Advertising Age is reporting on the C+3 commercial viewer ratings for the week of 9/24-9/30 – the first week of the new season where results have been made available. While the overall average drop was only 3% from shows to commercials (a smaller difference than I would have thought), Live+3 show ratings on average were about 16% higher than the C+3 commercial ratings among adults 18-49.
Broadcast Commercial Live+3 Ranking for Sept. 24-Sept. 30:
| Program | Network | Persons 2+ Live+3 Commercial (000) | P2+ Live Program (000) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) CSI | CBS | 23,826 | 23,764 | 0.26% |
| 2) Dancing With the Stars- Monday | ABC | 19,865 | 20,262 | -1.96% |
| 3) Greys Anatomy | ABC | 19,181 | 19,050 | 0.69% |
| 4) Desperate Housewives | ABC | 17,492 | 17,889 | -2.22% |
| 5) Dancing With the Stars- Tuesday | ABC | 17,463 | 17,794 | -1.86% |
| 6) House | Fox | 17,062 | 16,737 | 1.94% |
| 7) Without a Trace | CBS | 16,230 | 16,302 | -0.44% |
| 8) Dancing With the Stars- Results | ABC | 15,966 | 16,128 | -1.00% |
| 9) Heroes | NBC | 14,893 | 15,003 | -0.73% |
| 10) NBC Sunday Night Football | NBC | 14,480 | 14,859 | -2.55% |
| 11) CSI: Miami | CBS | 14,406 | 14,539 | -0.91% |
| 12) Private Practice | ABC | 13,437 | 13,452 | -0.11% |
| 13) Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | ABC | 13,143 | 13,857 | -5.15% |
| 14) NCIS | CBS | 12,945 | 13,284 | -2.55% |
| 15) Bionic Woman | NBC | 12,883 | 13,032 | -1.14% |
| 16) Cold Case | CBS | 12,860 | 13,186 | -2.47% |
| 17) Survivor: China | CBS | 12,841 | 12,820 | 0.16% |
| 18) Two and a Half Men | CBS | 12,718 | 12,641 | 0.61% |
| 19) Brothers and Sisters | ABC | 12,156 | 12,135 | 0.17% |
| 20) CSI: NY | CBS | 12,063 | 12,327 | -2.14% |
| 21) Cane | CBS | 11,861 | 10,994 | 7.89% |
| 22) 60 Minutes | CBS | 11,841 | 12,620 | -6.17% |
| 23) Criminal Minds | CBS | 11,711 | 11,976 | -2.21% |
| 24) Rules of Engagement | CBS | 11,449 | 11,869 | -3.54% |
| 25) Law and Order: SVU | NBC | 11,169 | 11,569 | -3.46% |
Data via: TV Week
We don’t have Live+3 show viwership to do exact apples to apples comparisons, but this table leads me to leap to the following conclusion: almost all people viewing the top shows on their DVR within 3 days are fast forwarding through all of the commercials. That’s hardly a surprise but still not good news. I think Preston Beckman of Fox had it right when he said “Nothing is going to change that will radically shift a network’s perceptions of a show.”
Cane (#21 in the table) is possibly an exception to this. I imagine its producers are most pleased.
TV Ratings Data: ©2007 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
