Stellar Early Results for The Vancouver Olympic Winter Games

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERTuesday, February 16, 2010 Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:NBC’s Winter Olympics Juggernaut Continues Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time:Dancing Fools ____________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings:NBC’s Winter Olympics Juggernaut Continues Monday 2/15/10Note: Birmingham is excluded from the following averages. HH Rtg/Shr NBC 16.7/24ABC 6.4/ 9CBS 5.3/ 8Fox 5.0/ 7CW 1.6/ 2 ---------- -Note: The metered market comparisons to one night earlier were not available today. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners: The 2010 Winter Olympics (NBC), The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (ABC) -Honorable Mention:Two and a Half Men R (CBS), The Big Bang Theory R (CBS), 24 (Fox) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):One Tree Hill (CW), Life Unexpected (CW) ---------- Note: The fast affiliate results for Monday will be posted at PIFeedback by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Monday, February 15, 2010. ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: It was a clean sweep, of course, for NBC, with the ongoing 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver at an average (and approximate) 16.7 rating/24 share in the overnights for the prime-time portion. Compared to the first Monday in Torino (15.3/22 on Feb. 13, 2006), this was an increase of nine percent. Keep in mind that results for any live sporting event are always estimated. Here is the half-hour breakdown: 2010 Winter Olympics8:00 p.m.: 16.2/238:30 p.m.: 17.9/259:00 p.m.: 17.0/249:30 p.m.: 16.6/2310:00 p.m.: 17.2/2610:30 p.m.: 15.4/25 Comparably, NBC outdelivered No. 2 ABC by a hefty 161 percent, but there was still room for the alphabet net’s competing The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love. If anything, The Winter Olympics have brought more viewers into prime-time, proving the value of network television, while original episodes of competing mainstays continue to deliver. It should, no doubt, be interesting to see how Fox’s American Idol competes opposite The Vancouver Games tonight. For more on The 2010 Winter Olympics, scroll to Ratings Box below. Moving to ABC, another two-hour edition of aforementioned The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love was on the map with a 7.6/11 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. and growth by half-hour as follows: The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (ABC)8:00 p.m.: 7.2/10 (#2)8:30 p.m.: 7.5/10 (#2)9:00 p.m.: 7.6/11 (#2)9:30 p.m.: 8.0/11 (#2) Compared to one week earlier when The Bachelor did not face The Winter Olympics (8.2/12 on Feb. 8), this was a loss of only seven percent. A repeat of Castle capped off this third Monday in February for ABC with a last-place 4.0/ 6 at 10 p.m. Third-place CBS aired a night of repeats last night care of its combination of already renewed How I Met Your Mother (#3: 4.2/ 6), Wednesday bound Accidentally on Purpose (#4: 3.7/ 5), veteran Two and a Half Men (#3: 7.0/11), laugh-out-loud The Big Bang Theory (#3: 6.4/ 9), and CSI: Miami (#2: 5.4/ 8). Fox also traveled the repeat route in the 8 p.m. hour with House at a third-place 4.2/ 6, but an original installment of lead-out 24 perked up to a 5.9/ 9 -- fourth in the hour at 9 p.m. Comparably, 24 built from the second half of the House encore (4.3/ 6 at 8:30 p.m.) by a noticeable 37 percent. Production on 24 is currently suspended due to Kiefer Sutherland’s surgery for a ruptured cyst, but he is expected to return later in the week. Over at The CW, an original installment of veteran One Tree Hill was on par from one week earlier, with a 1.8/ 3 at 8 p.m. But recently introduced lead-out Life Unexpected dipped to a 1.5/ 2 at 9 p.m. Based on the overnights, these results are, no doubt, “losers.” Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not -Stellar Opening for the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games:NBC is estimating that 117 million people to-date have watched the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games on the networks of NBC Universal; five million more than the first weekend of the Torino Games in 2006 (112 million). The 28.6 million average viewers for the opening weekend of the Vancouver Games is 5.7 million more than Torino in 2006, and the most for a non-United States Winter Olympics since the 1994 Lillehammer Games (39.9 million), which featured the Nancy Kerrigan-Tanya Harding saga. The winning stage was set on Friday, Feb. 12, with the Opening Ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games at a massive 17.3 rating/30 share in households, with 32.6 million viewers. Compared to the 2006 Winter Games in Torino (12.8/21 in households, 22.2 million viewers), this was an increase of 35 percent in households and 10.4 million viewers (or 47 percent). And it was the biggest opening for any Winter Olympics outside of the United States since Lillehammer in 1994. The Opening Ceremony in Salt Lake City in 2002 was stronger at an approximate 45 million viewers. NBC is estimating that 67.5 million viewers watched some portion of the Opening Ceremony -- 17 million more than Torino. Results for The Winter Olympics on Saturday and Sunday are as follows: Saturday 2/13/10 – Viewers: 26.2 million; A18-49: 7.9/23Sunday 2/14/10 – Viewers: 26.3 million; A18-49: 7.0/19 (prime-time portion only) Comparably, results on Saturday were 3.0 million viewers (or 13 percent) above the first Saturday set in Torino in 2006, and higher than every single night of the Torino Games. Saturday’s broadcast was seen by 55 million total viewers – six million more than the first night of competition from Torino. Also of note on Saturday was the live afternoon coverage at 13.1 million viewers from 2-6 p.m. -- 2.6 million (or 25 percent) above the first Saturday afternoon in Torino. -The Winter Olympics