NBC’s weekly primetime average viewership fell below 6 million average viewers for the week, a dramatically low number approaching the level of Spanish language Univision in every demo category. Except in the adults 18-34 demo, where NBC finished behind Univision. Let the Ben Silverman pink slip watch continue!
In other news, of course, Fox continued to win the adult demo groups, and CBS again beat Fox for the most average viewers in the week of March 16-22, 2009, the 26th week of the 2008-9 season.
CBS’s average viewership of 11.49 million beat second place Fox by 1.21 million average viewers, but in the demos it was a different story. For demo adults 18-49 it was Fox over CBS by 5.01 million to 4.48 million. It is noteworthy that CBS, which some see as entirely viewed by geriatrics, has been far more competitive in the 18-49 demo this season.
Fox won demo adults 25-54 over CBS by 5.50 million to 5.14 million viewers. In adults 18-34, is was Fox with 2.18 million,above second place CBS with 1.80 million.
Tiny Network Smackdown Update! Again, the CW had no problem with its tiny rival MyNet, leaving it in the dust across the board this week. I stand corrected, it’s more accurate to say to say that CW edged MyNet in average viewers for the week by just 80,000, but had relatively comfortable margins in the adult demos.
You can see past week’s broadcast network primetime weekly ratings results here.
(click chart for full sized image)
Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
Most worrisome for NBC is that 18-34 category where they are usually slightly competitive. They were just trounced across the board this week. ABC is doing miles better, but still trails CBS significantly in the demo.
Everything is cyclical. Let’s not forget where FOX and ABC were just a few years back. So this story doesn’t really surprise or panic me.
If I’m not mistaken, FOX was deep in the doldrums in the couple of years leading up to the debut of American Idol, and then it was ABC’s turn and ABC spent a few years, up until recently, in deep doldrums. Now it’s NBC’s turn.
Every network has its turn to struggle to find the right combination of hit shows and viewers. NBC will rebound and CBS will be next probably.
My whole adult life, I’ve always leaned much more towards NBC, but now my NBC viewing is down to just 30 Rock, The Office and ER. That’s it.
Alan, You’re partially right. The networks have gone through some serious dips in the past and recovered well. The problem is, NBC doesn’t seem to be trying to come back. Zucker’s given up on NBC ever being a top network again.
Alan, I’d agree with your long term assessment completely (here’s my cyclical eras post) if NBC was still “in the game” so to speak.
But 5 hours are going to Leno next fall, and Jeff Zucker has given up ever being #1 again. It’s a slipperly slope between “given up being #1″ and “#4 is OK”.
How true, Holly. Couldn’t have said it any better. Why Universal hasn’t bounced this clown yet, I have no idea. I don’t remember NBC being in phenomenal shape in the 1970’s, then they opened a little bar in Boston, dropped in on a pediatrician and lawyer with 4 kids, hit the mean streets of Chicago, talked about nothing, and found people that would be there for you.
A network can certainly come back, they just need the right person at the helm.
NBC can make a comeback, they did so back in the 80s with The Cosby Show and Cheers and continued this success with Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier, ER and Will and Grace. They need to get rid of Zucker and Silverman and replace them swiftly.
I know Bonnie Hammer isn’t popular with most people but I believe she could turn NBC around if given the job. The fact that USA is number 1 constanly with strong originals and WWE Raw.
I don’t know if NBC needs a management change or simply a consistent concept/message on what it is and where it wants to go.
If they’re chasing the bottom line profit over ratings why commit to another season of Heroes for example? That’s going to lose them a lot of money unless by some miracle the ratings rebound spectacularly next year. The only reason to renew Heroes right now is to try and get a passable demo average. And why if you’re chasing the bottom line profit would you commission and spend so much money on Kings?
There doesn’t seem to be a clear or consistent idea of what NBC is anymore.
Yes, I do agree that Zucker’s comments were awful. If I was on NBC’s board I would not be happy with that defeatist attitude. NBC does seem to be wandering aimlessly right now, so I think a change at the top is needed, and probably coming.
I wonder what Jack Donaghy, NBC’s head of “Late Night and Microwave Oven programming” on 30 Rock would do?
Alex, I agree with what you mentioned. The other networks do seem to have a certain niche whereas NBC seems a little muddled. CBS is the crime and comedy network, ABC is the female network, FOX is the young adult network with a slight skew to male and The CW is the teen girl network.
Jon, NBC is the “Return on Investment” network. Benefit to Zucker with that is, no public information on how he’s doing!
There is absolutely no excuse for this to happen in a year where NBC ha dthe Sumemr Olympics AND the Super Bowl.
…NBC programs like I type.
Bill, just laughed at ‘Return on Investment’ remark, it’s the perfect description of NBC run by Zucker and Silverman.
“Everything is cyclical. Let’s not forget where FOX and ABC were just a few years back. So this story doesn’t really surprise or panic me.”
Agree, but with one ominous caveat. The cycles keep getting lower – at top and bottom – for the broadcasters. So when a broadcaster bottoms out nowadays, it’s really in the dumpster. At least a bottoming broadcaster – among the big four, anyway – still beats the top cable networks. But ten, twenty years from now? We’ll see. Who knows if over-the-air broadcasting will still even make much sense?
