# 2012-13 Season Ratings - Winter



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Ok, I'm bringing the ratings thread back on request.

Unfortunately, my temporary employment gig has been extended one month, so even though I'm starting this thread in January I may not be able to post every day and will have to play catch up as I'm doing right now. :grin:








Nothing surprising here. Whenever their on, NFL playoffs are going to dominate the ratings until the Super Bowl. CBS is going to dominate the Sunday 9 pm and 10 pm slots in terms of total and 50+ viewers while Fox's animated series and the weight-challenged on NBC fight over the demo. ABC will continue to do just Ok with "Once Upon A Time" and "Revenge." Of course, not listed here is the PBS series "Downton Abbey" two hour premier which pulled 7.9 million total viewers and for which I have no demo data.








With CBS offering reruns and Fox offering a rerun of "Bones", the ABC and NBC Monday competition shows had a free shot at catching some folks from 8 to 9. I don't think they did all that well, but we'll see next week. Even though Fox showed the series finale of the ratings loser "Mob Doctor" which we loved, the two competition shows didn't do all that well from 9-10 either.

At 10 pm, ABC's "Deception" premier did win the demo curious with a rerun on CBS, barely beating "Castle" which did much better in the 50+ crowd.








CBS won another Tuesday with "NCIS" still leading the way with 20.87 viewers. However, the 10:00 "Parenthood" demo win is worth noting and to all you other elders out there, "Parenthood" is one of the best written, directed, and acted dramas-without-dead-bodies to appear on TV in awhile. I'm sorry, but "Vegas" is just another cop show in the end. The younger demo has figured this out - yeah, only because NBC stuck with the show for multiple years - but they figured it out.








Next week, discussion of "American Idol" will dominate the Wednesday ratings discussions. This week really offers no hint about the season other than L&O producer Dick Wolf's interesting "Chicago Fire" may be around for more than one season.








Again, "Idol" will lead the Thursday ratings discussion next week. But this week is indicative of the likelihood that new "Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men" episodes will continue to diminish the "Idol" demo. What we do see here is "Grey's Anatomy" getting "long-of-tooth" and the clever and enjoyable "Person of Interest" has become an established ratings winner at 9 pm. ABC's clever and intriguing "Scandal" and the CBS' surprising and interesting "Elementary" will likely continue to battle at 10 pm. Both are pretty well done.








Friday still belongs to CBS. We'll see what happens at 9:00 when Fox offers a second season of "Touch" beginning February 8.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Ummm, it's "How I Met Your Mother"

This ain't no teeney bopper little blue birdie warblin' site.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

FWIW, this "Vegas" is a brand new show, and shouldn't be confused with previous shows named Vegas or Las Vegas.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

SayWhat? said:


> Ummm, it's "How I Met Your Mother"
> 
> This ain't no teeney bopper little blue birdie warblin' site.


Yeah, but it's too long for the column width I've allotted and I thought it was better than "Met Your Mother". But I'll accept suggestions.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

phrelin said:


> But I'll accept suggestions.


1. Widen the column.
2. Abbreviate ... HIMYM
3. Yo Mama!!!

:sure:


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

BattleZone said:


> FWIW, this "Vegas" is a brand new show, and shouldn't be confused with previous shows named Vegas or Las Vegas.


So true. This one could be called a "period piece" and it's very well done. I record it as well as "Parenthood" and "Private Practice" in the Tuesday 10 pm time slot.

Both the "Parenthood" season (?) finale and "Private Practice" series finale are on January 22. ABC is going with a new season of "Body of Proof" and NBC is offering the next season of "Smash."

While I'll record both, I have a hunch "Vegas" will cement a Tuesday 10 pm ratings lead by the end of the season.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Thanks!


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## sean10780 (Oct 16, 2007)

Thanks!


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## clueless (Dec 6, 2004)

Thanks! Much appreciated.


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## seern (Jan 13, 2007)

Good to have these rating back.


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## Church AV Guy (Jul 9, 2007)

phrelin said:


> Yeah, but it's too long for the column width I've allotted and I thought it was better than "Met Your Mother". But I'll accept suggestions.


First, let me say thanks for posting these again. The number of others who have also responded convinces me, and should you, that these were anticipated, appreciated, and missed. I know... your schedule... but I *DID* miss them.

As far as "How I Met UR Mom" goes, anyone, even the poster who complained, could tell without ambiguity what the program was, so don't bother messing with it. We'll get used to it.

I wonder what next Friday, and Fringe series finale will show. Some people say that it is artificially down-rated because so many people watch it from DVRs rather than live. I would expect that the finale might get many of them to watch it live, and might more accurately reflect the actual popularity of the show.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

I doubt we'll watch Fringe live. But we will certainly make time to view it as soon as possible, as normal.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I had to wait until the final ratings were out for Sunday and even then I'm not sure they indicate anything.

First we have the football overrun on CBS which, because it's live, didn't affect all time zones the same. So those ratings aren't really for 7 pm to 8 pm.

Then there's the Golden Globes on NBC. In my DMA, the San Francisco-San Jose-etc. area, KNTV ran the Globes Red Carpet from 4 pm to 5 pm. They ran The Globes from 5 pm to 8 pm and then repeated them from 8 pm to 11 pm. So I have no idea what time period those ratings are for.

All I can comment on is that "The Good Wife" and "The Mentalist" on CBS held up pretty well opposite the Globes.








Monday night's results indicate how the competition is likely to go. The only deviation from the regular schedule is that "Bones" returned with a 2 hour show, unless one doesn't ignore The CW which had a rerun at 9 pm.

For the 8 to 10 pm period the race averaged as follows:

CBS 3.8/7.7 11.42
ABC 2.5/4.9 7.40
NBC 2.5/3.8 6.28
Fox 2.2/5.8 7.91
CW 0.5/0.8 1.27

As I suspected, "Deception" on ABC at 10 pm will be the live ratings loser. The premier needed a director or a better star or both. I'll record it as I suspect there is a chance that by episode 5 it might be better. But I don't know if I'll get around to watching it. I feel sorry for Victor Garber as he hasn't landed a role in a show with a second season since "Alias".


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

By the way, I don't have the ratings for PBS "Downton Abbey" for Sunday night yet.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Church AV Guy said:


> As far as "How I Met UR Mom" goes, anyone, even the poster who complained, could tell without ambiguity what the program was, so don't bother messing with it. We'll get used to it.


ChatSpeak is a symbol of the dumbing down of society, but if you want to get used to that, Oh well.

Reviewing those lists, there isn't a single show I watch regularly. I've recorded a couple of the sit-coms, but that's about it. Mostly 90s or prior stuff for me.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

SayWhat? said:


> ChatSpeak is a symbol of the dumbing down of society, but if you want to get used to that, Oh well.
> 
> Reviewing those lists, there isn't a single show I watch regularly....


That's probably because there's a lot of hours of dumbed down TV because of the dumbing down of.....:sure:








Tuesday night is owned by CBS. Running slightly higher than NBC's comedies, Fox's comedies hold a distant second for 8-10 pm. NBC's "Parenthood" is still winning the demo at 10 pm, but only gets a third of the over 50 crowd.








