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| Total Viewers (million) | 16.65 | 10.97 | 10.12 | 7.78 | 6.11 | 3.46 |
| Rating/Share: Adults 18-49 | 6.1/16 | 3.8/10 | 3.5/9 | 3.1/9 | 2.6/7 | 1.4/4 |
| Rating/Share: Adults 18-34 | 4.7/14 | 3.4/10 | 2.7/8 | 2.9/9 | 2.9/8 | 1.4/4 |
The bump to Thursday by the American Idol results show assured Fox of sweeping victory, but the 18-49 demo battle for second was closer than usual with ABC topping CBS who beat NBC, but all were within a demo point of each other. ABC’s In the Motherhood premiered with an 18-49 rating of 2.1, similar to recent airings of Ugly Betty without Idol, but above what Betty did vs. Idol. It will be interesting to see how Motherhood does without Idol next week.
Fox’s results for the night with the American Idol/Hell’s Kitchen combo were nearly identical to the last time Idol visited Thursday. That same story played out at CBS as this weeks NCAA Basketball Tournament regional semifinals averaged very close to last week’s first round.
On NBC, My Name is Earl was battered by the shifted Idol, dropping 20% in the 18-49 demo from last week. But all the other original episodes on the night for The Office, 30 Rock and E.R. were up from last week. ABC was up on the night, as Grey’s Anatomy improved 10% in the 18-49 demo from last week and Private Practice was steady. The CW’s Smallville and Supernatural were close to last week’s numbers. And Univision had a huge night with Premio Lo Nuestro.
Note that because of the live NCAA basketball, all CBS fast affiliate results are approximate and subject to revision, see below for more information.
For reference you can check out past Thursday night fast affiliate ratings reports here.
Full details:
| Time | Net | Show | Viewers Live+SD (000) | 18-49 Rating | 18-49 Share | 18-34 Rating | 18-34 Share |
| 8:00 | FOX | American Idol | 20,611 | 6.8 | 20 | 5.2 | 17 |
| CBS | NCAA Basketball | 8,577 | 2.8 | 8 | 2.1 | 7 | |
| ABC | In the Motherhood (premiere) | 6,720 | 2.1 | 6 | 1.9 | 6 | |
| UNI | Premio Lo Nuestro | 6,053 | 2.5 | 7 | 2.7 | 9 | |
| NBC | My Name is Earl | 5,870 | 2.0 | 6 | 1.5 | 5 | |
| CW | Smallville | 3,489 | 1.4 | 4 | 1.4 | 5 | |
| 8:30 | FOX | American Idol | 24,096 | 8.1 | 21 | 6.1 | 18 |
| CBS | NCAA Basketball | 9,709 | 3.3 | 9 | 2.5 | 8 | |
| ABC | Samantha Who? | 6,531 | 2.1 | 6 | 1.7 | 5 | |
| UNI | Premio Lo Nuestro | 6,270 | 2.6 | 7 | 2.9 | 9 | |
| NBC | The Office (repeat) | 4,874 | 2.1 | 5 | 2.1 | 6 | |
| CW | Smallville | 3,989 | 1.6 | 4 | 1.7 | 5 | |
| 9:00 | ABC | Grey’s Anatomy | 15,078 | 5.1 | 12 | 4.6 | 12 |
| FOX | Hell’s Kitchen | 12,021 | 5.0 | 12 | 3.9 | 10 | |
| CBS | NCAA Basketball | 11,416 | 3.8 | 9 | 2.8 | 8 | |
| NBC | The Office | 8,445 | 4.3 | 11 | 5.2 | 14 | |
| UNI | Premio Lo Nuestro | 6,576 | 2.9 | 7 | 3.2 | 9 | |
| CW | Supernatural | 3,264 | 1.2 | 3 | 1.2 | 3 | |
| 9:30 | ABC | Grey’s Anatomy | 16,545 | 5.8 | 14 | 5.2 | 14 |
| CBS | NCAA Basketball | 10,524 | 3.7 | 9 | 2.8 | 8 | |
| FOX | Hell’s Kitchen | 9,868 | 4.5 | 11 | 3.5 | 9 | |
| NBC | 30 Rock | 7,173 | 3.4 | 8 | 3.7 | 10 | |
| UNI | Premio Lo Nuestro | 6,521 | 2.9 | 7 | 3.2 | 8 | |
| CW | Supernatural | 3,083 | 1.2 | 3 | 1.1 | 3 | |
| 10:00 | ABC | Private Practice | 11,147 | 4.1 | 10 | 3.7 | 11 |
| CBS | NCAA Basketball | 10,368 | 3.7 | 9 | 3.0 | 9 | |
| NBC | E.R. | 9,758 | 3.5 | 9 | 2.5 | 7 | |
| UNI | Premio Lo Nuestro | 5,889 | 2.6 | 7 | 2.8 | 8 | |
| 10:30 | NBC | E.R. | 10,568 | 3.6 | 10 | 2.5 | 8 |
| CBS | NCAA Basketball | 10,118 | 3.7 | 10 | 3.1 | 9 | |
| ABC | Private Practice | 9,803 | 3.5 | 9 | 3.1 | 9 | |
| UNI | Premio Lo Nuestro | 5,338 | 2.3 | 6 | 2.7 | 8 |
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Shows are sorted by viewers in each time slot.
