| Scoreboard |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Viewers (million) | 13.70 | 12.28 | 7.15 | 4.19 | 3.91 | 2.15 |
| Rating/Share: Adults 18-49 | 3.8/10 | 4.1/11 | 3.1/8 | 1.6/4 | 1.7/4 | 0.8/2 |
| Rating/Share: Adults 18-34 | 2.2/7 | 3.9/12 | 3.1/9 | 1.7/5 | 1.4/4 | 0.7/2 |
CBS took the most viewers, but ABC won both the 18-49 and 18-34 demographics. But although Grey’s Anatomy still bested CSI among 18-49 year olds, it was in series low territory for its 18-49 rating with a 5.5 and down more than 10% from the 6.2 rating it got the last time an original episode aired (11/20/08). But there were less people watching TV across the board last night than two Thursdays ago. CSI was down 8% in the demo as well.
30 Rock is holding up much better than I would’ve imagined post-Sarah Palin and in the aftermath of some November sweeps stuntcasting, and last night still significantly outperformed last year.
Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 dominated in the 10pm hour and also dominated not just with the over 50 crowd but with both the 18-49 and 18-34 demographics as well.
Not much else worth mentioning really besides Fox ran repeats of Kitchen Nightmares and was beaten by Univision. CW ran repeats too, but it’s always beaten by Uni. The CW’s repeats held up pretty well though when you consider the numbers those shows pull when they are new.
If you want to compare with last week, that’s difficult since it was Thanksgiving. But here’s the report from November 20 when there were new episodes of CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, etc.
Full details:
| Time | Net | Show | Viewers (Millons) | 18-49 Rating/Share |
| 8:00 | CBS | Survivor: Gabon | 12.79 | 4.0/11 |
| ABC | Ugly Betty | 8.47 | 2.6/7 | |
| NBC | My Name is Earl | 6.08 | 2.5/7 | |
| FOX | Kitchen Nightmares (Repeat) | 3.75 | 1.5/4 | |
| CW | Smallville (Repeat) | 2.29 | 0.8/2 | |
| 8:30 | NBC | Kath & Kim | 4.88 | 2.2/6 |
| 9:00 | CBS | CSI | 17.39 | 4.6/11 |
| ABC | Grey’s Anatomy | 15.15 | 5.5/14 | |
| NBC | The Office | 8.33 | 4.3/11 | |
| FOX | Kitchen Nightmares (Repeat) | 4.08 | 1.8/5 | |
| CW | Supernatural (Repeat) | 2.01 | 0.8/2 | |
| 9:30 | NBC | 30 Rock | 7.14 | 3.4/8 |
| 10:00 | ABC | Barbara Walters Presents | 13.21 | 4.2/11 |
| CBS | Eleventh Hour | 10.91 | 2.7/7 | |
| NBC | ER | 8.22 | 3.2/9 |
Shows are sorted by viewers in each time slot. Timeslot demo winners are in bold.
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2008 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. Source Marc Berman/Mediaweek.
Definitions:
Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings, including demographics, are available at approximately 11 AM (ET) the day after telecast, and are released to subscribing customers daily. These data, from the National People Meter sample, are strictly time-period information, based on the normal broadcast network feed, and include all programming on the affiliated stations, sometimes including network programming, sometimes not. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. For example, with a World Series game, Fast Affiliate Ratings would include whatever aired from 8-11PM on affiliates in the Pacific Time Zone, following the live football game, but not game coverage that begins at 5PM PT. The same would be true of Presidential debates as well as live award shows and breaking news reports.
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.)
Time Shifted Viewing – Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live+Same Day (Live+SD) and Live+7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs which are currently in approximately 24.4% of all U.S. TV households. Live+Same Day (Live+SD) include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.
For more information see Numbers 101.
Kath & Kim is just awful in quality and ratings: NBC should be axing that (and quickly)
First! Ugly Betty is finished after this season. The demo is just not where it needs to be.
The office and 30 rock’s numbers were almost identical to last airing. YES! NBC’s most promising lead in is now office/30 rather than Heroes on monday.
Kyle, ABC has so many other problems that Ugly Betty is a success for them right now. This show will be around for 2 more seasons at least.
Robert–I think you have the CW and Univision labels reversed in your table…
Man alive, though, the total viewership for Thursdays is way down this week. Only Survivor got over 10m viewers. I can remember ten years ago when NBC just dominated Thursdays. What was it, “must see tv” night or something?