"American Idol" is still a winner for Fox but continues its slide into old age as it was down 19% from last year. "Criminal Minds" at 9 pm on CBS holds it own as do the ABC comedies from 8-10 pm.








"Idol" was flat on its second night compared to last year, but it is still down from its early years. ABC should have followed the CBS choice of reruns as it was down even at 10 pm. NBC three hour average was in the demo was 1.5 million, in the 50+ 2.4 million. They should just run the best of old movies.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

CBS owns Friday night as can be seen from the averages:








The "Fringe" series finale did well for a cable channel, but unfortunately it was on Fox. Oh well.

And for the week, CBS is still the strongest network even though some of the others have strong reality/contest shows:








I'm not sure what this says about us. While CBS does have some very good shows that aren't crime procedurals, it really is the network of *C*ounting *B*odies *S*hows:

The Mentalist
Hawaii 5-0
NCIS
NCIS: LA
Vegas
Criminal Minds
CSI
Person of Interest
Elementary
CSI: NY
Blue Bloods​
I guess 11 out of 19 hours still leaves 8 hours of programming which might not result in somebody getting shot, bludgeoned, stabbed, or poisoned. :sure:


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## Church AV Guy (Jul 9, 2007)

> guess 11 out of 19 hours still leaves 8 hours of programming which might *not* result in somebody getting shot, bludgeoned, stabbed, or poisoned.


...but where's the fun in that?


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## seern (Jan 13, 2007)

CSI: NY seems to be doing well this year so maybe CBS made the right decision to ax Miami and leave NY in the line up.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

I must be super normal as I seem to be watching most of the top shows. Only Arrow & Supernatural killed my record at looking at the highest rated show.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I have gotten a bit behind again, but by the end of next week I have more time as my temporary gig will end at the end of next week. Easier to read spreadsheet html version of each day requested by some can be accessed by clicking on the image.

​
As is frequently the case, an NFL playoff made Sunday's ratings meaningless.

​
CBS who the demo and the over 50 crowd. There isn't much else to say other than "The Following" premier came in second in its hour but may have trouble holding it.

​
What this set of ratings proves is that a lot of people don't watch TV if CBS runs reruns. Other than that, "The Taste" premier did fine, but when the top rated show on TV returns from reruns.....

​
"Idol" continues it's year-to-year slide. It will be interesting to see what happens when CBS premiers a new season of "Survivor." However, CBS did only win the 10 pm slot. ABC's "Nashville" continues its slide.

​
With CBS running reruns, the night was wide open. The thing is, Nielsen February sweeps starts next Thursday, January 31, and runs through February 27. Except against "Idol" CBS has the most viewers even with reruns.

I'll have tonight's results tomorrow and take a look at the week's averages.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

​
Except for the two "news" show, this was a night of reruns.








Here are the averages for the three weeks. If one factors out "American Idol" on Fox, CBS has twice the live viewing audience of any other broadcast network. Because CBS had the Sunday NFL playoff game, even with "Idol" in the mix this week CBS averaged twice the live viewing audience running a lot of reruns. I hope they are paying Les Moonves a lot of money.

Next Thursday is the start of February sweeps. It will be interesting to see what happens as other networks introduce new series into the mix.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

​
You can click on the image above to see a larger version.

Again, we have an NFL game, the Pro Bowl, to distort the ratings. And, of course, it did not appear at the same time in every time zone. Nonetheless, CBS chose to run new episodes of its shows and did ok.

I haven't been able to find ratings for "Downton Abbey" since the season premier. I would be curious to see if those ratings are meaningful.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

phrelin said:


> ..."Mob Doctor" which we loved,...


Really? Who's "we"? Got a mouse in your pocket? That thing is deader than Conrad Bain, and for a good reason, which is that "we", hardly loved it.

OK, that was probably harsh; I should not bash, you've done some really great hard work here. But no one is going to digest those numbers in a dry chart.

Here is what I suggest: write a program in Excel or Numbers that automatically imports these numbers into a 3-D bar chart. X axis is shows, Y axis is timeslot, Z axis is ratings. Then we could see at a glance where a show is, and how that relates to other shows. Do the same thing with a single show (make the X axis previous weeks) and we could see trends.

Do that well enough and you could start your own website. John Hein sold "Jump the Shark" for 4 mil.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

TomCat said:


> Really? Who's "we"? Got a mouse in your pocket? That thing is deader than Conrad Bain, and for a good reason, which is that "we", hardly loved it.
> 
> OK, that was probably harsh; I should not bash, you've done some really great hard work here. But no one is going to digest those numbers in a dry chart.


Generally, "we" would refer to a poster and his spouse, sig. other, family, etc.
And, mercifully, harsh has not entered this thread. So your bashing was hopefully out of character, and entirely unnecessary. Please go to your room and type "I will not bash" 400 times......


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## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

Personally I prefer the tables. Dry to you, informative to me. Never have cared for charts. Made 'em in school when required. Numbers have meaning to me. Lines and colors not so much.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

​
Again, if you need larger print you can click on the image above.

Some at other web sites are making a big deal about "The Following" actually being up in the demo from its pilot. The truth is that CBS ran reruns of its lineup so you can't tell anything. When you look at the totals for the hour compared to last week, over 4 million fewer folks were watching live network broadcast TV, including 2 million fewer in the demo.

Which brings me to how to present the data.



TomCat said:


> Really? Who's "we"? Got a mouse in your pocket? That thing is deader than Conrad Bain, and for a good reason, which is that "we", hardly loved it.
> 
> OK, that was probably harsh; I should not bash, you've done some really great hard work here. But no one is going to digest those numbers in a dry chart.
> 
> ...


At the outset, let me say two things:

"We" is my wife and I, and her opinion about shows regularly differs from mine which is why only when we are in agreement do I say "we."
I enjoy sharing here what I do out of curiosity anyway because I have the time as a retiree. I spent too much time in my life dealing with attorneys, accountants, and the public to ever want to face that on a longer term basis for money.
With regard to data, I'm in the same world as olguy in that the numbers themselves offer information from which one can derive an opinion. Some of the "profit making" TV ratings web sites seem to be looking at "trends" as if they are looking a bar charts and end up saying foolish things like "The Following" may be a keeper at Fox just because its ratings didn't slide in week 2.

In fact, this week CBS' ratings looked liked they plunged even as a percentage of the total viewers. But looking at the table, we can instantly see why - reruns. I simply don't know a _*good*_ way of factoring in the impact of reruns and specials on a chart or graph without misrepresenting what's going on or confusing people.

But the nice thing about sharing my statistical perspective in a thread in this Forum is that others can contribute their views by commenting. If you want to, you can click on the jpeg of the table and bring up an HTML version I create from Excel and then highlight, copy, and paste it into your own Excel sheet. From that, you can create some charts and share them here. That might be very interesting for all of us.


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

Most of us really appreciate your efforts phrelin. Thanks!


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## dennispap (Feb 1, 2007)

Same here. Thanks


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

If you need larger print you can click on the image above.​
As usual, "NCIS" gave CBS its usual win. When comparing it to "Idol's" Wednesday numbers, "NCIS" pulls 6 million more viewers. But the makeup of that is 2 million fewer demo viewers and 8 million more over 50 viewers. This is a trend that I believe CBS has effectively adapted to. Consider last night's averages for 8-10 pm.