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
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 and Numbers 102.
good for Motherhood & SW? im guessing they’ll both survive to next season they can only increase next week without idol
plus ABC is holding back 5 episodes of SW? and 7 episodes of Motherhood for next season which will make next season cheaper for ABC
Motherhood, Samantha, and Ted may all get axed… or renewed. they are all roughly as strong/weak as each other. i am just surprised that Samantha didnt grow vs Motherhood. perhaps next week and onward it will since it wont have to go against idol’s elimination half hour.
yes but Survivor and Bones are back and GA/PP are repeats so they dont have a lead out.
In The Motherhood did better than Samantha in 18-34, I’d of hoped they would both flop. Maybe Ugly Betty is to be put on Tuesdays?
T, considering the reviews for ITM, I would be VERY surprised if it grows next week, Idol or not.
i think Ted is a gonner for sure Motherhood and Samantha do good with their target female audience
Earl beaten by an Office repeat, not good.
I don’t know that Motherhood and Samantha will increase next week. No Idol then, but they’ll probably be promoted less, and viewership typically drops for second episodes of new shows (which it will be for Motherhood). Was either show any good? Not that I plan to watch anyway. I hate comedies.
NCAA all the way baby!!! With the great matchups and exciting games I REALLY question the low demo ratings. Everyone is talking about their brackets and plays from the games…don’t get the ratings shown
GA and Private Practice make a nice little duo on Thursdays, I bet Practice is back in the same slot next year as ABC hasn’t had the greatest luck with GA as a lead in.
It will be interesting to see what happens with In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? next week. They won’t be up against AI, but they will be up against ER.
Very interested to see what happens with ER next week. I’m actually more excited for the 1 hour retrospective than I am the 2 hour finale.
T, are you guessing about the female demo?
I still think SW? remains, just based on the fact that its average is artificially inflated due to DWTS. ABC can’t cancel everything. But I don’t see ITM or BOT surviving. Especially if Surviving Suburbia does well after DWTS.
What happened with ER & PP switching in 1/2 an hour?
Did Idol overrun as Hell’s Kitchen dropped from 12m to 9.8m which is a steep drop but is probably expected.
CBS has the 200th episode of CSI so it will be interesting how it fares against the final episode of ER.
Chris, PP’s first half hour has a couple minutes of Grey’s in it, which boosts its numbers.
Grey’s and Office were BOTH up from last week despite an increase from the Idol fueled Hell’s Kitchen. NBC’s results from the ER finale next week will be very interesting and also the following week with Office/Parks/Office/30Rock/Southland. Also that same Thursday is the premiere of Harper’s Island. Thursdays will be interesting over the next few weeks.
well Samantha retains DWTS better than other shows ABC has tried out in that time slot (Miss/Guided ) it will be interesting to see how Surviving Suberbia does after DWTS
Motherhood / SW? had a 2.9 Among women 18-49, according to media life
Fin, yes Office repeats are about as strong as Earl originals. they have also been trouncing the numbers Kath and Kim was getting there. i don’t know why they didnt pull the trigger on office repeats there sooner.
In The Motherhood did much better than I would have predicted of course it’ll likely drop next week regardless. But I agree that the next few Thursday’s should be interesting across the board with everything that’s lined up for them – NBC might actually win the night next week and I bet they’ll care about ratings then!
On an NBC Thursday note, I think the axe might be falling on Earl this year. Not because of these vs. Idol numbers but as things stand Earl is the obvious weak link in the otherwise strong Thursday night for NBC. They’ve got to be wondering if they can slot something else in and have it do better and up the average for the night, especially if Parks does well when it debuts.
128 Office repeats are stronger than a lot of the NBC primetime line-up.
boomdizzle2, those ratings are nearly identical to the second Thursday ratings for the NCAA tournament last year.
T., ITM and SW? were both second to Idol in female demos for their period (third if you include the Univision show). But the NCAA tournament isn’t a women demo magnet.
ITM had a 2.9 for W18-49 and a 2.6 for W18-34.
SW? had a 3.0 for W18-49 and a 2.4 for W18-34.
Sam did much beter than I thought. With 3 months of hiatus I’m glad it held up its 6 million viewers. I don’t see it getting canned…I can definitely see a 3rd season but I think it will probably be the ”final” season. (hopefully)
Stupid ABC can’t afford to lose too many shows at once b/c they are heading downhill miserably…they must’ve learned a thing or two from Daisies.
But that Better Of Ted show is definitely a gonner..that gets like 4 million.
Here’s Betty’s female demos from last week:
W18-34 (2.8/9), W18-49 (3.0/9) and W25-54 (3.6/10)
My Name is Earl is tanking too. scrubs does better in the demos on abc on wednesdays. i think earl will be cancelled this season or next.
Rick, I agree that MNIE should be canceled, but it’s not really fair to compare it to a show on a different night and a different network.
well i only compared them because they used to air on the same net in the same comedy block. plus the competition this week was very similar both shows faced idol. scrubs is a better show too
GA did a great job, the episode was fantastic last night. Bill do you think ratings can go up even more next season?
I hope In the Motherhood maintains a strong audience… I watched it and it’s a well written show… MUCH better than Better off Ted.
I think Motherhood and SW will both get full 2nd/3rd seasons.
aleph19, odds are always against a ratings increase in general for any veteran show, but it’s not out of the question, look at NCIS this season.
Okay, question about the Office repeat. With both a repeat and a new episode, it seems like the show can pull 60% of its new episode audience, and gather half the 18-49 demo. I’m assuming that this is the standard by which NBC is grading every scripted show it has on repeat-viewing potential, correct?