Kyle, I dont think UB will be ending anytime soon. Is beating Survivor in 18-34, and is second in 18-49 and viewers.
Seriously, I am aware of all the buts here (demo, competition), but did CSI just slip just enough to let The Mentalist be the most watched scripted show of the week?
For the hilarious parodies, for the sharp critics, for the agile humor, for the irony, for the charisma of their characters… For all that and much more,’Ugly Betty’ it’s a great show.
Outlander. Yeah, you’re correct. I’d meant to flip-flop Fox and Uni, but… It’s fixed.
idizzie, yes.. it looks like The Mentalist will be the #1 show in viewers but The Office, Greys, DH, CSI, B&S, 2.5 Men will be higher in the demo.
Maybe people were expecting repeats because sweeps ended last Wednesday. I know I expected CSI and Eleventh Hour to be repeats because they were repeats last week. But I checked earlier in the day and found out they were new. CSI has been promoting Laurence Fishburne’s appearance so heavily for December 11th that it seemed they would have no new episodes until then.
Barbara Walter’s specials are new programming. She had Will Smith. He always pulls in the viewers.
Fin,
NBC’s problems are so bad that a 2.2 demo for a new series is a hit for them, lol.
yes, cool, I know about the demo and believe you forgot to give House props for kicking most most of your examples’ demo butts. It’s just that the total viewer ranking is the one that’s been long dominated by CSI. CSI itself hasn’t won the demo crown lately.
Quoting Catherine:
“She had Will Smith. He always pulls in the viewers.”
IMHO, the BW special garnered the 18-49 hit rating because of Will Smith, not because of Barbara herself. Perhaps Ms. O’Donnell needs to run a variety special with Will Smith, Miley Cyrus, and other fascinating younger people – instead of Liza
?
Interesting that Survivor, now eight years old, continues to beat all the hot new shows that ABC and NBC throws at the early hour. Survivor continues to beat them in total viewers and in your cherished demographics. Not bad for a show that is clearly aging. I remember when CBS moved Survivor to Thursday nights, I thought it was a terrible idea. Guess they actually knew what they were doing.
Wow With CSI lower than normal The Mentalist and NCIS are going to be the most watched Programs of the week…Both had over 18.5 Million watching…Interesting…
Kath & Kim is simply dreadful. I actually watched it for the first 3 weeks and I can’t say anything remotely positive about it. It MIGHT have worked a few years back in the “era of excess”, but any more this show just reminds us of what type of society we had become. It almost plays out like a documentary on what may be looked back on as a disgusting time period in the U.S.
NBC, when are you going to deliver us to the Promise Land and put Top Gear America on?!?!
The Mentalist was better when they called it Dragnet.
What up with Kitsch-N Nightmares? Why is that still on the air? Doesnt Hell Kitchen inflate Gordon Ramsay’s ego enough?
Why do so many YUTES watch Barbara Walters? Thats a mystery beyond time and space.
I don’t understand how CSI, with 18 million viewers, can get a 4.6 rating while The Office, a show with half the audience, gets a 4.3
Kevin, CSI had 17 million+ total viewers. Its 4.6 rating was *only* the rating among 18-49 year olds. CSI had a higher rating in terms of people (and households) but since we’re already listing the number of viewers we don’t publish the total household/people ratings.
CSI had more viewers and many more viewers 50 and over than The Office. In very round numbers, only 1/3rd of CSI’s audience is age 18-49, while around 75% of The Offices audience is 18-49.
Why all the spin concerning the ratings for 30 Rock? The operative story, JMO, is that despite all of the uber-hype, it still LOSES viewers from The Office, the program which precedes it and which, despite getting much less marketing time from NBC, gets higher ratings.
And why all the breathless amazement concerning the fact that 30 Rock has increased its numbers over last year’s? When you start from “abysmal — scraping the bottom,” it doesn’t take much to improve on it.
The show was great when it first went on the air and Buck Henry was helping to write it. Sadly, it has gone into steep decline in quality since. Although last night’s downright flaunting of its contempt for the audience did have a certain entertaining quality to it. Considering that the koolaid drinkers don’t even realize that they’re among those being mocked. JMO.
i agree there Alicia. 30 Rock is going to continue to fall though. It could continue to fall depending on how The Office does after it airs outside of the Super Bowl
Alicia, are you Marc Berman’s sister? I’m only breathlessly amazed at your myopia (based on numbers, not quality of the show — I actually liked it more when Buck was writing, too).
