| Scoreboard |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Viewers (million) | 7.57 | 4.96 | 4.72 | 3.32 | 2.90 |
| Rating/Share: Adults 18-49 | 2.0/7 | 1.4/5 | 1.4/5 | 0.9/3 | 0.8/2 |
The season premiere of Fox’s Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? was more than enough to win the night for average viewers with 7.57 million and demo adults 18-49 with a 2.0 rating / 7 share. That was down about 600k viewers and 0.5 demo rating from it’s premiere on 9/6/07 last year. That was a Thursday night with real competition. My guess is that those results vs. effectively no competition, even on a Friday, are a letdown for Fox (although Berman sees them as a positive because Fox had done so poorly on Fridays).
ABC helped by 20/20 (6.65 million, 2.0/6) from 10-11p and the CW anchored by the consistent (but departing!) Friday Night Smackdown (4.72 million, 1.4/5) tied for 2nd with a demo adults 1.4 rating / 5 share.
In a unique move, ABC, CBS and NBC all went with the charity benefit Stand Up to Cancer from 8-9p. I’m sure ratings were not a concern for them in that hour.
NBC aired the strange sounding NFL Opening Kickoff (musical, variety?) show from 9-10p and nobody, including me, (1.91 million) watched. CBS went with a Fall Preview show and got only a few more (3.38 million).
The season (and perhaps series) finale of CBS’s Swingtown limped home with but 3.62 million viewers and a demo 1.2 rating / 4 share. There has been no announcement yet about renewal or cancellation, but I cannot imagine it coming back with the kind of numbers it has produced.
Full details:
| Time | Net | Show | Viewers Live+SD (Millons) | 18-49 Rating/ Share |
| 8:00 | FOX | Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? (8-10p) | 7.57 | 2.0/7 |
| CW | Friday Night Smackdown! (8p-10p) | 4.72 | 1.4/5 | |
| ABC | Stand Up to Cancer | 3.81 | 0.9/3 | |
| NBC | Stand Up to Cancer | 3.32 | 0.8/3 | |
| CBS | Stand Up to Cancer | 3.16 | 0.7/3 | |
| 9:00 | ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat) | 4.42 | 1.3/4 |
| CBS | CBS Fall Preview | 3.38 | 0.8/3 | |
| NBC | NFL Opening Kickoff | 1.91 | 0.7/2 | |
| 9:30 | CBS | The New Adventures of Old Christine (repeat) | 2.98 | 0.8/2 |
| 10:00 | ABC | 20/20 | 6.65 | 2.0/6 |
| CBS | Swingtown | 3.62 | 1.2/4 | |
| NBC | Dateline NBC | 3.47 | 0.9/3 |
Shows are sorted by viewers in each time slot.
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2008 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. Source Marc Berman/Mediaweek.
Definitions:
Fast Affiliate Overnight Ratings: Local metered-market ratings service of Nielsen Station Index (NSI) in which household ratings and shares are provided to clients the morning following the day or evening of telecast. While routinely used for “next day” immediate analysis, these fast affiliate ratings are by process inaccurate for programs that air live across a network since they represent affiliate time period performance. For example, last night’s 10-11pm affiliate #’s would reflect 10pm on the East Coast but also 10pm on the West Coast which for a live event would not represent the same broadcast or portion of the broadcast.
Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent.
Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. (See also, Rating, which represents tuning or viewing as a percent of the entire population being measured.)
LIVE+SD: The number that watched a program either while it was broadcast OR watched via DVR on the same day [through 3AM the next day] the program was broadcast.
For more information see Numbers 101.
I think you meant Friday
Jason, no doubt…
I’m not tuned in enough to the industry to conclude whether or not ‘Swingtown’ limped home. I just know it was a fantastic season finale, Mike Kelley has just been given a two-year, seven figure deal by CBS/Paramount, and he says Swingtown is still his #1 priority. The solid fanbase continues to remain solid. It’s disappointing that more viewers didn’t tune in, however, there was a 12 episode lead up to this finale. Many new viewers might not have been able to connect because it worked so hard to tie up loose ends, not to mention that it is airing at 10 pm on Fridays. Just wanted to say that I thought the cast and crew did a fantastic job on this summer show and that it is a darn shame it was relegated to the summer because of the writer’s strike. So, it’s all in the hands of CBS now, who I’m sure have a lot to mull over. As far as I’m concerned, nothing about Swingtown’s future is still certain, and numbers can be interpreted in a thousand different ways.
