2002, The first season of American Idol in the US. Other Notable TV premieres of the year: The Bachelor (ABC), Monk (USA), CSI:MIami (CBS), Without A Trace (CBS), Around The Horn (ESPN). Notable TV finales of the year: The X-Files, Ally McBeal, and Spin City. Fox News Channel overtook CNN as the #1 cable news network in the US. General Hospital airs its 10,000th episode.
Considering how far back in TV history we’ve looked so far, what surprised me most about 2002’s top 20 list wasn’t how much things had stayed the same, but how much they’d changed in just 6 years.
Top 20 Prime Time Broadcast Programs, September 2001-May 2002:
|
RANK |
PROGRAM |
NETWORK |
|
HH RATING |
HH SHARE |
|
1 |
Friends |
NBC |
15.3 |
25 |
|
|
2 |
CSI |
CBS |
14.6 |
22 |
|
|
3 |
E.R. |
NBC |
14.4 |
24 |
|
|
4 |
Everybody Loves Raymond |
CBS |
12.8 |
19 |
|
|
5 |
Law and Order |
NBC |
12.6 |
21 |
|
|
6 |
Friends 8:30PM |
NBC |
12.2 |
19 |
|
|
7 |
Survivor: Africa |
CBS |
11.8 |
18 |
|
|
7 |
Survivor: Marquesas |
CBS |
11.8 |
19 |
|
|
9 |
NFL Monday Night Football |
ABC |
11.5 |
19 |
|
|
10 |
West Wing |
NBC |
11.4 |
18 |
|
|
11 |
Will & Grace |
NBC |
11.1 |
17 |
|
|
12 |
Leap of Faith |
NBC |
11.0 |
17 |
|
|
13 |
Becker |
CBS |
10.7 |
16 |
|
|
14 |
Law and Order: SVU |
NBC |
10.4 |
19 |
|
|
15 |
60 Minutes |
CBS |
10.2 |
17 |
|
|
16 |
Frasier |
NBC |
9.9 |
15 |
|
|
16 |
JAG |
CBS |
9.9 |
16 |
|
|
18 |
Inside Schwartz |
NBC |
9.8 |
15 |
|
|
18 |
Judging Amy |
CBS |
9.8 |
16 |
|
|
20 |
NFL Monday Showcase |
ABC |
9.6 |
15 |
For a bit of perspective, the top rated show this season, Tuesday’s American Idol, Season To Date HH rating is 16.1 and its share is 24.
If you’d have told me in 2002 that just 6 years later, only 6 of the top 20 shows for the year (CSI, ER, Law and Order, Survivor, Law and Order:SVU and 60 Minutes) would still be on the air, I think I might have wagered substantially against you. [Although 2 more are a simple day/network shift of broadcast primetime NFL football].
Six years ago the half hour sitcom could still bring in the viewers. Eight of the top 20 shows were sitcoms. (Friends x2, Everybody Loves Raymond, Will & Grace, Leap of Faith, Becker, Frasier, Inside Schwartz) Little changed from the eight sitcoms in 1972. This season, two sitcoms, Two and a Half Men (18) and Samantha Who? (19), barely make the top 20.
There were 5 crime dramas (CSI, Law & Order, Law & Order:SVU, JAG, Judging Amy) same as in 1972. (Although opinions may vary about how “crime” oriented Judging Amy was.)
The network v. network competition was surprisingly uneven with ABC having only 2 shows in the top 20. NBC had 10 and CBS had 8. Compare that to this season when NBC has just one show (Sunday Night Football) in the HH ratings top 20.
Don’t forget that a HH ratings point today means a lot more households than it did in the past.
Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2005 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Wow, has the sitcom fallen from grace. NBC Thursday’s comedy block is better in quality today than it was when Friends anchored it, but look it the ratings difference. My theory is that sitcoms target today’s non-TV watching youth. Everybody I know under 25 watches the office.(albeit illegally downloaded or on HULU) If sitcoms targeted a slightly older demo they would be wildly successful again. Samantha Who and Two and Half Men are the only network sitcoms whose star characters aren’t in their 20’s.
Wow, has the sitcom fallen from grace. NBC Thursday's comedy block is better in quality today than it was when Friends anchored it, but look it the ratings difference. My theory is that sitcoms target today's non-TV watching youth. Everybody I know under 25 watches the office.(albeit illegally downloaded or on HULU) If sitcoms targeted a slightly older demo they would be wildly successful again. Samantha Who and Two and Half Men are the only network sitcoms whose star characters aren't in their 20's.
Just 4 years ago E.R. was still a hit!
I miss Friends and Raymond but don’t care about West wing and JAG! And Fox is missing from the top..
Just 4 years ago E.R. was still a hit!
I miss Friends and Raymond but don't care about West wing and JAG! And Fox is missing from the top..
I think the biggest difference between the Top 20 shows in 2002 and the Top 20 shows in 2008 is the percentage of reality tv. The two Survivors were the only reality shows in the Top 20.
In 2008, year to date, the top 20 shows include 7 reality shows — which, because of multi-day airings for Dancing With The Stars and American Idol, actually count as 10.
So, it looks to me like the sitcom was displaced by reality shows. I don’t know that a reality show attracts the same audience as a sitcom (I certainly get my fair share of laughs in during a reality show, but most of these reality shows are competition-based.) However, I’m reminded of the old adage that the hardest thing to create is a good comedy show. Maybe the networks have taken that to heart and would rather spend their money on reality.
I think the biggest difference between the Top 20 shows in 2002 and the Top 20 shows in 2008 is the percentage of reality tv. The two Survivors were the only reality shows in the Top 20.
In 2008, year to date, the top 20 shows include 7 reality shows — which, because of multi-day airings for Dancing With The Stars and American Idol, actually count as 10.
So, it looks to me like the sitcom was displaced by reality shows. I don't know that a reality show attracts the same audience as a sitcom (I certainly get my fair share of laughs in during a reality show, but most of these reality shows are competition-based.) However, I'm reminded of the old adage that the hardest thing to create is a good comedy show. Maybe the networks have taken that to heart and would rather spend their money on reality.
The big difference between now and that was ABC’s complete reinvention in 2004/2005, when it launched Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, DWTS, and to a lesser extent, Boston Legal. EM: HE also became a huge hit. It really was a dream season for a network. Will we ever see the likes of it again?
The big difference between now and that was ABC's complete reinvention in 2004/2005, when it launched Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, DWTS, and to a lesser extent, Boston Legal. EM: HE also became a huge hit. It really was a dream season for a network. Will we ever see the likes of it again?
It’s interesting to go through old ratings and see how many sitcoms were canceled after one or two seasons despite being firmly in the top 20. It appears it has to do with the drop-off compared to the hit show that preceded it. I wonder if a different strategy could’ve saved the sitcom. I miss the days of when there was a good chance that you could find a sitcom at almost anytime between 8 and 10 on the Big Four. These hour-long crime dramas are such a drag.