Yes, CBS did better than the other four networks in the demo. But it averaged 65% of the total over 50 crowd with the other four dividing up the remaining 35%. CBS average 8 times the Fox average in the over 50 crowd. And the over 50 crowd represented 74% of the average total viewers.

What we see on "Idol" Wednesdays is an unreliable 50% jump in the demo. But can a network and its affiliates continue to pretend that attracting 1% of the population is what counts? Do advertisers really only care about getting through to 1% of the population?

But the real issue lies in the fact that without an NFL game only 10% of the population is watching the major broadcast networks in prime time.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*​
Thursday's ratings will be the first day of the Nielsen February Sweeps period. So this particular Wednesday doesn't offer much insight because of reruns.

It appears that some of the "American Idol" audience can be distracted by "squirrels' like "Superbowl Commercials." And maybe that's what happened to "Arrow."

Also, despite the competition running reruns, NBC's "Chicago Fire" did not benefit from NBC having run reruns the past two weeks. NBC's audience seems to lose track of their shows if they run reruns or get preempted by some special.

Some possible distractions include the premier of "The Americans" on FX at 10 pm which pulled a 1.2 demo and 3.22 million total viewers (the second showing 0.5 and 1.01). And, of course, the local ION channels run "WWE Main Event" that tallied a 0.5/1 - 1.62 million from 8 to 9 pm.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

​
And so we move on to the numbers that the advertising community scrutinize carefully - Nielsen February Sweeps.

On Sweeps night #1 we find that "Big Bang Theory" on CBS continues to beat "American Idol" on Fox from 8:00-8:30, but at the half hour "Idol" pulls 4.8/13 - 14.61 million beating "Two and a Half Men".

"Idol" is still strong for Fox, but on on February 4, 2009 it posted 9.9/27 - 26.26 million. And February 3, 2011, a first night of sweeps it posted 7.5/20 -21.78 million. Over four years it has lost 5 million demo viewers and and 7 million 50+ viewers. If Fox had anything else going for it, that might be ok. But in terms of ad revenue, it has to hurt. Fox is, of course, the network that started the big increase in fees to satellite and cable companies to make up for these losses.

At 9 pm "Grey's Anatomy", at one time a real powerhouse for ABC, is now clearly #2 behind "Person Of Interest" on CBS.

At 10 pm, however, "Scandal" gets the demo win with half a million more while "Elementary" pulls 3.2 million more in the 50+ crowd.

NBC...sigh. According to one source, they did edge out Univision in total viewers for the night.

The "30 Rock" one hour series finale couldn't find 5 million viewers. Nor could an hour of "The Office."

And the only real question is whether we'll see a cancellation of "Do No Harm" today with its ratings in the range of a The CW show. It was down 55 percent from last March's premiere of the network's short-lived "Awake." I believe NBC also premiered "The Firm" and "Prime Suspect" in this time slot. NBC has a trust issue in our household because we liked both "Awake" and "Prime Suspect." I may record an NBC show in that time slot for a few episodes, but we're not going to watch it until I'm sure it's a keeper.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I forgot to post the averages, but CBS was the obvious victor for the night:


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

The cable ratings are in for last night and NBC must realize that the 10 pm premier of "Do No Harm" with its 0.9 million demo - 3.13 million total looks pretty weak when the 10:00 episode of "Suits" on its cable sister USA pulled a 1.0 million demo - 3.36 million total.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

​
These ratings don't change much but we'll have to wait until "Touch" returns starting next week. Here's the averages:








CBS is the winner, but only because they pull nearly double the 50+ crowd that ABC pulls for the three hours. Even if we're worth only half as much as the demo, somebody has to start acknowledging that the other nets can't just let CBS have us over 50 folks. We do buy stuff.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

If you're waiting breathlessly for Super Bowl Sunday ratings, you'll have to wait as I am for the finals as the "fast nationals" don't provide any meaningful info. In terms of total viewers it looks like the Super Bowl did well - something like 108 million. The 11:15 pm showing of "Elementary" pulled 21 million which pundits dismiss. Everything else, all reruns, had The CW level ratings.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I heard on the radio today that the portion of the SB during the blackout pulled a 46 share.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Super Bowl Sunday







I could find no truly meaningful way to present the Super Bowl Sunday ratings. Basically, the game won the night for CBS. The other networks ran reruns. And we again know that there are potentially 110 million viewers who could be watching broadcast TV, and 75-80% choose not to on any given night at any time slot.

Because of the power outage, CBS lost the real potential gain for "Elementary" which is unfortunate for CBS. Had it run at the 10 pm hour EST it is likely it the first half hour would have been seen by another 8-10 million viewers.

What the various half hour numbers for the Super Bowl reflect is (a) some drop due to what at half time appeared to be a rout by the Ravens and (b) the fact of it being live, a fact that for us Bay Area 49er fans, the actual game coverage began at 3:30 pm (and we were watching "Elementary" beginning exactly at 8 pm).

Again, there really isn't any meaning in these numbers except the fact that the network that gets to air the Super Bowl will automatically claim to be the February Sweeps winner. For CBS it's just icing on the cake as their regular programming will win February Sweeps, which brings us to Monday night.










*CBS* controlled the night in both the demo and total viewers. "The Rules of Engagement" season premier did reasonably well, up 48% from its May finale. "Hawaii Five-0" still controls the 10 pm slot. CBS got no boost from the Super Bowl ads. "2 Broke Girls" at its last new episode outing pulled a 3.7/9 -11.47 million. The suits at CBS would like to find more viewers, but it would have to come from the 75 million potential viewers choosing not to watch broadcast TV last night and most nights.

*Fox* ran second in the 8-10 pm competition, with both "Bones" and "The Following" down. with "The Following" down from last week's 3.3/8 -9.96 million against reruns on CBS. This lineup seems reasonably strong, at least until ABC brings back "Dancing with the Stars" on March 18, after February Sweeps.

*ABC*'s "The Bachelor" ran a decent #3 in the 8-10pm competition which is OK because it is a less expensive production than Fox's two shows. "Castle" at 10 pm ran slightly weaker in the demo.

*NBC* in the 8-10 pm competition is solidly trouncing The CW. :sure: The ratings for "Deception" must make some of the ex-NBC-suits grin remembering all the complaining about "Leno" at 10 pm, particularly the complaining from the affiliates who still don't have any lead in to the local news.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

As the cable ratings come in, one can't help but note that the 10:00 pm airing of "Teen Mom II" on MTV pulled 2.0 million in the demo and 3.37 million total. That's better than "Deception" (and better in the demo than "Castle").


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*CBS.* The important thing to notice about the ratings is that in both the 8-10 pm competition and the 8-11 pm competition CBS pulled more viewers than all the others combined. Clearly, though, its 10 pm offering "Vegas" isn't up to the standard.

*NBC.* It is also clear from the ratings that *N*o*B*ody *C*ares. The suits at the Comcast running NBCU were heavily into bringing a retooled "Smash" back. Why they would choose to throw good money after bad is unclear. When looking at the 10 pm ratings one has to remember that "Parenthood" pulled about a million more viewers and 0.8 million more in the demo in its final three outings of the season. "Parenthood" deserved about 30% more "buzz" than "Smash" because it was a great season from the point of view of writing, directing, and ensemble cast acting. NBC is too close to the New York-LA critics and distant from the viewers.