FrankJ, its not clear to me how repeat performance is judged by networks. It has to be somehow taken into account. The Renew/Cancel Index I do by default takes it into account since those averages include in-slot repeats, but since the average includes both new and repeat data, it’s hard to separate their effects.
quality wise i agree with Mathew Motherhood was surprisingly much better than Better off Ted i’ll give it at least another episode
Don’t forget whenever it was that NBC tried to do two hours of The Office on Saturdays and they got like 3 million viewers and low, low demos. Though I don’t recall when that was, it always helps to have a new episode airing right after The Office repeat.
Oops, I meant Sundays, not Saturdays!
Well folks! this should be the last proving point that its time for networks to get back to traditional multi-cam sitcoms and it starts next week with Surviving Suburbia on ABC. Thank God!
In the Motherhood’s numbers were terrible for a premiere and Samantha Why She Still on Air? is very lead-in dependent and had it led off the night, Earl probably would’ve crushed it.
One more week until we lose a TV legend and then NBC is really in trouble. ER should be great as its the only thing worth watching on Thursday Nights on this network now in days.
Really weird that ALL the comedies on ABC are having almost the same numbers:
Demos:
Scrubs: 2.1
In the Motherhood: 2.1
Samantha Who?: 2.1
Better Off Ted: 1.8
Viewers:
In the Motherhood: 6.72
Samantha Who?: 6.53
Scrubs: 5.27
Better Off Tedd: 4.60
I hope Surving Suburbia hits and they go with only multicamera comedies next fall.
cool, you’re speaking my language. I’m hearing from a lot of people that they can’t wait to see Surviving Suburbia and the single-cams on their network have performed worse and worse after they heard the multi-cams are coming back.
I think Surviving Suburbia is going to start off a little rough since there’s some competition from CBS that first week with the NCAA Championship but the next week it should perform better but it goes against the successful Rules of Engagement on CBS which is another multi-cam for the only network that’s responsible for their comeback.
Motherhood got horrible reviews. If the show was as bad as everybody says, I doubt it can keep the numbers it got for the premiere. I bet it drops like a rock next episode.
the Office beat Grey’s in the 18-34 demo for the second (?) time this season, and was less than a half point behind Idol. If NBC can get just a little of this to spread to Parks i’m sure they will be pleased, and it will ease the pain of losing ER.
apparently TSCC’s sets have been destroyed
http://www.fmqinc.com/terminator-cancelled/
Pocket, “I’m hearing from a lot of people that they can’t wait to see Surviving Suburbia and the single-cams on their network have performed worse and worse after they heard the multi-cams are coming back.”
That cause and effect makes absolutely no sense. Many things may be causing the ratings decline for certain single-cam sitcoms, but the future premieres of multi-cam sitcoms are not one of them.
I am absolutely stunned In the Motherhood and Samantha Who did that well against Idol. I was expecting to see 3’s and 4’s today in total viewership. I will have to check it out this weekend on the dvr. We had to negotiate our tv schedule last night. We watched one hour of the Idol vote off show, one hour of Grey’s Anatomy, dvr’ed Private Practice, and watched Villanova beat the wheels off of Duke.
On the Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice combo, I have to agree that duo has become one powerful block of drama. The comeback by both of these programs is something special. I’m sure it’s especially thrilling for the folks at Grey’s Anatomy. It’s been at least a year since they’ve come this close to 17 million viewers.
Not surprised TSCC is dead
I still think for NBC to terminate the ER brand is a big mistake. This program is still very viable. Put it behind a strong lead in and the show does 15 mil viewers. The concept can work with many different actors.
chuck
My Name is Earl was a very funny episode last night I hope NBC renews it I feel it’s not fair for it to be canceled it’s on thursday night’s for one thing and The Office and 30 Rock get promoted way more than it does and word of mouth does help a show a lot I think of Earl got half the hype NBC gives to Office and 30 Rock it’s numbers would be right there with those shows another thing I want to add is to a lot of comments i’ve read here about NBC’s lineup being stronger overall if they dump the weaklink Earl WRONG the weaklink was Kath & Kim not Earl plus why would NBC cancel Earl and put a new show in place of it that nobody knows of and would more than likely draw a far worse number I say keep My Name is Earl along with Parks/Office and 30 Rock and see how the numbers hold up
Sees Joe thats the flaw in your logic, your already saying NBC should keep Parks & Recreation before its even aired… Plus we’re talking about how bad it is for an Office repeat to do better than The Office.
ETAB, your guess at how well a continuing ER might do is just silly, no show outside of football does 15 million viewers on NBC, not even close.
Joe, the fascinating thing is that The Office totally rode Earl’s coattails in the 05-06 season, but eventually became more popular. i wonder if the office would have been cancelled many seasons ago if Earl had not been a hit early on. Now on to a subjective note: quality wise, i think Earl had some funny material during season 1, but i caught some of yesterdays episode and i personally felt that it was near unwatchable, and about as funny as K&K, if not less so.
entertainmenttodaybeyond, I have to agree with you. I still think NBC could’ve gotten away with ER surviving past this season. The show still has quality and that’s rare for long-term running shows which drop off after their 4th or 5th seasons. NBC is not a good ratings network right now until they gotten their act together then they end ER. A combination of ER and SouthLAnd could’ve been very good for the network like Grey’s and PP has done for ABC on Thursdays.
I wonder where John Stamos is going to go after this ends. If he can get back to a multi-cam comedy then this could be a huge thing for him.
Bill, actually as silly as that sounds its true. I went to a few other forums and people said this was one of the reasons for them. Some of them said they don’t have to waste their time watching them to get their comedy fix since they know multi-cams are coming back. Don’t you find it ironic how some of these single-cams are performing even worse than they have before this year started.
Hot Pocket, a LOT of shows are doing worse than they were before this year started. How do you explain that?