The numbers are so much better than last year from just about every metric. in relative terms, it is now NBC’s third best scripted program season-to-date among 18-49 year olds.
It only retains almost 80% of NBC’s number one scripted show among 18-49 year olds? Oh boo hoo. This week that will still make it NBC’s 3rd best 18-49 year old program.
While not breathlessly amazed, I am impressed. From going from a show that if cancelled, nobody (including Bill or I) would’ve blinked to NBC’s third best scripted show among 18-49 year olds is pretty impressive.
Alicia, I couldn’t disagree with you more both on the ratings and the quality of 30 Rock. No, the show doesn’t get higher ratings than The Office. Was it ever expected to? The key was that the show needed to improve its ratings to where it was at least a solid performer, and it has done that. For the network its on, 30 Rock is doing very well this season.
As far as the quality is concerned, you’re certainly entitled to your opinion. I don’t agree with you at all. The show has only improved since Season 1, and it’s definitely one of the funniest shows on TV.
Perhaps less likely than Berman sisterhood, but could it be that Alicia is a closet Hokie evidencing some college rivalry hatred vs. Tina Fey (Virginia ‘92)?
Wahoowa!
I’m stunned CSI was so low this week. It seemed to me to be an all out attack on and slam against American Idol. You could not help but come to that conclusion based upon all the things they were saying. The evidence consisted of; one sleezy executive producer, three finalist contestants, one a white male, the other a black female, and the third was a kid named Anjaya (priceless- lol). Along with the show title, Overnight Sensation, and accusations of the show purposefully humiliating people for ratings, there was no way to not know where they were going with this episode. The CSI gang really hit that one out of the park and they seemed to delight in it. Give that episode a golden ticket. It was both brazen and hilarious!
Equally outstanding was the entire lineup on ABC last night. Ugly Betty doesn’t get the Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives ratings for some reason, but when it comes down to great writing they are right up there with the best scripted shows. With its incessant wittiness and intrigue, at times UB beats Desperate Housewives writing, and in the dramedy category that is asking for the impossible. Last night was a showcase of cleverness in the areas of plot and humor. I still believe that if the overall tone of Pushing Daises hadn’t been so abstract, it would have been able to pull Ugly Betty type numbers and won the 8pm time slot on Wednesdays. Nonetheless, on a highly competitive night, Ugly Betty is still one of the highest rated shows and I can’t imagine that ABC would even be considering getting rid of it.
Finally, I’m starting to realize ABC might strike gold with Private Practice after Grey’s. Barbara Walters pulled one of the biggest audiences that hour has seen all season on any network. If Private Practice can develop into the solid drama that GA is, obviously the viewers are there and waiting for something to motivate them to want to watch tv at 10pm.
I like Kath and Kim……..not as much as The Office, but it’s really good. I realize it probably won’t last after this season though.
alicia,
I think it’s because nobody expects a show airing at 9:30 to build on it’s lead in. Networks put their strongest shows in the first half hour. Nobody expects 30 Rock to build on The Office. That will never happen. Holding 85% of the viewers is pretty great (especially compared to past shows that held that spot.)
Also to consider, look at the lead out retention of other networks top shows:
Life on Mars after Greys Anatomy: 52%
Bros & Sis after Housewives: 64%
Fringe after House: 73%
Worst Week after TAHM: 67%
So yeah 85% is significant.
And to the fact that it didn’t take much to improve. You’re right. But you could say the same to any other show on NBC right now. The fact is 30 Rock’s average this season is 2 million above last season’s. That’s 132% of last years audience. And considering every other returning show on NBC besides ER are down this season: huge. (What’s ER’s lead in? (Just kidding, I know it’s ‘last season hype’ or whatever))
Gaining 2 million viewers on a network that’s falling fast? Kudos are in order.
Also, NBC has spent way more money on promoting The Office. Maybe not during October/November. But overall. Remember the big Olympic campaign? Just wait till you see the post-Superbowl campaign.
Thanks Robert, for explaining the demos to me!
I am impressed that 30 Rock is holding steady with these numbers, and hopefully they remain firm.