Scores in Canada:Live coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday resulted as the most-watched television event to-date in Canadian history, with an average 13.3 million Canadians watching every single minute of the ceremony. The previous Canadian record holder was 10.3 million for the Gold Medal hockey game at Salt Lake City in 2009. A total of 26 million Canadians, representing 78 percent of the population, experienced the 2010 Winter Games on the platforms of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, according to the Consortium’s CUME (Canadian Unique Multimedia Engagement) index. -Undercover Boss Scores on Sunday:The Winter Olympics on NBC may be dominating, but worth positively noting on CBS Sunday was the 9 p.m. time period premiere of non-scripted Undercover Boss at a stellar 15.27 million viewers and a 5.1 rating/12 share among adults 18-49, according to the fast affiliate results. Comparably, this built from the season-premiere of lead-in The Amazing Race 16 (Viewers: 9.07 million; A18-49: 2.8/ 7 at 8 p.m.) by 6.20 million viewers and 82 percent in the demo. And it outdelivered former occupant Cold Case by double-digit percentages as well. -Speaking of Cold Case:Despite the ample lead-in support from Undercover Boss, veteran Cold Case moved into the Sunday 10 p.m. hour with 8.72 million viewers and a 2.1/ 5 among adults 18-49. While that may not seem all that bad opposite The Winter Olympics, retention out of Undercover Boss was just 57 percent in total viewers and 41 percent in the demo. -Three Year High for Survivor:Based on the live plus same day ratings, the season-premiere of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains on Thursday, Feb. 11 rose to its largest audience (14.15 million) since Dec. 13, 2007 (Survivor: China), its best adult 18-49 rating (4.6 rating/13 share) since Feb. 19, 2009 (Survivor: Tocantins), and best among adults 25-54 (5.6/16) since February 12, 2009 (Survivor: Tocantins). Growth from the season-premiere of the midseason 2009 edition set in Tocantins was 520,000 viewers and two percent among adults 18-49. Go heroes! -StarStruck Breaks the Disney Record Books:Original movie StarStruck, which debuted on Sunday, reached a new zenith as Disney Channel’s most-watched February movie premiere in total viewers (6.0 million), kids 6-11 (2.4 million) and tweens 9-14 (2.3 million). Compared to the year-ago time period, StarStruck increased by 2.8 million viewers and as much as 64 percent in tweens. Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Tuesday 2/16/10 ABC: 8:00 p.m. Lost (R) 9:00 p.m. Lost10:00 p.m. The Forgotten CBS: 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. NCIS: Los Angeles (R)10:00 p.m. The Good Wife (R) NBC: 8:00 p.m. 2010 Winter Olympics (Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Speedskating, Alpine Skiing, to 12:00am) Fox: 8:00 p.m. American Idol (two hours) CW: 8:00 p.m. 90210 (R) 9:00 p.m. Melrose Place (R) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -Barbara Walters Announces Final Academy Awards Special:Annual Barbara Walters Oscar night special, which will feature interviews with current nominees Sandra Bullock and Mo’Nique on March 7, will officially conclude after 29 years. “ABC has asked me to keep doing these specials as they have been so successful – and I’m thrilled we have such great stars and have such a wonderful show for this last one – but to be honest, I feel like I’ve been there, done that,” said Barbara Walters on The View yesterday. -Speaking of Oscar Specials:The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special will air on ABC in the 10 p.m. hour on Wednesday, March 3 -- four days before The 82nd Annual Academy Awards._______________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Dancing Fools Which one of the following TV characters once competed in a dance marathon? Sydney BristowMary CamdenMichael FairgateDaisy GarnerWill Truman The answer to Friday’s question… Who played Oscar Madison’s secretary on classic sitcom The Odd Couple? Barbara BarriePat CarrollPenny MarshallLee Meriwether Brett Somers Is: c) Penny Marshall, who exited The Odd Couple to star in Laverne & Shirley, which was also produced by her brother Garry Marshall. Remember this? "On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that someday, he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Sometime earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?"Brett Somers, then Jack Klugman’s wife, appeared in a few episodes as Oscar’s ex-wife.Correction: The answer to Thursday’s question…Sitcom What’s Happening!! featured a two-part episode with a famous band from the 1970s. What band was it? The Allman BrothersThe Beach BoysThe Bee GeesThe Doobie Brothers Styx …was d) The Doobie Brothers (and not The Beach Boys as incorrectly reported on Friday)-Current kudos goes to:Anna Alvord, Mary Bancroft, Gerry Bixenspan, Kimay Bloch, Barbara Bloomfield, Lisa Brause, Al Canaletich, Larry Collins (2x), Shelia Collins, Tom Condosta, Kristin Conner, Harold Cooper, Audrey Davis, Sue Doron, Bob Eisenstaedt, Phyllis Epstein, John Ferlazzo, Jim Forkan, Leon Givens, Maureen Goldman, Geoffrey Gordon, Carolyn Becker Hayes, Melissa Hodgdon, Michael Holland, Bob Ingersoll, Mike Jameson, Greg Janover, Deb Kainer, Tom Kilgallon, Steve Kurtzer, Marie Lefevre Karp, Synda Kollman, Tom Lawrenson, Steven Lewis, Rick Locke, Richard Mann, Charlene Maville, Becky McIntyre, Debbie Mirr, Mark Misiano, Michael Natale, Bill Nuss, Alan Perris, Alex Petrilli, Jr., Sandra Pettway, Francine Purcell, Gordon Purcell, Bruce Robinson, Alan Rosenfeld, David Ruckman, Maxine Schulman, Russell Schwartz, Michelle Stanton, Julie Syers, Ronnie Tallant, Carol Teichman, Margaret Thomas, Don Webb, Even Weinstein, Larry Weinstock, Abbott Wool, Jeanne Yonkers, Ged Young, Ted Zawislak

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Stellar Early Results for The Vancouver Olympic Winter Games

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