Joe if Parks is a success (and I think its got more chance of success than anything else NBC have up their sleeves) then Earl very quickly becomes the weak link in the Thursday comedy block. If Parks scores similar numbers to 30 Rock or by some miracle manages to surpass 30 Rock and close in on The Office then I think NBC has got to ditch Earl and try something else in that slot next season. If Earl is the only show in that block not pulling above a 3 (and if Parks does well it will be) then NBC should ditch it and try their luck with a new show because at this point I don’t think Earl’s numbers are going to improve.
Right now how well Parks does is, I think going to be a key factor in the future of Earl. If it does well then I suspect the temptation to try a new show in Earl’s slot next year is too great.
I’m surprised that NBC didn’t consider doing an ER spin-off although I guess if they had wanted to do one, they would have done in the show’s peak years.
HotPocket I’m not sure I buy the logic of multi-camera sitcoms eating into the single camera comedies simply because there’s, what, one multi-camera set to debut soon? Your logic is that single camera comedies are failing (and for the record I don’t think they are failing) because ABC is going to air one multi-camera sitcom?
I think the nation kind of showed how interested they were in the BIG EAST SWEET SIXTEEN last night…. they weren’t.
Sweet Sixteen ratings are usually better than the First Round, so this had to be a nasty surprise. I noticed that most shows seemed up. The CW shows were definitely up compared to last week, almost to their normal numbers.
Good for ITM and Sam. I was hoping for at least a 2.0 against Idol and they did it. Better numbers than UB did against Idol and about the same as what it did on a regular Thursday. ABC can definitely build on those numbers so long as they don’t screw anything else up this season.
I don’t mind the single camera comedies and some comedies like The Office or Scrubs work as single camera due to the nature of the comedy in those shows where a live audience/laughter track would be deemed inapproriate. Critics do tend to look down on multicamera comedies but they do get decent ratings.
Nick, Thursday sweet 16s had more viewers this year than last (based on preliminary, non time zone adjusted data for both), but down about 10% in the 18-49 demo. But last year it ran against game shows on Fox, and Miss Guided and a LOST repeat on ABC, and Deal or No Deal and Celebrity Apprentice on NBC.
Given Idol, Grey’s Anatomy etc, I think the numbers are pretty damn good and the east coast bias had much less impact on the year over year numbers than Grey’s and AI.
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/03/28/nielsen-ratings-thu-mar-27-nbc-bests-ncaa/3107
I’m so happy that In The Motherhood failed considering its the premiere. Samantha Who? wasnt amazing either. Go Ugly Betty!
Let me tell you guys what’s really going on in the rise and return of the multi-cams over single-cams battle. Hopefully this clears up any questions you guys had for me.
To me the single-camera comedies just don’t work on network television as I find the best ones on cable right now like TBS’ My Boys, FX’s Always Sunny in Philly, SHO’ Weeds, and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. They seem to work better b/c they actually are limited like the network ones are. The overall majority can’t get into network single-cams after Malcolm in the Middle b/c they look like half-hour dramaedies and people need that live atomosphere of a laugh track/studio audience which is why I think it reflects in the ratings. Look at Worst Week which CBS really tried to help but it just didn’t work with the casual viewers that watch Men or there other comedies.
Where the problem lies with the comedy situation on networks outside of CBS is that there is no balance between single-cams and multi-cams. In the last five years ABC and NBC completely abandoned multi-cams. So the casual viewers that liked watching traditional sitcoms were abandoned in the process and now have to watch at least one of the CBS sitcoms. FOX just hasn’t found a comedy that can work after Malcolm in the Middle so they have The Simpsons and Family Guy to fall back on.
ABC’s Steve McPherson confidence has been falling on single-cams as he’s had to cancel a majority of them already in his time there. He wants to get back to the traditional comedies b/c he knows they will work better.
The reason why you’re going to see more multi-cams over single-cams in the future besides ratings is b/c syndication affiliates and cable networks can find more value out of them. This changed after Men, George Lopez, and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne are doing so well in the ratings with Lopez and House of Payne becoming a big success for them. One of the Tribune executives said he wants the networks to make more multi-cams in the future b/c they are going to have a huge down period and need new ones to recover for them. Earl was very weak in finding good affiliates in most of the TOP 30 markets as it went to the weaker rated affiliates. The Office doesn’t repeat well and that could be a problem when it comes to ratings for The Office when it enters syndication. You see what you do in your network years will reflect how you’re going to perform in syndication.
Overall, people have to understand comedy is the hardest genre to sell so some will like one over the other. As it stands now the casual viewers love multi-cams and that’s what the networks should go with and still have a few single-cams to please those viewers.
If Surviving Suburbia hits or at least does solid out of Dancing then it can change the whole sitcom ball game on the networks.
I’m starting to skip ahead to the long entries and avatars I trust because its clear to me sheer syncophants or worse are blowing on some of these shows. I’d rather hear a real fan I disagree with than a low-level flunkey for some show or producer. The headline tells me the truth: Motherhood had bad numbers. Why? Because it had to have high expectations with such a well-known cast. After the success of the whole Tina Fey school of comedy, which I like ( she and Amy Poehler have been the only watchable people on SNL since … Spade and Farley. ) I have to guess the hu8 mor was watered down, but that’s TV and Seinfeld, Fr5asier and others could deal with that. I could go on but I’ll spare you. As I said, trust the headlines, not much of the ” objective ” comments.
Hot Pocket, what if Surviving Suburbia fails.