Kyle,
I think Ugly Betty has a chance…It’s in the middle range of all ABC shows. Its not too low or crazy high but a good medium. I really hope it stays for another season. ABC has already axed 3 primetime shows…I dont know what else they might do but Ugly Betty must stay. The writing and message of the show is immpecable.
Ugly Betty is the ONLY comedy that does well on ABC. Not to mention it has a very loyal audience and this season is amazing now that Sylvia Horta is running it again. It has at least another 2 seasons!
Bri, even though Samantha Who? has slightly better season to date ratings for adults 18-49 I’d agree that Ugly Betty is ABC’s strongest (ratings) comedy. No way would SW? do Ugly Betty’s numbers if their time slots were reversed.
If SW? led off a night it would get According to Jim numbers
SW? got ATJ demo numbers even with a lead-in this week.
So without a lead in SW? would do what? Pushing Daisies demo numbers?
“Kyle, ABC has so many other problems that Ugly Betty is a success for them right now. This show will be around for 2 more seasons at least.”
Agreed!!!
when is medium going to return to help out the dying network?
CSI is getting boring. I think its starting to fade.
Medium returns February 2.
CSI getting boring? You should have noticed that after the third ep of the first season when you realize it’s a reset-show. It resets itself after every episode making every episode the same. Like way too many shows on tv right now. It’s like going back to the dark ages.
A) I don’t think the youths much cared about Barbara Walters. I’m pretty sure they were tuning in to see Tina Fey, Will Smith, and Barack Obama. Maybe Sarah Palin too.
B) It’s going to be so nice not to have to worry anymore about 30 Rock getting renewed.
@ Alicia: And yet you continue to watch a show suffering a ’steep decline in quality?’ … And you accuse others of ‘drinking the kool-aid?’
@ Bill Gorman: Wahoowa indeed! Go Hoos!
Where are the new ratings for Friday’s shows like ghost whisperer.
The thing that bothers me about 30 Rock is that there seems to be a mission in the entertainment press to ram it down people’s throats.
When it first started, it was my favorite show. The very obvious decline in the quality of its writing would have made me root for it to be great again. Except that all of my good will is being drained away by press reports not only describing The Naked Emporer’s outfits but actually labeling them in florid detail as couture.
I resent the spin. The first episode of this season was awful. Why didn’t the press say so. Isn’t that their job? They are not supposed to be publicity hacks.
The episode with Jennifer Aniston was 3rd lowest in the ratings for the night. Even after all of the endless hype. Granted, it was a well-written episode, but the obvious story was that Movie-star Aniston could not pull in the numbers. But I think you had to go to India Press to read that.
Tina Fey is a talented performer, and seems to be a genuinely nice person. But as a writer, for me at least she falls short. SNL was mostly awful during her reign as head writer.
I think NBC has decided that 30 Rock is the new Seinfeld and is determined to make people believe it. The heck with the quality of the writing.
Alicia, Robert and I rarely deal with the “quality” of the shows. That’s entirely subjective and you (and everybody else) are entitled to your opinion. However, the idea that people can become viewers of a show because it was somehow “forced” on them is just plain silly. First of all, very few viewers (on a % basis) of these shows ever read any kind of review from the entertainment media. Second, and most important, is that people like what they like and watch what they like, simple as that.
Quote: However, the idea that people can become viewers of a show because it was somehow “forced” on them is just plain silly.
Yes, I see your point. And, sorry, I was being more than a little clumsy in trying to make mine.
But isn’t that what the principles of advertising are all about? Especially surround-sound advertising? “Persuasion,” to use the euphemism.
Keep repeating the same message over and over until people start believing it. And granted, “people like what they like and watch what they like,” but a statistically significant portion of the population apparently also cares about sitting at the cool-kids table in the cafeteria.
So that if the network marketing and the entertainment press cooperate to create a momentum of “buzz,” they hope that enough viewers will jump on to ride the wave.
However, I think what I am really cranky about is that there no longer seems to be, for the most part, any independent entertainment press. And no marketplace of differing opinions. Because of conglomerates, they end up all being owned by the same companies. JMHO.
“However, I think what I am really cranky about is that there no longer seems to be, for the most part, any independent entertainment press. And no marketplace of differing opinions. Because of conglomerates, they end up all being owned by the same companies. JMHO.”
What are we? Chopped Liver?
Edit: Indeed, closer to chopped liver than not perhaps.