“It is noteworthy that CBS, which some see as entirely viewed by geriatrics, has been far more competitive in the 18-49 demo this season.”
This puts me among the geriatrics. Excuse me while I select my coffin (just kidding, I hope).
“Again, the CW had no problem with its tiny rival MyNet, leaving it in the dust across the board this week.”
1.94 million viewers vs. 1.86 million viewers is leaving it in the dust? I agree in other categories, but in terms of viewers, its quite close.
!Hola!
Has Univision ever beat NBC for a week among Adults 18-49? Seems like that will be quite a milestone. If it doesn’t happen this year it’ll happen when Leno goes to 10pm.
RJ, I admit to economizing on copy, the viewer numbers were not dust-worthy.
Update: I have new copy that more accurately describes the weeks results between CW and MyNet.
GE is going to step in soon. They will praise the pair for plugging holes in the ship, etc. Then they’ll say “it’s time the Network moved in a new direction and,” but it won’t be Bonnie. That wouldn’t be smart.
Nick, is that just an educated guess, or are there really rumblings that time is nearly up? Fingers crossed it really is!
Julia, yeah I’ve heard a few things. They’re not as built up in momentum as the CW things I’m hearing, but it’s a start. At best they have one season left, but I think we may get a change over the summer.
Why Silverman? Why not can Jeff Zucker…the man’s career has been about failing upward. NBC went from #1 to #5!!!! during his reign of terror.
Scavenger, they both need to go.
^ Who’s going to can him? GE should get out of the entertainment biz anyway.
I just noticed that FOX skews older in the 50+ category than CBS. So which is really the geriatric network?
Leno will save the network! Regis did it for ABC with MILLIONAIRE…right?
The ROI comment has merit. Corporations are less about ego and more about profit. It’s better to be number 4 and profitable than number 1 and not. An inexpensive show with marginal numbers that makes money is better for the bottom line than an expensive hit with little profit. NBC makes money on Heroes and is betting this cost/profit margin makes money with Leno. I read the ‘we won’t be number 1′ as sort of another way of saying this. I’d NBC’s bottom line is good, Silverman and Zucker are going no where.
NBC makes money on Heroes
It does?
Everyone is so wrong about how NBC is viewed in GE’s eyes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/business/media/23marketplace.html
Sanker34, NBCU is actually doing well, but that’s because of USA, SciFi, and their other cable outlets, NOT because of NBC. The success of the cable nets is covering for NBC’s drop.
The GE debate really comes down to one simple question, what does GE want from NBC? Do they want a network powerhouse at any cost or do they want a profitable entity? If they’re looking at NBC from a pure business perspective then I imagine the Zucker/Silverman ‘bottom line’ agenda is something they like the sound of and assuming it actually produces profit or gets them closer to doing so then neither man is going anywhere. If however GE actually cares about the ratings and wants NBC to be the network leader then it would seem a safe bet that Zucker is on his way out after claiming that NBC will never be number one again and I would assume that whoever replaces Zucker would want to get rid of Silverman as well.
As I said previously though I think the real problem at NBC is that they just don’t know what they are, what they’re doing or where they’re going. There’s absolutely no consistency in what their agenda is when it comes to ratings vs. profits and at times it looks like there are multiple different agendas and philosophies at work that aren’t remotely synched up.
Green lighting Kings and the commitment to renew Heroes are just two examples that are completely at odds with the reasoning given for moving Leno to 10. Ending ER (which I’d guess is still profitable) is another one. There just doesn’t seem to be a consistent and agreed upon direction for NBC’s future. Even the shows they commission don’t really see to fit and sync up. There’s identity and there’s no direction its all just sort of there.
Based on Alex’s post, I have to ask, like Tony Stark, “I say, is it too much to ask for both?”
By that I mean, it seems to me that if you’re number 4 and profitable, you’re likely to slip to number 5 and UNprofitable sooner or later.
It’s like an old boss of mine used to say. He would tell me he’d settle for 85% of a project working. I told him if you don’t reach for 100% (or more), you’re more likely to end up with 15% instead of 85%.
So if NBC doesn’t TRY to be number one – or at least number two – they’re likely to end up number five and unprofitable, not number four and profitable.
It seems to me that business is not an environment where you can “fine grain” your strategy so that you end up at a specific place. It’s too volatile – especially network broadcasting.
Richard both isn’t too much to ask for over the short term it is however too much to ask for over the long term. None of the networks have (so far) been able to sustain both major ratings power with major profits. As has been said already here its all cyclical – each networks ratings go up and go down that’s just the way it is. So in terms of securing NBC’s long term future in a rapidly changing business the bottom line agenda is arguably more successful than shooting for ratings glory. Unlike some here and seemingly the folks at NBC though I don’t think the bottom line and ratings are two mutually exclusive concepts although I will pre-emotively admit that the way NBC is currently handling it makes the two mutually exclusive.
As I’ve said before I think NBC needs to make a run of good-great shows and decontaminate their brand. There’s no reason why any of those shows have to be expensive (like Kings or Heroes) or even all scripted. If Leno moves to 10 and is funny and entertaining it doesn’t matter if the show cost $100 a night or $100 million a night because the word of mouth and the critical response will be it was good.