Hot Pocket did you seriously just claim that The Office doesn’t repeat well after it just pulled a 2.1 in repeat against American Idol and NCAA? The Office isn’t the strongest repeating force known to man but when its beating original programming in repeat I think you have to give it some credit.
The bigger problem here is that you’re hanging your ‘multi-cameras are coming back’ on very little and it would seem on your own desire to see them back. Right now your whole theory seems to be dependant on the fact that ABC green lit Surviving Suburbia, which is unless I’ve missed something the only new multi-camera sitcom showing up anytime soon. Do you think ABC are going to rush to produce more multi-camera shows if Suburbia flops? And what do we think has the bigger chance of success, multi-camera Surviving Suburbia or single camera Parks & Recreations? Parks seems like the much safer bet right now and that’s saying something given that Parks is on NBC.
You also seem to be forgetting that multi-camera shows are just as hit and miss (success wise) as single camera shows and are just as likely to flop as a single camera show. There’s a huge list of traditional sitcoms that flop and flop hard.
ABC’s problem is that their comedies have no identity.
CBS has fast become the home of traditional multi-camera sitcoms thanks to the success of their Monday night block. NBC spurred on by Earl and now The Office has seemingly made the decision to go the single camera route, which sets their Thursday block apart from CBS (and for the record I think NBC has made the right decision going for the single camera shows). Fox meanwhile have cornered the market in animation with their Sunday block.
All of that has left ABC with very little to call their own and what they now seem to be doing is trying to combine all three. They’ve got a new line of single camera shows and Suburbia tackling multi-camera and they’ve got a new animated show set to debut and aren’t they picking up King of the Hill next season? ABC just seems to be throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
I don’t think we’re going to see a run of new multi-camera sitcoms and I don’t think we’re going to see the single camera comedies die either. The balance already exists and will continue to.
I prefer multi-camera comedies as a fan and Hot Pocket has a point about the casual viewers prefering the multi-cameras or single due to the fact they are not half-hour drama like. Multi-cameras intend to be more goofier and not try to please critics which is why I fell in love with Gary Unmarried and Rules on CBS. They try to be goofy and I love that like on Three’s Company back in the day.
Hopefully SS does hit so we can end these unwatchable single-cameras for good.
notthatdoor, you are crazy!
Multi-camera sitcoms are terrible for these reasons:
1. The humor is awful, hit-you-on-the-head obvious with jokes you’ve heard 50 times before because the same writers have written for other shows. The humor is lame, base and uninspiring.
2. The “sets” on a multi-camera sitcom are so cheap, plastic, ridiculous and unrealistic. There’s no sense of realism to their environment at all. They make no sense.
3. The laugh tracks are patronizing and annoying. I don’t need to be told when to laugh and I don’t want to hear either canned laughter or audience drones only laugh when the “LAUGH” sign lights up. Hello! I want to choose what is funny, not them!
4. THEY ARE NOT FUNNY. Simple as that. Enough said.
This is not 1979 anymore! You really want all sitcoms to be like Three’s Company?
Maybe they should bring back Who’s the Boss and Mr. Belvedere, too? (rolls eyes).
I am praying for the day that multi-camera sitcoms end.
They are groan-inducingly unfunny and old-fashioned.
Single-camera sitcoms are creative, smart, challenging and have far more opportunities to explore new types of humor and settings.
Something that’s worth pointing out in the multi-camera vs. single camera debate is that the successful single camera shows skew much younger than the successful multi-camera comedies. The Office gets a huge jump in the 18-34 vs. 18-49 and 30 Rock sees a slightly up tick in 18-34 vs. 18-49 – some might argue that, that explains why CBS has been able to maintain a multi-camera block whilst no one else has…
I don’t really buy the argument that single camera comedies and multi camera comedies as each both have their strengths and weaknesses but the more aspects is whether the script is any good and most of all whether it makes me laugh. For example, my favourite comedies at the moment is Gavin and Stacey and The Inbetweeners, both single camera shows but incredibly funny but I also like The Big Bang Theory and My Family and old British sitcoms like Father Ted, Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley.
My two favorite television shows of all time are Seinfeld and The Office.
One is single-camera, one is multi-camera.
They are both extremely successful from a financial standpoint, and I personally think they are both hilarious and innovative.
Trying to argue that one type is “better” than the other is futile because a) both types have successful shows, and b) even if only one type was ever successful, the word “better”, in this case, is derived from an opinion.
Yeah, but humor changes over time. Until the last 10 years, there were virtually no single-camera sitcoms on American TV at all from the 1950’s to the 1990’s.
You can’t make the argument that because I Love Lucy, All in the Family, The Golden Girls and Seinfeld were funny that makes multi-camera the funnier format.
We’re talking about what’s funny on TV right NOW, in 2009.
Very nice for Grey’s. In the Motherhood probably won’t last. :/ Then again I’m an Ugly Betty fan so I’m probably just, you know, a little biased.
But honestly, it might go up next week. Or it might stay the same; that’s my guess. I’m just surprised that it got more viewers than Samantha Who?.
Let’s not forget that the highest rated airing of anything on TV in the US ever was a single cam comedy.
Alan, Wasn’t The Wonder Years and MASH single camera sitcoms or even classic sitcoms like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie? The format did exist but it was wasn’t used as widely as the multicamera sitcoms.
Yes, true, Jon, good point. Well actually, MASH and I Dream of Jeannie were single camera but they had a laugh tracks. I just read this interview on The Futon Critic with the producer of Samantha Who:
Question: “You mentioned earlier about the show being single camera. Was that always the way you were going to do the show or was multi-camera ever discussed?”