I still find it funny that The CW claims they are dropping SmackDown because they want the female demo all I know is if I was the head of a TV network I would keep my higher rated shows and cancel the ones that do not draw…….I also have a question about Smallville I watch it but does it have a higher female demo or a male demo? I would think all the so-called comic book geeks would be male and the most loyal smallville viewers but i’m just curious thanks
Once Swingtown got sent to Friday I was pretty let down and I even wondered if I would watch the rest of the season. What was the point? Friday is known to be the TV dead zone. Why bother to watch if the story would never get finished? But, I couldn’t NOT watch. I felt invested with the characters and wanted to see them off to wherever they might end up. The finale was excellent. If it could return I’d be really happy to tune in again. Maybe it might get a shift to a cable network or something..
It looks like 90210 was not the top rated show on CW this week. (Pending final numbers of course.) 90210’s final viewer rating was 4.65. Of course, we all know it is only about female viewers and demos, but still. Makes me chuckle.
I think AYSTAFG did VERY well. You have to consider FOX hasnt had a winner on Friday night in yearsssssss.
Ouch CBS and NBC.
Swingtown had every opportunity to get good ratings and yet it never happened. Afterall what else was there to tune into, reruns and junk. This show should have been cancelled after a few episodes…no one wanted to watch it!
what about 18-34? Well, I guess it wasn’t so important because we’re talking about Friday night, but what about Household rating? I know it’s not important as 18-49 or 18-34 but still, it’s good to know
tool, we don’t get the 18-34 information for Friday and Saturday nights until Monday morning. If there was something earthshattering we’d update then, but that’s unlikely.
All I can say is that Swingtown was one of the best shows to turn up on tv in a long time and the fact that it’s fate has not been decided makes me very happy and hopeful it will return.
Pretty brave words Selene, but saying something doesn’t make it true. I would suggest you check out the CBS fan site before spreading such baloney. There were nearly 4 millions fans a week who wanted to watch the show, and got A LOT of pleasure from doing so as witnessed by their comments. Or maybe you didn’t WANT to know that so many people actually DID watch the show?
Swingtown was sleazy and boring. Thats why episode 1 had 8.6 million viewers but ended with 3.6 million – a nearly 60% decline. Only 40% of viewers stuck with it to the bitter end. My only suprise is CBS didnt outright cancel it before the end of its run. No show with losses like that after only 13 episodes gets a 2nd chance. They cancelled MOONLIGHT with 7.5 million viewers (twice as many as SWINGTOWN). I really wont miss Moonlight – but it was an ok show.
I am glad Swingtown wont be coming back – put sleazy stuff like that on Showtime or HBO after midnight.
I’d rather hang with people who ‘choose’ to enjoy a show any day over hanging with individuals who will watch anything that will never challenge them intellectually and because it’s the only thing on TV at the moment. If Swingtown only has a core viewership of 4 million and moves to cable, I’m okay with that because I’m pretty sure a very high percentage of that 4 million will follow the show. Be interesting to see how many of the current viewers of brain pablum continue to follow those shows when network TV becomes pay TV. I bet when the spoon feeding stops and people have to shell out for their entertainment, they’ll be more discerning. In my view, Swingtown viewers are just ahead of the curve and are making a choice about quality over junk. I think Seinfeld played the ultimate joke on the current crop of regular TV viewers, and the sad thing is they never got the joke. While the actors were remarkably talented in the portrayal of their characters, Jerry Seinfeld made it abundantly clear from get go that the show was about nothing. Yet people followed it in droves, proving to some extent that the majority of today’s TV viewers are in fact interested in TV shows that are a good way to kill a half or full hour, and are satisfied that it will never challenge them intellectually. And what a sad commentary and indictment of the quality of entertainmet offered on network TV today that is. Time to start opening a book people.
Guess Who: I think you can find daytime soap operas that are worse than Swingtown in the sleazy department!!! That’s your opinion if Swingtown was “sleazy”, but I think the show was an accurate depiction of what was going on in the 1970s. History is history. Sorry if you don’t like what was going on back then (heck, it’s still going on today). Aside from that, I think Swingtown was a really good show. I enjoyed the characters and the sets were great – I couldn’t believe they could still come up with that much stuff from the 1970s! I hope it gets a second lifeline – cable or network – because I will continue to watch it!
This show took me back to a time and place I loved. It was only sleazy if you wanted it to be. Are we really so uncomfortable with the show or do we really secretly want more from our own lives but afraid of what that might be? Maybe its insecurity or being afraid to let go. I watched every episode and saw nothing offensive. I’m sure if the kids are watching they have seen much worse on any station most any time during the day. I’m also sure unless you live under a rock they have seen or heard much worse at home. I’m just curious why the people that had negative comments were even watching the show? There will always be shows that we like and others not so much but isn’t that what life is about? We have the choice isn’t that what we want? I loved Tom and Jerry but watching it now I’m surprised it wasn’t canceled because of the violence. Grow up and let your hair down a little and you just might enjoy life a little more. If you choose not to watch the show then at least you made your own choice but don’t take away mine.