*ABC* ran a two hour "The Bachelor" from 9-11 pm which locked up the #2 slot for the night.

*Fox* apparently has accepted the #3 slot with its comedies as we see "New Girl' gradually declining.

*The CW* is a bit of a mystery. The series finale of the short lived "Emily Owens MD" ran no worse than "Hart of Dixie" but the network dumped poor Emily early on. I'm beginning to accept the idea that live broadcast ratings are only a part of the consideration - apparently web streaming is a significant revenue generator at The CW.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*CBS.* Les Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation, must feel a bit of frustration about Wednsdays during February Sweeps. They just can't figure a way to control Wednesday because of "American Idol" on Fox. Next week CBS will premier "Survivor" which might get them the #2 position, but Wednesday's are troublesome.

*Fox.* "American Idol" was down down substantially from last week.

*ABC*'s Comedy lineup is a mixed bag, but it's good enough to get them the #2 slot in the 8-10 PM demo. It doesn't offset "Nashville" which is #3 at 10 PM and drops them to third place in the 8-11 competition. "Nashville" is certainly a ratings disappointment for ABC.

*NBC.* "Whitney" and "Guys with Kids" are running way to close to The CW's "Arrow." And "L&O:SVU" should be planning a wrap up show in May. On the other hand "Chicago Fire" is running #2, as NBC's only 10 PM show not #3.

*The CW*'s "Arrow" seems to be it's only show of the week to actually get a million in the demo.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*CBS* won the night's averages, but "Elementary" is not winning the 10 PM time slot in the demo.

*ABC*'s shows had a slight gain, but of course they are behind CBS in the 50+ viewers and the new 8 PM show "Zero Hour" won't premier until next week.

*Fox.* "American Idol" did not win its hour. When you look at the two half hours you see this:

8:00-8:30
American Idol 3.8/11 - 12.32
Big Bang Theory 6.1/18 -17.51

8:30-9:00
American Idol 4.4/12 - 13.99
2½ Men 4.1/11 - 13.72

It's obvious "Big Bang Theory" has an amazing draw for a sitcom particularly against "Idol", a fact that must drive Fox suits nuts.

"Glee" is running #3.

*NBC.* The 8 to 10 comedy lineup clearly beat The CW. The ratings for "Do No Harm" are below many The CW shows. Now what problem did the affiliates have with Leno at 10 PM?

*The CW.* There is not much to comment on. I'm not even sure why they are kept in the ratings - Univision does better.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I am usually puzzled about decisions NBC makes.

But in an article about Christina Applegate leaving "Up All Night" I read this:


> Ratings remained low, but NBC didn't want to cancel the show and lose a sterling cast. "We are not fools. We know that talented cast of actors; they're not growing on trees," NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke said in January.


 Ms. Salke apparently doesn't understand that TV viewers are not all that star-struck.

Maybe a talented cast of actors is not growing on trees, but I'm forever amazed at how a show like "Person of Interest" starring Jim Caviezel and Taraji P. Henson can appear out of nowhere to be strong against "Grey's Anatomy" starring Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey, which appeared out of nowhere. Quick - name another starring role any of them had. If you can come up with one off the top of your head, you keep track of these things or are a stalker.

Just my opinion, of course, but NBC suits need to move to the suburbs and work in a mall.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*ABC* won the demo in a Friday that has to disturb a couple of other networks.

*CBS.* "The Job" premiered to disturbingly low ratings, well below "Undercover Boss." And the "CSI" crossover to "CSI: NY' did nothing for the latter.

*Fox.* The season premier of "Touch" had disturbingly low ratings, but what is not seen in the chart above or in many other sites that show the full two hour averages is this:

8:00 1.1/ 4 - 3.99 million
8:30 1.1/ 3 - 3.89 million
9:00 1.0/ 3 - 3.73 million
9:30 0.8/ 2 - 3.36 million

That drop off is an ominous sign of things to come.

*NBC* beat CBS out for #2 in the 8-10 pm competition with a "news" show.

*The CW.* What can I say....

Saturday has been lost as a broadcast TV day for years. Friday is headed that way.

Maybe CBS can sell enough geriatric products to support a show like "Blue Bloods" because we oldsters like Tom Selleck (68) and Len Cariou (73), supported by the next generation Donnie Wahlberg (43), Bridget Moynahan (42), Amy Carlson (45), and that youngster Will Estes (34), along with a slew of great-grandkids. But I'm not sure how long that can last.

Fox, which only has 15 hours of programming to sell, two of which are on Saturday, has to be wondering what they can do with Friday.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

phrelin said:


> I am usually puzzled about decisions NBC makes.
> 
> But in an article about Christina Applegate leaving "Up All Night" I read this: Ms. Salke apparently doesn't understand that TV viewers are not all that star-struck.
> 
> ...


Well Caviezel was in Jesus Christ. And Taraji was in some Lifetime or cable network cop show that I used to really like. I think it was about a group of female San Francisco police inspectors.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

​
Last Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday, meaning CBS had the Super Bowl and none of the other networks bothered to offer anything but weak reruns. This Sunday was Grammy Sunday.

*CBS* had The Grammy's. Enough said.

*Fox* ran it's usual lineup of animated shows which were down about 10%.

*ABC* ran it's usual lineup of shows which were down about 15%.

*NBC* ran reruns including a rerun of "Dateline." NBC apparently will offer some new Sunday programming sometime in March. In the meantime, it seems like we should be dropping them from the ratings much as was done when The CW quit providing programming for Sundays.:nono:


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*CBS.* There is a drop in the ratings for the Monday comedy lineup. Last week CBS got a boost from its promos during the Super Bowl. But the eye network will have to keep an eye on this. "Hawaii Five-0" has had real competition from ABC's "Castle."

*ABC.* "The Bachelor" gained significantly over past weeks.

*Fox.* While "Bones" seems to have its audience, "The Following" is following the pattern of other Fox shows with a slow but steady decline in followers.

*NBC* has a solid lead over The CW for 4th place.

*The CW*'s Monday lineup is performing dreadfully. To put this in perspective Univision averaged a 1.6 rating with adults 18-49 and 3.8 million viewers, which means The CW is not in 5th place among national broadcast networks. In fact, Univision does out perform NBC some nights.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Tuesday "The State of the Union" speech preempted prime time programming. TV-by-the-Numbers noted: "Univision was the number one network in adults 18-49, while CBS won with total viewers." Thus there are no meaningful numbers to post.

In passing, it should be noted that on Sunday the season premier of "The Walking Dead" on AMC pulled a 6.1 demo and 12.26 million total viewers live+same day, opposite The Grammys.


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## Church AV Guy (Jul 9, 2007)

phrelin said:


> Tuesday "The State of the Union" speech preempted prime time programming. TV-by-the-Numbers noted: "Univision was the number one network in adults 18-49, while CBS won with total viewers." Thus there are no meaningful numbers to post.
> 
> In passing, it should be noted that on Sunday the season premier of "The Walking Dead" on AMC pulled a 6.1 demo and 12.26 million total viewers live+same day, opposite The Grammys.


Any idea what the total viewer numbers were for Tuesday, compared to last week and the week before? I wonder just how many people just didn't turn on their sets.