Donald Todd: “It was a personal choice for me. I had done multi-camera most of my career and I had made a choice to leave multi-camera because I had gotten burned out on the process. Obviously there are plenty of successful multi-camera shows and more to come but I just didn’t feel like doing it anymore so I had left to go to drama. I had done several dramas so when this opportunity came along it really was always a single-camera opportunity for me and I don’t think it was ever pitched as anything else. I suppose if it were pitched now given the economic realities people would consider doing it multi. I know that Christina didn’t want to do multi. It was a good mix for all of us. Single camera is much harder work day to day for the actors and the producers but for me it’s just a more satisfying job at the moment. Maybe I’ll go back to multi someday. “
Did MASH air with a laughter track? I ask because in the UK, I remember watching it and it lacked a laughter track.
Alan, this is getting a little to far off topic, but…
NO, humor doesn’t change over time. What’s POPULAR changes over time.
i AM talking about what is funny now, in 2009. Seinfeld is still on tv, is it not? It is still funny. And it still gets more viewers in syndication than several first run comedies i can name.
What you are talking about is what is POPULAR. What is popular isn’t always funny (unless someone thinks it is… because funny is SUBJECTIVE), and what is “funny” is always popular.
How in the world do you think you can announce what is “funny” and what “isn’t”?
Not to step on anyone’s toes, but the single biggest determinant in whether or not a comedy succeeds is if it is funny. The problem with most comedies, single and/or multi-cam, these days is that they are not remotely funny. Speaking for myself, however, I would watch a comedy filmed via web-cam if it actually made me laugh.
The two funniest shows on television to me are BBT and The Office, which are not only filmed in different formats but are also written in two very, very different tones. What they both have in common, however, is that they are hilarious, which I think is the reason both are successful.
Sure, Arrested Development was funny and no one watched, so you could perhaps blame that on the single camera format, but that would be ignoring the eleventy-six multi-cam comedies that have come and sucked water and been cancelled quickly over the last five years.
Somehow networks cannot understand that comedies have to be funny in order to succeed. If they make people laugh, I don’t think the average person cares if it is filmed through a cell phone.
But I know the suits at the networks need to justify their existence, so they will go back and forth between proclaiming the death of single cam format or the mult-cam format, mainly because those men and women who run the nets have no sense of humor and so therefore cannot use any other criteria.
By the way, it mystifies me how funny BBT can be, yet a show from the same producers and writers, TAHM, is not funny at all. Of course, given TAHM’s ratings, I guess the last laugh is on me.
As for ER, it also mystifies me as to why they are ending it. If it were any other network, I guess I’d understand it, but how NBC can axe one of its top performing shows is beyond me. It must be hideously expensive or something, because all they are going to end up doing is filling that slot with Leno, who will get half the ratings ER is getting. And whatever show they put into the 9pm slot they could have given to ER will also likely get half the ratings ER is getting.
But, hey, they would not be NBC if they weren’t all idiots. To maintain that reputation they have to make sure and keep doing stupid things every other week.
I agree with Hot Pocket & notthatdoor about the multi-cam comedy instead of single cam comedy.
Alan & the128boy SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5506, ok i will SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jon, that’s interesting that they removed the laugh track on M*A*S*H. It definitely had one in the States. Are you sure you just didn’t notice it? There are some shows where I have to think really hard to remember if there was a laugh track or not because they are so unobtrusive (like Sports NIght), which to me is a sign of a really good laugh track show.
Nice to see Private Practice being perhaps the only show to succeed in the wasteland that is the post-Greys slot. Other shows go there and die.
Will be interesting to see if the show gains some ER viewers when that medical show ends.
Is Private Practice the only show from the 2007 writer’s strike season that seems a sure bet for renewal next season ? Samantha Who, Chuck and Terminator all look on shaky ground.
Alex,
Alex: Hot Pocket did you seriously just claim that The Office doesn’t repeat well after it just pulled a 2.1 in repeat against American Idol and NCAA? The Office isn’t the strongest repeating force known to man but when its beating original programming in repeat I think you have to give it some credit.
HP: It doesn’t repeat well at all and that claim of a 2.1 is a complete by you. Two and a Half Men got 11 million viewers and a 3.5 demo out of a weak lead-in. You know what’s even worse for The Office they can’t even get over 10 million viewers for originals. Men is the real hit and The Office is not and its a wannabe hit. Anytime you have to look at demos first before viewers that’s a bad thing. It should be the other way around. The Office barely beat anything in its repeat airing. Again maybe in demos but not viewers. Under 5 million viewers is horrid and you can’t try to spin that. I will give it some credit on the demo side, its demo’s performance are amazing and nobody can deny that but advertisers also expect more viewers to go along with those healthy demo numbers.
Alex: The bigger problem here is that you’re hanging your ‘multi-cameras are coming back’ on very little and it would seem on your own desire to see them back. Right now your whole theory seems to be dependant on the fact that ABC green lit Surviving Suburbia, which is unless I’ve missed something the only new multi-camera sitcom showing up anytime soon. Do you think ABC are going to rush to produce more multi-camera shows if Suburbia flops? And what do we think has the bigger chance of success, multi-camera Surviving Suburbia or single camera Parks & Recreations? Parks seems like the much safer bet right now and that’s saying something given that Parks is on NBC.
