Strong Showing For The Grammy Awards on CBS

THE PROGRAMMING INSIDERMonday, February 9, 2009 Prime-Time Ratings:Weekend Highlights Ratings Box:What's Hot/What's Not On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest TV Trivia Time:Visiting Cheers ___________________________________________________________________________ Prime-Time Ratings:Weekend Highlights Friday 2/06/09Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr CBS 6.5/11ABC 4.2/ 7Fox 2.8/ 5NBC 2.8/ 5CW 0.7/ 1 -Total Viewers:CBS: 10.39 million, ABC: 6.32, Fox: 4.51, NBC: 4.50, CW: 1.05 -Adults 18-49: CBS: 2.4 rating/7 share, ABC: 2.1/ 6, Fox: 1.4/ 5, NBC: 1.4/ 4, CW: 0.4/ 1 -------------------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 20 percent at this same point last year to approximately 28 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Friday’s Winners:Ghost Whisperer (CBS), Flashpoint R (CBS), Numb3rs (CBS) -Friday’s Losers (excluding repeats):Howie Do It (NBC), Cops (Fox), Everybody Hates Chris (CW), Friday Night Lights (NBC), 13 – Fear Is Real (CW), Dateline (NBC) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:It was another Friday victory for CBS with its combination of Ghost Whisperer (Viewers: #1, 11.39 million; A18-49: #1, 2.8 rating/9 share), a repeat of Flashpoint (Viewers: #1, 9.60 million; A18-49: #2, 2.2/ 6) and Numb3rs (Viewers: #1, 10.18 million; A18-49: #1, 2.2/ 7). But second-place ABC prevented CBS from having a clean sweep with non-scripted Supernanny at a dominant 2.3/ 7 among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. (with 6.52 million viewers – #2 in the time period). Even so, the compatibility out of Ghost Whisperer even in an encore telecast makes Flashpoint a “winner.” Earlier in the evening on ABC was Wife Swap at a typically modest 5.06 million viewers (#2) and a 1.8/ 6 among adults 18-49 (#2) at 8 p.m. And at 10 p.m. was veteran 20/20 at 7.39 million viewers (#2) and a 2.1/ 6 in the demo (#2). The No. 2 finish keeps Wife Swap off the list of “losers.” Overall, lackluster NBC and Fox were virtually identical, with the subpar results as follows. Keep in mind that Fox’s Cops and America’s Most Wanted aired on Friday because NASCAR pre-empted them on Saturday this week, and both were considerably below average. NBC8:00 p.m. - Howie Do It Viewers: 4.69 million (#3), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3t) 8:30 p.m. – Howie Do It (R)Viewers: 4.02 million (#4), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#4) 9:00 p.m. – Friday Night LightsViewers: 4.21 million (#4), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#4) 10:00 p.m. – DatelineViewers: 4.93 million (#3), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#3) Fox8:00 p.m. – Cops Viewers: 4.13 million (#4), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#3t) 8:30 p.m. – Cops (R)Viewers: 4.67 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#3) 9:00 p.m. – America’s Most WantedViewers: 4.62 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#3) The sad reality of critically acclaimed Friday Night Lights remains the lack of audience interest. Last, and extremely least on Friday was the CW’s combination of Everybody Hates Chris (Viewers: 1.36 million; A18-49: 0.5/ 2), a repeat of The Game (Viewers: 1.18 million; A18-49: 0.5/ 1) and reality/competition dud 13 – Fear is Real (Viewers: 840,000; A18-49: 0.4/ 1). Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Saturday 2/07/09Note: The following results are based on the fast affiliate ratings (Live Plus Same Day data). HH Rtg/Shr Fox 4.5/ 8CBS 3.9/ 7NBC 2.6/ 5ABC 1.6/ 3 -Total Viewers:Fox: 7.55 million, CBS: 5.78, NBC: 3.91, ABC: 2.32 -Adults 18-49: Fox: 2.5 rating/8 share, CBS: 1.2/ 4, NBC: 1.0/ 3, ABC: 0.7/ 2 ---------- Note: Any prior rating results are based on the final nationals. Since the level of DVR penetration has increased from 20 percent at this same point last year to approximately 28 percent at present, the overall results may be negatively impacted. ---------- -Saturday’s Winners:Nothing -Saturday’s Losers (excluding repeats):The night overall ---------- -Ratings Breakdown:Despite the absence of perennial Cops and America’s Most Wanted (which aired one night earlier), Fox still dominated Saturday care of two-hours of NASCAR coverage at an average 7.55 million viewers and a 2.5 rating/8 share from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, this was down by about 10 percent from it’s year-ago performance. In other words, it was not a winning performance. CBS finished an uneventful second overall with its combination of a repeat of Cold Case (Viewers: #2, 5.36 million; A18-49: #2, 0.9/ 3), a repeat of NCIS (Viewers: #2, 5.58 million; A18-49: #2, 1.1/ 3) and 48 Hours Mystery (Viewers: #1, 6.41 million; A18-49: #2, 1.5/ 5), which deserves a bigger audience. If you like forensic crime solving, 48 Hours Mystery is the real deal. Third in both categories was NBC with its encore line-up of Heroes (Viewers: #4, 1.95 million; A18-49: #4, 0.5/ 2), Law & Order (Viewers: #3, 3.82 million; A18-49: #3, 0.9/ 3) and Law & Order: SVU (Viewers: #2, 5.97 million; A18-49: #1, 1.6/ 5). Needless to say, Heroes does not repeat well! And last-place ABC capped off Saturday with repeats of Grey’s Anatomy (Viewers: #3, 2.64 million; A18-49: #3, .0.7/ 2), Private Practice (Viewers: #4, 2.53 million; A18-49: #4, 0.8/ 3) and Desperate Housewives (Viewers: #3, 1.78 million; A18-49: #3, 0.5/ 2). Like Heroes, Desperate Housewives is a real dud in second-runs. Wake up now…the Saturday analysis is over! Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat) ------------------------- Sunday 2/08/09Note: The following results are based on the metered market ratings and exclude the Seattle and Portland markets. HH Rtg/Shr CBS 12.6/19ABC 6.7/10NBC 5.0/ 8Fox 2.6/ 4CW 0.8/ 1---------- -Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008):NBC: +39, CW: +14, CBS: + 7, ABC: - 7, Fox: -52 ---------- Note: The fast national 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, Feb. 8, 2009. ---------- -Yesterday’s Winners:60 Minutes (CBS), The 51st Annual Grammy Awards (CBS) -Honorable Mention:Desperate Housewives (ABC) -Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats)Hole in the Wall (Fox), Dateline (NBC), King of the Hill (Fox), Movie: XIII (NBC), American Dad (Fox) ---------- -Ratings Breakdown: It was no contest on Sunday, with The 51st Annual Grammy Awards lifting CBS to a hefty 88 percent metered market advantage over second-place ABC. In the distant No. 3 spot was NBC, followed by below-average Fox and cellar-dweller the CW, which may want to consider giving back Sunday to the affiliates. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards averaged a 12.8 rating/20 share in the overnights from 8-11 p.m., finishing first in every half hour. Here is the breakdown: The 51st Annual Grammy Awards (CBS) 8:00 p.m.: 13.4/20 8:30 p.m.: 13.9/21 9:00 p.m.: 13.3/20 9:30 p.m.: 12.9/1910:00 p.m.: 11.7/1810:30 p.m.: 11.6/19 Compared to the year-ago telecast (12.4/19 on Feb. 10, 2008), this was an increase of three percent. Earlier in the evening on CBS was veteran 60 Minutes at an also dominant 12.0/20 from 7-8 p.m. Needless to say, it was all about CBS last night. Opposite The Grammys, ABC was below-average with its combination of America’s Funniest Home Videos (#3: 5.4/ 9), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (#2: 6.4/10), Desperate Housewives (#2, 8.7/13) and Brothers & Sisters (#2, 6.6/11), which actually held an improved 75 percent of the Desperate Housewives lead-in. As for Desperate Housewives, am I the only one who can’t stand Felicity Huffman as whiny Lynette Scavo? NBC had little of note with its line-up of the last hour of The AFC/NFL Pro Bowl (#2: 6.8/12 from 7-8 p.m.), Dateline (#3: 5.0/ 8) and part one of miniseries XIII (#3: 4.1/ 6 from 9-11 p.m.), which concludes next Sunday. Fans of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice should mark their calendars for its Sunday, March 1 return. As expected, Fox took a major hit opposite The Grammys with its combination of two episodes of Hole in the Wall (#4: series low 1.7/ 3 from 7-8 p.m.), a repeat of The Simpsons (#4, 3.2/ 5), King of the Hill (#4: 2.9/ 4), a repeat of Family Guy (#4: 3.4/ 5) and American Dad (#4: 2.9/ 4). Hole in the Wall is so bad it looks like the typically bad summer reality series look like an Emmy winner. Lowly the CW capped off Sunday with a repeat of Jericho (#5: 0.6/ 1) and repeat theatrical Teen Wolf (#5: 0.9/ 1 from 8-10 p.m.). Teen Wolf…are they kidding me??? Source: Nielsen Media Research data____________________________________________________________________________ Ratings Box:What’s Hot/What’s Not -NBA Finals Score on TNT: The LA Lakers vs. the Boston Celtics on the NBA Finals on Thursday, Feb. 5 averaged a hefty 2.7 household rating and 4.31 million viewers. Comparably, that makes it the most-watched NBA game of the season on cable since the Pistons vs. the Pacers on Christmas Day 2004, and the most-watched NBA telecast on TNT since the Bulls vs. the Lakers on Feb. 2, 1996. It also finished the evening as the most-watched program on cable in total viewers and the three key male demos -- men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54. Season to-date, NBA coverage on TNT is averaging a 1.1 household rating, with growth of 322,000 viewers over the year-ago season to-date average and as much as 28 percent among adults 18-49. Source: Nielsen Media Research data ________________________________________________________________________________ On the Air Tonight:Prime-Time Programming Options Monday 2/09/09 ABC: 8:00 p.m. ABC News: Presidential News Conference 9:00 p.m. The Bachelor (two hours) CBS: 8:00 p.m. CBS News: Presidential News Conference 8:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother (R) 9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men 9:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami NBC: 8:00 p.m. NBC News: Presidential News Conference 9:00 p.m. Heroes 10:00 p.m. Medium Fox: 8:00 p.m. Fox News: Presidential News Conference 9:00 p.m. 24 CW: 8:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (R) 9:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (R) MNTV 8:00 p.m. Twilight Zone (R) 8:30 p.m. Twilight Zone (R) 9:00 p.m. Masters of Illusion (R) ION 8:00 p.m. ER (R) 9:00 p.m. NCIS (R)10:00 p.m. NCIS (R) ________________________________________________________________________ TV Tidbits:Notes of Interest -ABC Announces New Celebrities for Dancing With the Stars:ABC’s top-rated Dancing With the Stars, which returns for its eighth edition with a two-hour edition on Monday, March 9 at 8 p.m. ET, will feature the usual array of actors, singers, sports figures and washed-up celebrities competing for the tacky trophy. They are (in alphabetical order) former Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle; In Living Color comedian David Alan Grier; Grammy nominee Jewel; 17 year-old Olympian Shawn Johnson; rapper ‘Lil Kim; Sex and the City Casanova Gilles Marini; rodeo athlete Ty Murray; MTV star Steve-O; Access Hollywood co-star Nancy O’Dell; actress and reality star Denise Richards; NFL great Lawrence Taylor; songwriter and vocalist Chuck Wicks; and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Wozniak. In a new twist this season, the bottom two couples facing elimination will compete in a “Dance Off” to see who will stay, and who will go, in the early weeks. ---------- -Twentieth Television Axes Cristina’s Court:Twentieth Television’s three-year-old Emmy winning court strip Cristina’s Court has been canceled and will cease production this spring. Season to-date, Cristina’s Court ranks seventh among the 11 syndicated court show strips in households (including encore telecasts of Sony Pictures Television’s Judge Hatchett), with a 1.1 rating. Comparably, that is down by 15 percent year-to-year. In addition to Cristina’s Court, also not moving forward in first-run syndication next season are SPT’s Judge David Young and Judge Karen, Twentieth’s The Morning Show With Mike & Juliet, and Debmar-Mercury game show Trivial Pursuit. Warner Bros. The Tyra Banks Show, meanwhile, will switch from syndication to the CW in daytime. In total, at least four hours of established syndicated product will not be returning next fall. -In Other Syndication News:NBC Universal has picked-up sophomore talker The Steve Wilkos Show for a third season, with renewals to-date on stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. -Showtime Joins Forces with Strikeforce:Showtime Networks and mixed martial arts (MMA) event producer Strikeforce will create an all-new series of MMA events that will air on Showtime as part of the Showtime Sports franchise. Showtime will produce and televise up to 16 live events per year, kicking off with the initial championship event on Saturday, April 11, 2009 in San Jose, California. -Arranged Marriage on CBS:If you think you have seen it all in reality, guess again. CBS will introduce a new non-scripted series called Arranged Marriage, which will follow four single adults between the ages of 25 and 45 who are chosen a spouse, get married and are followed by a camera crew documentary style as they embark on hopeful wedded bliss. It is expected to air later this year. __________________________________________________________________________ TV Trivia Time:Visiting Cheers Which one of the following personalities never appeared as himself on Cheers? Johnny CarsonArsenio HallPat SajakTip O’NeillRobert Urich The answer to Friday’s question… Which one of the following sitcoms never featured an appearance by John Wayne? AliceThe Beverly HillbilliesI Love LucyThe Lucy ShowMaude Is: a) Alice. “The Duke” never made it to Mel’s Diner, but he and Flo sure would have been good together. Don’t you think? All together now… Used to be sad, used to be shy Funniest thing, the saddest part is I never knew why.Kickin' myself for nothin' was my favorite sport I had to get out and start enjoyin' 'cause life's too short There's a new girl in town, 'cause I'm feelin good. Get a smile, get a song, for the neighborhood there's a new girl in town on her own two feet and this girl's here to say with some luck and love life's gonna be so sweeeeeeeeeet! -Current kudos goes to:Ric Beddingfield, Gerry Bixenspan, Annie Courtney, Jerry Gibbons, Maureen Goldman, Carolyn Hayes, Kerry Hughes, David Jackino, Marc Miller, Debbie Mirr, Tony Naldrett, Francine Purcell, Gordon Purcell, Colleen Roth, David Shearer

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Strong Showing For The Grammy Awards on CBS

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