I bet it really annoys the networks to have an "event" like this in a sweeps period.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Church AV Guy said:


> Any idea what the total viewer numbers were for Tuesday, compared to last week and the week before? I wonder just how many people just didn't turn on their sets.
> 
> I bet it really annoys the networks to have an "event" like this in a sweeps period.


I'm sure it annoys the networks, particularly CBS.

The State of the Union ran in prime time on the East Coast but, since it is live, in my DMA it ran from 6-8 pm. Even though it pulled 33.5 million viewers, one can't call it prime time viewing. The "fast affiliate" ratings indicate that that at 9 pm local time only 58% of the total live viewers were watching compared to last week which is what one would expect.










*CBS.* Until CBS premiered the 26th running of the "Survivor" series last night, they had been running various reruns in the 8 pm time slot against this season's "American Idol". Last year "Survivor" premiered at 3.0/8 -10.70 million. This year's 2.4/8 -8.94 million says something. But the reality is that last year, the 8 pm hour had 42.39 million viewers, this year 35.58 million. About 6.8 million viewers were doing something else. Here's the comparison over last year at 8 pm:
ABC -0.42
CBS -1.76
FOX -5.66
NBC -0.88
CW +1.90​While CBS could take some solace that Fox has lost more viewers, the fact remains that "Survivor" lost 17% of its audience. CBS will not ignore that. And "CSI" took the same kind of hit compared year to year.

*Fox*. Again, while Fox led the night, it's a grim year-to-year.

*ABC*'s comedy lineup saw a slight drop in the first hour compared to last week, but "Suburgatory" actually saw an increase week-over-week. Year-over-year that lineup did take a hit. "Nashville" did slightly better than last week, but a year ago "Revenge" was pulling 2.4/6 - 7.60 compared to "Nashville" at 1.8/5 -5.71 million.

*NBC* was 5th in the 8 pm hour, actually losing to The CW's "Arrow" big time at 8:30. "Guys with Kids" pulled 3.19 million viewers compared to "Arrow" at 3.34 million viewers at 8:30. "Chicago Fire" with 1.9/5 - 6.65 million picked up slightly over last week. A year ago "L&O:SVU" pulled only a 1.7/4 - 5.85 million. For NBC, "Fire" has to be a keeper. I don't know what NBC would do without Dick Wolf & company.

*The CW.* Speaking of keepers in the new show category, "Arrow" looks solid.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Concerning the CW. The problem as I see it is that they are in SD in way too many markets. I enjoy most of their series even the oft criticized Emily whatever show. I enjoyed her in the jungle medical series that was on a bit back.

I watch them on Hulu Plus as they are in HD there, but those numbers don't reflect the sell through to Hulu Plus.


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## cj9788 (May 14, 2003)

phrelin said:


> ​
> Last Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday, meaning CBS had the Super Bowl and none of the other networks bothered to offer anything but weak reruns. This Sunday was Grammy Sunday.
> 
> *CBS* had The Grammy's. Enough said.
> ...


I could have sworn i recorded on NBC Sunday night a two hour Saturday Night Live special about SNL in the 80's. Now I am just confused...


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

cj9788 said:


> I could have sworn i recorded on NBC Sunday night a two hour Saturday Night Live special about SNL in the 80's. Now I am just confused...


It was special in 2005. So it was a re-run of a re-run of a re........ you get the picture!

Worth watching? I have it also.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








*CBS* won every half hour in total viewers, but in the demo "2½ Men" lost 8:30 to "Idol" and "Elementary" lost both the 10:00 and 10:30 demo to "Scandal." The real question in the advertising business is whether 500,000± demo viewers are worth more than 3,000,000± age 50+ viewers at 10 pm.

*ABC* premiered "Zero Hour" with the lowest for an ABC in-season premiere ever, pulling the same demo as last week's "Shark Tank" rerun and comparable to "Last Resort" ratings. A year ago "Wipeout" had slightly higher demo ratings in that time slot. "Grey's Anatomy" continues to run behind "Person of Interest", way behind in the 50+ crowd. "Scandal" continues to be more popular in the demo, but behind "Elementary" in the 50+ crowd.

*Fox.* "Idol" continues to lose to "Big Bang Theory." But "Glee" is a disaster compared to "The Finder" in the slot last year.

*NBC*. An hour of "The Office" episodes beat "Glee" in the demo for the #3 position at 9:00. A rerun of "Law And Order: SVU" beat the canceled "Do No Harm" ratings for both if its weeks.

*The CW*. "Vampire Diaries" seems to be slipping week-after-week this winter. "Beauty And The Beast" certainly was not a very popular new show.

It was Valentine's Day. Just like last year when it was on a Tuesday, predictably about 10% of the viewers actually did something else. ABC deciding to premier a new show last night is one of those many seemingly poor choices made by the networks.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








The problem with Friday during this February Sweeps can be summarized as follows:








About half the regular week night demo live broadcast TV viewers are not watching broadcast TV on Friday. When you look at 10 pm by itself, you see a few have come home and turned on the TV. On the other hand...

The over 50 crowd isn't watching at 8 pm or 9 pm as much on Friday, but more of them are watching at 10 pm on Friday than at 10 pm on Thursday.

In looking at the numbers, the networks haven't adjusted very well to the idea that on Friday's they need to find programming that appeals to the 50+ crowd and let that programming drag in whatever demo audience can be found.

*CBS* historically has been trying to produce Friday programming, but lost 5.3 million 50+ viewers at 8 pm when "Undercover Boss" was replaced by "The Job." The network is doing OK at 9 and 10 pm.

*NBC*, in contrast, has abandoned the night to "news" shows until March 8.

*ABC* has made an effort and wins the demo but with only slightly more than 1.5 million demo viewers to show for the effort.

*Fox*. One has to hope that "Kitchen Nightmares" is cheap to produce so Fox is at least breaking even.

"Touch" would be considered a disaster on a cable channel pulling only 0.7 million demo viewers and less than 2 million 50+ viewers. I don't know what kind of commitment Fox made to Kiefer Sutherland and the show's Creator/Executive Producer Tim Kring, but it's no "24" or, in the case of Kring, no "Heroes", "Crossing Jordan", "Providence" or " Chicago Hope". I guess everyone in the biz has to have a failure now and again.

*The CW* ran a 2009 movie that grossed $219,494 in its opening weekend which represents around 22,000 tickets. Far more people watched it last night.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I'm beginning to wonder why they have a February Sweeps because Sunday tends to be a lost day. Week 1 was Super Bowl Sunday which I'm not even showing here. Last week was the Grammy Awards. And next week is the Academy Awards. This week NBC ran reruns except at the 7 pm hour.

*CBS* won the 7-11 averages, squeeking by because of the "Amazing Race" premier demo though CBS wins the 50+ crowd handily in every time slot. Last year's "Amazing Race" premier pulled a 2.6/7 - 9.90 million compared to this year's 2.4/6 - 9.54 million. The thing is there were about 8 million more viewers watching broadcast network TV last year and CBS had a 22 minute golf overrun last year affecting the EST/CST folks.

*ABC* saw it's Sunday drama's return to normal. The effort to prop up "Zero Hour" with a second run of its premier on a Sunday at 10 pm probably didn't help much.