HP: Of course ABC is not going to produce more multi-cams if Surviving Suburbia flops but there’s a lot riding on Surviving Suburbia’s performance after DWtS. I don’t think its going to do that well considering its competition on CBS with the NCAA Championship the first week and Rules the week after. Right now I think SS will be more safer b/c it will have the casual viewers on its side unlike P&R which will fail but knowing NBC they’ll keep it like they did 30 Rock. With personal feelings aside P&R will survive b/c NBC believes in their Thursday roster so much and it won’t have to do anything in the ratings. Expect another Kath & Kim from P&R. LOL! ABC made the right decision in deciding to get back in the multi-cam game b/c this is the network where these type of shows thrived the most in something for the whole family to watch.
Alex: You also seem to be forgetting that multi-camera shows are just as hit and miss (success wise) as single camera shows and are just as likely to flop as a single camera show. There’s a huge list of traditional sitcoms that flop and flop hard.
HP: This is probably you’re best point yet. I won’t debate with you on this b/c this is 100% true. Anything can miss and we can’t do anything about that.
Alex: ABC’s problem is that their comedies have no identity.
HP: They don’t and this is another good truthful statement made by you. They really don’t have an identity and they’ve been in that crisis ever since the late 90s when TGIF failed them then they went with fathers as the main leads earlier in this decade to much success then the single-cams came and washed them away for no reason. I think ABC should go with family oriented comedies that relate to people in America dealing with hardships and that kind of thing. The other alternative is going with women focused comedies like One Day at a Time back in the day but In the Motherhood failed so bad for them last night. That was b/c it was not a multi-cam.
Alex: CBS has fast become the home of traditional multi-camera sitcoms thanks to the success of their Monday night block. NBC spurred on by Earl and now The Office has seemingly made the decision to go the single camera route, which sets their Thursday block apart from CBS (and for the record I think NBC has made the right decision going for the single camera shows). Fox meanwhile have cornered the market in animation with their Sunday block.
HP: This is where I think NBC needs to keep their single-cams but there is no balance on this network. Its too exclusive to single-cam and this might explain part of the reason why the network has been failing in recent years. Its totally abandoned the multi-cam audience. If NBC was getting ratings like the Tiffany Network (CBS) did then they can get away with going exclusive to single-cam but they simply aren’t. NBC should be ashamed of themselves for displacing Must See TV Thursdays like that for a bunch of unwatchable single-cams for the casual viewers. NBC needs to have their comedy roster with half single-cams and half multi-cams, its just that simple. I’m surprised NBC didn’t really try to premiere a multi-cam this season as I think a successful would help their network out. At this point I think they would’ve been better off with Joey to carry the network than Earl. Problem with Joey was it was rushed and terrible so I don’t blame NBC for going with Earl as it was hot out the gate back in ‘05. FOX is alright with their animation and they just got to figure out a way to get their live-action comedies in the successful direction.
Alex: All of that has left ABC with very little to call their own and what they now seem to be doing is trying to combine all three. They’ve got a new line of single camera shows and Suburbia tackling multi-camera and they’ve got a new animated show set to debut and aren’t they picking up King of the Hill next season? ABC just seems to be throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
HP: I think its better for ABC to experiment and see what works. They’ll get lucky with something and build around it. ABC looks like their going to have the best balance in their comedy roster offering something for every fan but most of it needs to be multi-cam if they want the ratings. King of the Hill is a rumor but with him working on Goode Family I highly doubt it and there’s some talk of him going back to Beavis & Butt-Head.
Alex: I don’t think we’re going to see a run of new multi-camera sitcoms and I don’t think we’re going to see the single camera comedies die either. The balance already exists and will continue to.
HP: I think were going to see a run of multi-cams if Surviving Suburbia is successful but single-cams won’t die and they don’t need to. Obviously people out there like them but multi-cams have been treated very badly this decade and they just woken the beast which starts with Surviving Suburbia.
TIME TO PLAY THE GAME!
If memory serves M*A*S*H aired both with and without a laugh track in the UK, which makes the situation even stranger. And Julia its interesting that you bring up the laugh track on Sports Night, which was a massive issue when it was in production and was removed before it wrapped because Sorkin hated it.
Alex, Sports Night definitely had a laugh track for at least part of season 1, though I’m pretty sure season 2 did not have one.
In my mind the better offering for single-cams are on cable not on network television.
128boy, what if Surviving Suburbia fails?
Obviously its going to be a let down for the multi-cam genre and will end the possibility of them coming back on NBC and ABC but CBS will keep at them thankfully.
I would give SS at least two weeks before judging it ratings wise. The NCAA Basketball Championship Game will hurt it in week 1 and week 2 has Rules. Its going to be tough for SS to be a hit but at least it can be a solid ratings player for them.
Julia, I’m certain it didn’t air with a laughter track although I think the repeats on one of the digital channels here do air it with the laughter track. The DVD boxsets of MASH have an option to remove the laughter track and I think it makes the show a lot better.
Broadcast finals have In The Motherhood up a tenth to 2.1, Samantha Who? up a tenth to 2.1, Grey’s Anatomy up to 5.6, and Private Practice down two ticks to 3.6
My Name Is Earl was up a tenth to 2.1, The Office (R) was down a tenth to 2.0, the original The Office at 9pm was up two tenths to 4.5, while ER settled at 3.5.
American Idol was up to 7.7, and Hell’s Kitchen dropped to a 4.5.
^^^ Motherhood and Samantha are both 2.2 in finals
M*A*S*H is the most successful single-cam to date but I always looked as M*A*S*H as a half-hour comedy-drama and single-cams were different back then b/c they went with laugh tracks making it seem like a multi-cam. So casual viewers were easily fooled but now you can definitely tell if something is a multi-cam and a single-cam.
