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2012-13 Season Ratings - Winter

8K views 73 replies 20 participants last post by  phrelin 
#1 ·
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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#52 ·
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.

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:
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...
 
#54 ·

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.
 
#55 ·

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.
 
#56 ·



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.
 
#57 ·
Once again phrelin, thanks for these posts. I really appreciate them.
 
#58 ·
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.
 
#59 ·



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.
 
#60 ·

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.
 
#61 ·
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:
 
#62 ·
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.
 
#64 ·
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
 
#65 ·
tsmacro said:
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
The link did not work for me. :(
 
#66 ·
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.
 
#67 ·
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.
:confused:

Is this really appropriate for this topic? Sounds more like a political rant to me.
 
#68 ·
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?
 
#70 ·
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.
 
#71 ·
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.
 
#72 ·
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:
 
#73 ·
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.
 
#74 ·
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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