*Fox.* The Sunday animated lineup seems to have its loyal following.

*NBC* has chosen to run reruns on Sunday during February Sweeps. It appears not to have been a dumb move. The second hour of the "Saturday Night Live" rerun actually beat the CBS drama "The Mentalist" at 10 pm in the demo.

The real question for last night is where did the viewers go? I suppose many were watching "The Walking Dead" on AMC and the "Downton Abbey" season finale on PBS.

_Additional note:_ As mentioned, last Friday the CBS show "The Job" was a ratings disaster. To no one's surprise, "Undercover Boss" will return this coming Friday.


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## Church AV Guy (Jul 9, 2007)

Once again phrelin, thanks for these posts. I really appreciate them.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Church AV Guy said:


> Once again phrelin, thanks for these posts. I really appreciate them.


Your appreciation is appreciated. I see that this thread gets a lot of views, but since it doesn't generate much discussion your acknowledgement lets me know folks do check out the numbers.


*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








Monday gives us a snapshot into the future of "reality" programming based on live viewership. From 8 to 10 PM ABC offers "The Bachelor" and NBC offers "The Biggest Loser". Scripted series include the CBS comedy lineup and the Fox drama lineup. (Because The CW viewership is targeted and small I'm ignoring them.) This is how 8 pm to 10 pm looks:








CBS won the first and third half hours of the demo while ABC won the second and fourth half hours. Fox at #3 beat NBC in all four half hours. Overall, when you look at the 8-10 averages CBS and ABC were in a dead heat in both age groups. Fox's drama lineup beat NBC keeping scripted TV on top, particularly in the 50+ group. But it's clear that the more costly scripted programming isn't creating the profits it once did and it is older viewers that stick with it.

*ABC* edged out a win for the night in the 8 to 11 pm competition because "Castle" is beating "Hawaii Five-0" at 10 pm.

*CBS* must be wondering about its commitment to scripted TV. Those four comedies in total cost significantly more to produce than "The Bachelor."

*Fox*. Though still down by 15%, Fox saw a bit of a demo recovery in "The Following." It clearly has lost a third of its premier 50+ audience.

*NBC* is clearly secure in the #4 position from 8 to 10. "Deception" gets slightly more than half the demo and less than a third of the 50+ than the other two at 10 pm. The NBC affiliates must be overjoyed because this show is running only 15% behind "The Leno Show" which they called a ratings disaster as a lead in to their local news. What I know is really giving them joy is that after they talked NBC into dumping the Leno experiment they haven't seen much of the 50+ crowd - you know, the folks that watch local news because they still aren't as heavy on the internet. In the meantime, NBC is wasting a bunch of money on 10 pm. It's always good to know that the local channels are really in touch with their audience.

*The CW* dropped Sunday programming a few years ago and tend to have reruns on Friday. They probably should drop new programming on Monday and Friday to focus on three nights. Or they could find old movies that nobody saw at the theater or on the premium channels to show as they did last Friday.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*CBS* continues to control Tuesday night with over half the viewers, though "Vegas" is still marginal.

*ABC* is comfortably #2, but "Body of Proof" is off a bit from last year.

*Fox* is steady at #3 with its comedy lineup though "New Girl" has lost about a third of its demo audience over last year.

*NBC.* The elephant in the executive suite at NBC is "Smash." When introduced last year the ads in the very expensive fashion and east coast magazines were glossy multipage. Comcast has to fire these people and hire folks out there in Kansas City. "Smash" is among the walking dead, but without the viewers of the AMC show of that name.

In passing, I'll note that last year on the comparable night at 10 pm "Parenthood" pulled a 1.7/5 - 4.91 and continued to have that level of ratings this year through its season or series finale a few weeks ago. NBC deliberately ordered a short season for "Parenthood", its only show it has that over a number of years consistently beats "The Leno Show" experiment ratings at 10 pm. The NBC suits have done nothing extra to promote it, keep cutting its run, and have forced them to write three endings suitable for a series finale, good endings at that. They really don't like any level of success there at NBC. IMHO this season "Parenthood" was the strongest drama on broadcast TV.

*The CW.* In case you're wondering, "Hart of Dixie" gets an 80% bump from DVR viewing. I realize that's not much in raw numbers, but it is probably indicative of the streaming audience and of the music sales coming from this show. It is the only CW show we record and watch when time permits because it is fluffy entertainment with good music and no dead bodies.

On the other hand, The CW killed "Emily Owens MD" with a early cancellation. Last night they premiered a new show "Cult" in that time slot which actually did worse than a cancelled show.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*

















*Fox.* "American Idol" continues to win the 8-10 pm Wednesday race. Last year on the equivalent night it pulled 5.1 million demo and 10.7 age 50+ viewers compared to this year with 4.1 and 8.9 million. There were 1 million fewer demo viewers total and 1.6 million fewer 50+ viewers. Of the 50+ viewers "Idol" lost year-over-year, the curious fact is the big gainer is The CW.

*CBS.* While it continues to win the 8-11 pm race, only "Survivor" had the same percentage of total viewers in its hour compared to last year. A year ago "Criminal Minds" was pulling 3.1 million in the demo and 9.5 million in the 50+ crowd compared to 2.7 and 8.0 this year. That's a significant "slip" which along with running a 1.5 hour "Survivor" premier followed by a rerun last week gave ABC an edge in the demo so far on Wednesdays 8-10 pm.

*ABC*'s comedy lineup is holding up pretty well. For whatever reason they ran an "Oscars" promo billed as a news special.

*NBC* is doing slightly better than a year ago, but that's because they replaced "Brian Williams" with "L&O: SVU" at 9 pm and added "Chicago Fire" to replace "L&O: SVU" at 10 pm. "Whitney" is doing worse than last year and "Guys with Kids' is doing worse than "Are You There, Chelsea." I can't wait to see where NBC will move "Chicago Fire" to kill it.

*The CW.* A funny thing happened to Wednesday on The CW. A year ago they pulled an average of 0.5 million demo viewers and 0.6 million 50+ viewers. This year it 0.9 million demo viewers and - here's the shocker - 1.8 million 50+ viewers. "Arrow" is the reason, of course. But it has brought viewers (back?) to "Supernatural" which this year was moved from Friday where it languished last year. "Arrow" gets a 50%+ bump from DVR viewing in the following days and "Supernatural" gets a 45% bump. It's likely both get significant streaming views.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Last night was the final Thursday in the 2013 February Sweeps. There were no disruptions of the normal schedule any Thursday - no awards shows, football games, or State of the Union Address. Here's how the four weeks turned out:










CBS won. Even though it
beat the CW, NBC lost.​
Now let's look at last night.



*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








*Fox* decided to run "American Idol" for two hours last night. Last year they ran one hour from 8-9 pm which pulled 4.4 million demo viewers and 11.0 million 50+ viewers compared to 3.8 and 9.6 million this year. However, by running two hours they did disrupt the pattern of "Glee" getting clobbered by "Person of Interest."

*CBS* won one half hour slot in the demo last night with "Big Bang Theory." However, they handily won every half hour in the 50+ crowd. Overall the CBS offering was barely edged out of a demo win by "Idol" from 8-10 pm but won the 8-11 race, and won both with the 50+ crowd.