What NBC needs to decide is where the tipping point is so they can create a balance between a search for ratings and a search for profit.
Most of the NBC shows commisioned by Silverman seem like pet projects which were doomed to failure like Knight Rider, Kath & Kim which was a project developed by his former studio Reveille, Crusoe which was a UK/Africa co-production which saved money but probably never would have worked on Broadcast TV and Kings a David and Goliath Story which could have worked but was shunted to 8pm. It will be interesting if the summer shows work but I’m not holding my breath.
NBC should go back to basics and develop multi-camera comedies which may not bring in the acclaim but could be a firm favourite, medical or crime procedurals and maybe families dramas.
This is the network that gave us The Cosby Show, Seinfeld, Friends, Miami Vice, ER, The A-Team and The Tonight Show ET AL.
What happening?
I have to agree with Alex.And one whole point behind ABC IS a crash. They may end up losing the demo this year to ABC after having a decent edge ( only the Olympics? ) Leno at ten every night was throwing in the white towel for all to see. And I have to figure the imminent shakeup at ABC is a move to clear out dead weight and not a panic reaction. ABC has consistently taken risks for five years now – Lost, DH, GA. They have a winning formula, have the momentum and have just about finished off the crippled antelope – NBC. With that level of commitment, they may be eyeing Fox in their next five year plan.
At this rate, after having a decent lead over ABC in the year-to-year demo race, NBC may lose it to them. It WAS a demo crash last week. The 2004-2005 gambles paid off: those ABC hits have simply built a loyal follwing with hour-long dramas. In the present environment, if that’s not gold, it also aint hay.
Well, Alex, I might tend to agree with you, BUT it seems to me that looking at the “long term” is pretty much a waste of time for a network anyway. That seems to be what you’re saying. If the industry is cyclical, why worry about the “long term” at all?
I haven’t followed the ups and downs (although I am aware of having heard that the networks do swap places every few seasons in the rankings). So I don’t know whether it’s possible for them to do the balance you suggest as a decent goal, but that’s kind of what I was suggesting in my post: that NBC strive to have decent enough ratings that they’re more likely to be profitable than not.
I think the two concepts – ratings and profitability – are related. I mean, advertisers want to advertise on popular shows, right? So it’s hard to argue that emphasizing profits over ratings means you’re going to always be profitable, especially when your ratings are tanking.
It just seems ridiculous to me to emphasize one over the other.
I CAN see not trying to be number one every season over the profitability. But accepting being number four is not a good idea. Striving for number 2 or even 3 is a better idea.
Also, historically the “Big Three” were ABC, CBS and NBC. Admitting you’re no longer in the top three doesn’t bode well for NBC. So they really SHOULD be trying to stay in the top three, not in fourth place.
Again, it’s not an either-or dichotomy. They need to be concerned with both.
Richard I don’t think I expressed myself especially well.
In terms of securing the long term future of NBC shooting for ratings glory isn’t something that I think is realistic or achievable and not only because historically no network has been able to sustain ratings momentum indefinitely but also because the industry as a whole is changing. New media is opening up and cable is continuing to expand and both are eating into and will continue to eat into traditional ratings success. In contrast I think NBC can realistically hope to achieve sustained profit margins if they’re prepared to take a long term view and make the right decisions.
At a time when the industry is changing and network television is becoming smaller breaking away from the traditional model of ‘ratings glory or nothing’ isn’t a bad concept as long as you know what you’re doing and have a long term direction. I will admit that NBC’s execution of their bottom line agenda has been horribly reactionary and lacks any obvious direction long or short term. Right now NBC should be setting themselves up as the leader in new media – we’re not overtly focused on the ratings because we’re aggressively expanding and targeting new media expansion because we know in x number of years that’s how success is going to be measured. Instead what they’re doing seems to amount to, we’re not doing well in the ratings so we’ll say we don’t care.
What’s missing with NBC’s bottom line agenda is the ‘this is where we’re going and this is how we’re going to get there’
The renewal of Heroes right now makes no sense in the bottom line agenda because its become a black hole of money but perhaps in terms of where NBC wants to go Heroes is something they feel they can push to get them there? If we had any concept of where NBC was going or they at least seemed to have some idea of where they were going it would feel and look a little better. But right now nothing really meshes or falls into place and they seem to be making everything up as they go.
As a long term view implementing a bottom line agenda isn’t bad as long as it’s coupled with a long term vision.
Of course all of that is irrelevant right now because what NBC needs more than anything else is to decontaminate the brand. Regardless of where they go if people don’t stop associating the network with bad shows they’re going to fail.
they need to fire zucker’s ass and get some new blood
NBC does have a few quality shows left — they just can’t figure out what to do with the quality they’ve got. Prime examples: Scubs, Chuck and Friday Night Lights. Scrubs is must-view for me, but NBC moved it all over the place – eventually to another network! Chuck and Friday Night Lights are my two top shows right now, but both have suffered from time slot and promo issues. NBC promotes the heck out of them — in all the wrong places and ways.