, 4.65 million; A18-49: #2, 1.4/ 4) was back and both were below average. Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) Sunday 4/24/11 Household Rating/Share CBS: 5.8/10, ABC: 4.9/ 8, NBC: 4.3/ 7, Fox: 1.8/ 3 Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Sunday, April 25, 2010): NBC: - 2, CBS: - 6, ABC: -14, Fox: -40 Note: The fast affiliate results for Sunday will be posted at PIFeedback.com by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Sunday, April 24, 2011. Yesterday’s Winners: 60 Minutes (CBS), The Amazing Race (CBS), Desperate Housewives (ABC), Celebrity Apprentice (NBC) Yesterday’s Losers: Dateline (NBC), America’s Next Great Restaurant (NBC) Ratings Breakdown: CBS won Easter Sunday in the overnights, beating second-place ABC by 18 percent. But the latest Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for movie on the Eye net, Blackboard Jungle, disappointed at a 5.2 rating/10 share in the overnights from 9-11 p.m. (ranking third from 9-10 p.m. and second from 10-11 p.m.). Considering these Hallmark movies skew 50+, CBS is likely to finish third overall for the evening among adults 18-49. Third overall in the metered markets was NBC, followed by a night of repeats—all Simpsons related—on Fox. Keep in mind that yesterday’s holiday did not have a positive impact on the overall numbers. Earlier in the evening on CBS was granddaddy 60 Minutes (#1: 6.9/14 at 7 p.m.), followed by energetic The Amazing Race (#1: 5.9/10) at 8 p.m. Over at ABC, its once prominent Sunday night lineup continues to lose steam. A repeat of America’s Funniest Home Videos opened with a second-place 3.5/ 7 in the overnights at 7 p.m., followed by tired Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (#2: 4.6/ 8 at 8 p.m.), which could lose this time period next season to recent occupant Secret Millionaire, fading Desperate Housewives (#1: 6.7/10 at 9 p.m.), and on-the-fence Brothers & Sisters, which finished third at 10 p.m. with a 4.8/ 8. Compared to one year earlier, Desperate Housewives dipped by a noticeable 18 percent (8.2/13 on April 25, 2010). NBC started out slow as always with its combination of Dateline (#3, 2.9/ 6) and America’s Next Great Restaurant (#3: 2.7/ 5) from 7-9 p.m., but Celebrity Apprentice perked up to a 5.8/10 from 9-11 p.m., building by half hour as follows: 5.3/ 8 (#2) -- 5.5/ 9 (#2) -- 6.0/10 (#1) -- 6.4/11 (#1). Had Celebrity Apprentice been a legitimate reality/competition, project manager Star Jones would have been fired yesterday, not La Toya Jackson. But bossy Star makes better reality TV, at least in a competitive nature, than mousy La Toya. Last, and very least in the overnights, was Fox’s lineup of two repeat episodes of The Simpsons (#4: avg. 1.5/ 3 from 7-8 p.m.) and repeat theatrical The Simpsons Movie (#4: 2.0/ 3 from 8-10 p.m.). The Simpsons, no doubt, will live forever. But ratings are sure not what they used to be, even in repeats. Source: Nielsen Media Research data ____________________________________________________________________ RATINGS BOX: What’s Hot/What’s Not Week of April 18 to-Date: Based on the live plus same day results through Thursday, April 21, American Idol-ignited Fox holds a significant lead. But Fox, of course, will lose steam once Idol-less Friday through Sunday are factored in, while CBS will narrow the gap significantly in total viewers. Here is the results to-date for the week: Total Viewers: Fox: 12.29 million, CBS: 9.39, ABC: 8.66, NBC: 4.76, CW: 1.65 Adults 18-49: Fox: 3.9 rating/11 share, CBS: 2.2/ 6, ABC: 2.1/ 6, NBC: 1.7/ 4, CW: 0.8/ 2 The full weekly results will, of course, be available on Wednesday. Source: Nielsen Media Research data ___________________________________________________________________ ON THE AIR TONIGHT: Prime-Time Programming Options Monday 4/25/11 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (90 minutes), 9:30 p.m. Better With You, 10:00 p.m. Castle (R) CBS: 8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (R), 8:30 p.m. Mad Love, 9:00 p.m. The Big Bang Theory (R), 9:30 p.m. Mike & Molly (R), 10:00 p.m. Hawaii Five-O (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. Chuck (R), 9:00 p.m. The Event, 10:00 p.m. Law & Order: Los Angeles Fox: 8:00 p.m. House (R), 9:00 p.m. The Chicago Code (R) CW: 8:00 p.m. 90210, 9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl ___________________________________________________________________ TV TIDBITS: Notes of Interest NBC Cancels The Paul Reiser Show: NBC has yanked sitcom The Paul Reiser Show off the schedule after just two embarrassingly low-rated episodes. The second, and final, telecast plummeted to 2.38 million viewers with a 0.9 rating/3 share among adults 18-49 in the Thursday 8:30 p.m. half hour on April 21. Stepping into the time period will be repeats of The Office. Art Imitates Life: In Plain Sight star Mary McCormick, who is pregnant with her third child, will have that pregnancy written into her role as Mary Shannon over the course of next season. Who the father of her child will be the big reveal. The new season of In Plain Sight begins on Sunday, May 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Katie Couric to Officially Exit The CBS Evening News: It has been rumored for months but will, according to The New York Times, become official this week. Couric’s contract with the CBS Evening News expires on June 4 and her expected replacement is Scott Pelley, a correspondent on 60 Minutes. As for Couric headlining a syndicated daytime talk show beginning in fall 2012, stay tuned. NBC to Encore The Voice: Upcoming NBC singing competition The Voice, which debuts tomorrow with a two-hour installment beginning at 9 p.m. ET will encore the following evening, Wednesday, April 27, from 9-11 p.m. It replaces originally scheduled repeats of Minute to Win It and Law & Order: SVU. __________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Note: To respond to the trivia, please click HERE. Do not click Reply Which failed fall freshman series was the first cancellation of this current season? a) Lone Star (Fox) b) My Generation (ABC) c) Outlaw (NBC) d) Undercovers (NBC) e) The Whole Truth (ABC) The answer to Friday’s question… What happened to the clan called Walton during the Easter-themed episode of classic family drama The Waltons? a) Elizabeth runs away from home b) Grandma has a stroke c) Grandpa has a heart attack d) Mary Ellen’s baby is kidnapped e) Olivia is diagnosed with polio Is: e) Olivia is diagnosed with polio. But all ended well, of course, when Olivia miraculously started walking again after she had a dream Elizabeth was calling out for her. Current kudos goes to: David Ballarotto, J.S. Banning, Gerry Bixenspan, Larry Collins, Tom Condosta, Cecilia Deuhs, Jan Frazier, Maureen Goldman, Michael Holland, Synda Kollman, Michelle McCurley, Greg Phelan

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The Programming Insider: NBC Axes The Paul Reiser Show

Mixed ratings results for the weekend

Marc Berman

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