*Univision.* At this point we have to stop ignoring the invisible-elephant-in-the-ratings-chart. From a Univision press release via TV-by-the-Numbers:


> Univision ranked as the No. 3 broadcast network for the night among Adults 18-49 for the second consecutive year, beating ABC and NBC. Last night's broadcast of "Premio Lo Nuestro" also marked the twenty-second consecutive night since the start of the February 2013 Sweep that Univision finished ahead of NBC with Adult 18-49 viewers, averaging two times its Adult 18-49 audience.


And the story NBC To Finish 5th In Sweeps For First Time; Network Falls Behind Univision was posted previously.

*ABC*'s "Scandal" won the demo at 10 pm though "Elementary" walked away with the 50+ crowd. But "Zero Hour" at 8 pm ran behind The CW's "Vampire Diaries" and the invisible-elephant-in-the-ratings-chart.

*The CW* beat ABC and NBC in the 8 pm half hour and for the whole hour, though NBC's "Parks & Recreation" may have beaten "Vampire Diaries" in the 8:30 half hour - it will depend on the final ratings.

*NBC*. What can I say. No NBC show could find 1.5 million demo viewers or 3 million 50+ viewers last night. About the 10 pm slot, some of the affiliates must be dreaming about something better - like "The Leno Show."

In passing, it's worth noting that the 9 pm showing of "Swamp People" on the History Channel pulled 1.4 million demo viewers and 2.7 milliion 50+ viewers.:nono:


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Last night was the final Fridayday in the 2013 February Sweeps. There were no disruptions of the normal schedule any Friday - no awards shows, football games, or State of the Union Address. Here's how the four weeks turned out:








Unfortunately for CBS, somebody in the executive suite must have been doing some explaining to CEO Les Moonves. Replacing "Undercover Boss" with "The Job" appears to have cost them the bragging rights to winning the 2013 February Sweeps Friday demo though they still won the 50+ crowd. Let's look at the details for Fridays.


*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








*ABC*'s "Shark Tank" won the demo in both the 9:00 and 9:30 half hours and "20/20" won the 10:00 half hour and tied with "Blue Bloods" in the 10:30 half hour.

*CBS* at 8 pm brought back "Undercover Boss" last night in a panic. It won both half hours. I don't think they've had a ratings disaster as bad as "The Job" in a long time, if ever. The season (series???) finale of "CSI: NY" was #3 in the demo though still #1 in the 50+ crowd. In two weeks, "Golden Boy" will fill this slot after airing on two Tuesdays at 10:00 pm. I assume the hope is that it will eek out more demo viewers against "Shark Tank." The problem is that it will be up against the return of NBC's "Grimm" which does have a small but loyal demo audience. "Blue Bloods" continues to have a big (for Friday) 50+ audience and competes against "20/20" for dwindling Friday demo viewers.

*Fox.* It's obvious "Touch" has found its viewers but there aren't enough of them. Whether they have anything to replace it with is unclear.

*NBC*'s "Dateline" was #2 in the demo for three of its four half hours, with only ABC's 8 pm sitcom "Last Man Standing" pushing it to #3. Bringing back "Grimm" at 9:00 in two weeks is going to be an "iffy" move, partly because the long hiatus may have killed the show.

*The CW.* Not much to say here.

*Univision.* Unfortunately ratings for Univision aren't rapidly available. Last week they reported averages for Fridays' novela lineup as follows:

8:00 "Por Ella Soy Eva" - 2.3 million demo, 2.0 million 50+
9:00 "Amores Verdaderos" - 2.6 million demo, 2.3 million 50+
10:00 "Amor Bravio" - 2.0 million demo, 1.9 million 50+

I'm not really sure what that means overall, but obviously this is an audience that cannot be ignored. Univision is independently owned and has O&O or affiliate stations in 56 DMA's.

The second largest Spanish language network in the U.S. is Telemundo owned by Comcast/NBCU and has O&O or affiliate stations in 65 DMA's. Telemundo's ratings right now are barely competitive with The CW.

There are other Spanish language networks in the U.S. Only one is even partly owned by a U.S. broadcast group, MundoFox which is 50% owned by Fox. CBS and Disney/ABC are not in this market.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

phrelin said:


> Last night was the final *Fridayday *in the 2013 February Sweeps...


You know what they say: _Thank God It's Fridayday!_

:lol:

Just havin' fun. Thanks for the ratings.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

Feb 25, 12:44 PM (ET)

By DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK (AP) - Every Tuesday, the Nielsen company publishes a popularity ranking of broadcast television programs that has served as the industry's report card dating back to when most people had only three networks to choose from.

And every week, that list gets less and less meaningful.

Rest of article here: http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20130225/DA4LQ65G0.htm


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## Holydoc (Feb 18, 2008)

tsmacro said:


> Feb 25, 12:44 PM (ET)
> 
> By DAVID BAUDER
> 
> ...


The link did not work for me.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

You can read the story here. It explains how the "live + same day dvr viewing" ratings distorts what people are actually watching, mentions that "live + 7 day dvr viewing" ratings change the relative ranking. And it discusses streaming. So you get this:


> CBS considers its freshman drama "Elementary" a case of public perception not matching reality. Last fall, the show averaged 9.7 million viewers-respectable, but hardly a sensation. But between video on demand, DVRs and streaming, CBS said an average of 13 million people watched each episode within a month of its airing.
> 
> "If the number the press had seen was 13 million instead of 9.7 million, it would have been seen as a huge hit," said David Poltrack, CBS chief researcher.
> 
> In a world where people demand information faster and faster, television executives are no different. They want ratings NOW. The problem is, all of the changes in content consumption demand patience. Nielsen's report on how many people watch a show within seven days isn't released until three weeks after a show first airs-a glacial pace.


What the article doesn't discuss is why the numbers matter. It might lead you to think there is a correlation between all viewing and network concern. The fact is "who is viewing when" stops being important at "live + 3 day dvr viewing" ratings and even that is iffy. The ratings aren't important except to the advertising industry. Fox doesn't pull shows because only a couple of million people are watching "live + same day dvr viewing". They pull shows because they can't sell adequate advertising to pay for prime time programming based on "live + 7 day dvr viewing + streaming."

To compare, HBO has a direct relationship with its subscribers. If there isn't enough original programming of interest to their subscribers, they lose revenue. But subscribers can watch the new episodes many times during the week they appear and can watch them on HBO GO. It's a direct correlation. And, of course, there are no federal government rules that require Dish or Direct or a cable company to collect a total of $120,000,000 a month like the broadcast networks will receive as they force every viewer to pay $1 a month in carriage fees. HBO, of course, operates in the marketplace taking all the risks.

But never fear, the advertisers are slowly becoming less important. Fox's Rupert Murdoch, the right wing capitalist, and his brethren operate in a government enforced "must pay" economic environment that effectively taxes us to subsidize their operations. Whether anyone watches their programming will become irrelevant to their success or failure.

But in the meantime, "live + same day" ratings still matter and that is why we get articles decrying their misleading results.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

phrelin said:


> But never fear, the advertisers are slowly becoming less important. Fox's Rupert Murdoch, the right wing capitalist, and his brethren operate in a government enforced "must pay" economic environment that effectively taxes us to subsidize their operations.




Is this really appropriate for this topic? Sounds more like a political rant to me.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Yes, I'm essentially ignoring Sunday because of the four Sundays we had the Super Bowl, then The Grammys, then one without any specials, and then last Sunday The Oscars. The ratings on Sundays during the February Sweeps has no meaning for regularly scheduled programming. In passing I'll note that Seth MacFarlane got better ratings and mixed reviews. His Ted piece irritated the folks at the Anti-Defamation League because, of course, MacFarlane comedy targets tend to be the politically correct crowd. The Hollywood Reporter gives us a good summary in Has Seth MacFarlane Sworn Off Hosting the Oscars Again? while noting:


> Despite an audience of 40 million viewers and a 19 percent boost among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic -- up year-over-year in both metrics -- MacFarlane's turn as host was a polarizing one.


Monday Sweeps look like CBS won...








...but I would guess if Les Moonves were holding a staff meeting of all the executives he'd be asking critically "what's going on with Monday" because as they say the Devil is in the details.

 
*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








*CBS* will be watching Monday ratings very carefully in April. That "Hawaii Five-0" is losing to ABC's "Castle" must be troubling because it keeps the network from having a clean win in the 50+ crowd. Last night they didn't the "HIMYM" won the demo at 8:00 but didn't fare well with the 50+ folks, "Rules" didn't win either, "2 Broke Girls" won both the demo and the 50+ group, "Mike and Molly" won the 50+ group but tied for #2 in the demo with Fox's "The Following."

*Fox.* Given the competition, "Bones" and "The Following" did ok. When you look at the percentage of total viewers on a competitive night, those shows are really the best Fox has done other than "Idol."

*ABC* won the 8-11 pm competition last night with "The Bachelor" and "Castle."

*NBC*'s "Biggest Loser" gets adequate ratings when it comes to making a profit on the show. "Deception" is the biggest loser for NBC for the night.

*The CW*. What can I say?


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## dennispap (Feb 1, 2007)

...


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## Holydoc (Feb 18, 2008)

I am pleasantly surprised about the ratings for the Following. It has its surprise moments but requires lots of suspended belief. In other words, I will route for its renewal.

Deception is another one we are watching. I am glad its ratings are falling. Right now we are barely slogging through it.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Last night was the last Tuesday of February Sweeps. One Tuesday was lost to the State of the Union. And ABC played "Where's Waldo" with their Tuesday schedule, but basically CBS dominates the night. Here's the averages:








Now about last night...


*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








*CBS.* Speaking of playing "Where's Waldo" with the schedule, CBS has decided to run two episodes of "Golden Boy" on two consecutive Tuesdays before the third episode is run at its regular night and time - Friday at 9:00 pm.

Some pundits have commented it did well. Really??? During February Sweeps last year "Unforgettable" (bet you've forgotten it - starred Poppy Montgomery) averaged a 2.1/6 demo and 8.7 million 50+ and it didn't get renewed. And this year's regular program at this time slot is "Vegas" which premiered on September 25, 2012, with a 2.5/7 demo and 12.2 million 50+ but has dropped below the normal CBS renewal line.

I guess CBS thinks that they can attract more viewers to Friday at 9:00. But I don't see that happening.

The "NCIS" franchises unquestionably control Tuesday from 8-10 pm.

*ABC* finally ran its Winter Tuesday shows at the announced times - for the first time in February Sweeps. "Wife Swap" returned to its slot and did pretty well compared to "The Taste" which ran at the wrong time the other two weeks. After seeing "The Taste" didn't do well, they went ahead and ran it at it's announced 9:00 slot where it didn't do well. "Body of Proof" handily beats "Smash" securing the #2 position at 10:00. But that's like saying it beat a The CW show.

*Fox*'s comedy lineup is very weak.

*NBC.* I guess Betty White works cheap so NBC can make a profit on the show which really doesn't even pull a significant 50+ crowd. "Go On" provides a miserable lead into the disastrous "Smash." One almost has to assume Univision did better than NBC last night.

*The CW. * "Hart of Dixie" got a slight bump over last week. It tends to also do well in the Live + 7 DVR viewing and presumably in streaming. "Cult" isn't doing well, even for a The CW show.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Last night was the last Wednesday (and the last night) of February Sweeps. Here's how the Wednesday averaged out:








It looks pretty good for Fox, but the devil is in the details.


*If you need larger print you can click on the image above.*








*Fox.* From a ratings viewpoint, last night was a bad night for an "Idol" Wednesday. Certainly, the show still dominates the 8-10 competition as #1 in in the demo and in total viewers for every half hour. And as it heads into the weeks of finalist competition it likely will attract a few thousand more viewers than this week. But a heavy dependency on one aging show isn't healthy.

*CBS* came in second three out of the four half hours in the 8-10 pm competition, with ABC's "Modern Family" beating "Criminal Minds" from 8 to 8:30. But in the 10 pm hour aging "CSI" lost the demo to NBC's "Chicago Fire" though "CSI" did win the 50+ crowd.

*ABC*'s comedy lineup performs adequately with "Modern Family" continuing to perform well. "Nashville" not so much, having slipped a little likely because ABC ran a stupid, ratings counter-productive Oscars promo last week in that time slot.

*NBC* has a winner in "Chicago Fire." Everything else in the Wednesday lineup should be replaced next year.

*The CW* has a winning lineup in "Arrow" followed by "Supernatural" ... winning over any other night on The CW.:sure:

As far as I'm concerned the Nielsen folks need to rethink their sweeps periods in the January-June period. The fact is February Sweeps is pretty meaningless.

As you may have already read elsewhwere, CBS won its first February Sweeps in decades. That a February Sweeps win has nothing to do with regular programming tends to be mentioned in the third or fourth paragraph of the stories. CBS had the Super Bowl this year. And it had The Grammys. ABC had The Oscars. Fox and NBC couldn't be in the running even if they had programming that won every week night.

February provides no information on regular programming on Sundays. And then we lose "State of the Union" night.

The Nielsen folks also have a May Sweeps which in recent years is too late for the network "upfronts" when the networks sell programming for the fall season to advertisers. And some shows have their finales in early May.

Someone ought to consider have one Sweeps period January-June and it should be in April after NCAA basketball "March Madness."

I will start a new thread tomorrow which will cover the next eight weeks. It is during those eight weeks that a clear picture will form regarding which shows will get a "pickup" for next fall. Yes, it is clear now that "Smash" on NBC is dead.:sure:


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

phrelin said:


> As far as I'm concerned the Nielsen folks need to rethink their sweeps periods in the January-June period. The fact is February Sweeps is pretty meaningless.


Meaningless as a horse race, perhaps. That's just for bragging rights.

But advertisers don't really care which network won. They care about which shows will provide the largest covetable audience. And the majority of shows have meaningful February data.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

renbutler said:


> Meaningless as a horse race, perhaps. That's just for bragging rights.
> 
> But advertisers don't really care which network won. They care about which shows will provide the largest covetable audience. And the majority of shows have meaningful February data.


That's true. The data does serve a purpose. It's just that "Sweeps" does imply some significant horse race - a derby of sorts - and IMHO they ought to hold the race in April.

Of course, my opinion is free and worth every penny.:sure:


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