Hot Pocket total audience isn’t important – advertisers (and by extension networks) don’t care about total viewers and that’s doubly true when you’re averaging 4.0+ in 18-49 and 5.0+ in 18-34, as long it somehow maintained those demo numbers The Office could be seen by three people every week and advertisers would still line up round the block to buy time during it. Like it or not The Office is a huge hit and I would say a bigger hit than Two and Half Men.
Right now you’re working under the mistaken idea that multi-camera shows are somehow more likely to succeed and they aren’t. The reason CBS is the only network that has a traditional multi-camera comedy block is because they’re the only network that’s been able to get people to watch them. None of the other networks have been able to find a multi-camera hit and that’s why NBC in particular have gone in the direction of single camera shows – those are what worked.
As I said before some might argue that the younger skewing single camera successes like The Office and 30 Rock would perhaps suggest that the reason CBS has been able to sustain the traditional sitcom is because they skew older and that’s what CBS has a reputation for doing. Its worth noting that 30 Rock for example is essentially a traditional multi-camera sitcom minus the laugh track, it isn’t like The Office which wouldn’t in a million years work with a laugh track.
Julia you’re right when you say season 1 of Sports Night had a laugh track it was however I think removed by the end of season one or during season two.
the CW does pretty “well” from 8:30-9:30. I’m thinking NBC will do okay next season.
Earl is near gone. the premiere episode were very funny and it went downhill by the season.
Alex, you bring up a very interesting point that most single cams skew younger than most multi cams. Even the lowly Kath & Kim at least skewed young, though it didn’t have many viewers to skew young with. In fact, it beat Gary and Christine noticably in 18-34 despite losing noticably in 18-49.
Two of the most youngest-skewing single cams, however, are Big Bang and Mother. I have to give kudos to those two for being some of the most youthful shows on the eye net.
You know, I never watched Sports Night, but recently EW linked to some clip on HULU or YouTube in some article or other, so I went over to check it out. The laugh track completely blew me away. It not only seemed totally anachronistic, it also thoroughly distracted me from the show. I never really liked a laugh track on any show, but I was big MASH fan and it wasn’t that big of a deal. Also, plenty of other shows I have enjoyed over the years have either had laugh tracks or pumped up the studio audience laughter, and that was also no big deal.
But, boy, it was so jarring and poorly used on the one Sports Night clip I saw that I could never have watched that show on a regular basis. It completely took me out of the show.
128 I’m not sure Big Bang does skew younger. Two weeks ago (its last new episode) it lost a point in the 18-34 vs. 18-49, How I Met Your Mother on the other hand only lost 0.1, so Mother does skew young much more than any of the other CBS comedies but Big Bang doesn’t. In fact its right on par with Two and Half Men and Rules of Engagement – unless two weeks ago was a blip.
And Schmoker I agree the laugh track they used for Sports Night was horrible and things got much better when they finally let Sorkin get his own way and removed it.
Make of this what you will–
All currently airing sitcoms based on overnight data from the last time they aired an original episode in their regular timeslot:
18-49 Rating:
4.8 Two And A Half Men
4.3 The Office
3.8 How I Met Your Mother
3.7 The Big Bang Theory
3.4 30 Rock
3.4 Rules Of Engagement
2.3 Gary Unmarried
2.1 In The Motherhood
2.1 Samantha Who?
2.1 Old Christine
2.0 Scrubs
2.0 My Name Is Earl
1.8 Better Off Ted
1.7 Kath & Kim
18-34 Rating:
5.2 The Office
3.7 How I Met Your Mother
3.7 30 Rock
3.3 Two And A Half Men
2.7 The Big Bang Theory
2.2 Rules Of Engagement
1.9 In The Motherhood
1.9 Scrubs
1.7 Samantha Who?
1.7 Better Off Ted
1.6 Kath & Kim
1.5 My Name Is Earl
1.3 Gary Unmarried
1.2 Old Christine
During the pilot for Sports Night the laugh track is very distracting and noticeable. After that I couldn’t even tell you what episode they stopped using it in because it was so unobtrusive.
Alex, I stand corrected. Mother is definately the only significant standout.
Sports Night didn’t need a laughter track, when I watched it on one of the digital channels I found it distracting as it just didn’t the show’s premise and I am glad they removed it after season 1.
Meh…ITM and SW did kinda poorly…expecially ITM since it was a premier…and I expected high numbers since I felt that ABC went crazy advertising their temporary Thursday shows. I dont think either shows will be renewed.
Long live Ugly Betty.
Apparently Alex you only know half the story when it comes to what advertisers want. They look at viewers too, that’s why they report viewers and demos on these ratings sites. No advertiser wants a show getting only 5 million viewers and a 3 in the demo. They want 10-15 million viewers along with a healthy demo. CBS is the only network that can get away with a low performance in the 18-49 demo b/c they make a ton of money from the 25-54. The other networks like NBC and ABC are 18-49 dependent. Advertisers love shows that draw a huge amount of viewers and that’s why Two and a Half Men is making the most money for any comedy right now.
You saying The Office is a huge hit is a spin by you. There’s still a ton of people who don’t even know what The Office is and it failed out of Super Bowl a couple of months ago. Most shows like Friends did back in ‘96 are supposed to improve drastically out of the Super Bowl. Grey’s did the same thing recently back in ‘05. NBC was banking on The Office scoring huge and reflecting on its original rating and instead it still fails to score over 10 million viewers and repeats poorly.
Multi-cams are more likely to succeed that’s why Steve had to axe every single-cam he’s had so far except the ones he has now airing and they will be too in the future.
CBS is even successful with them on Wednesdays at 8pm where they have no absolute support for lead-in sake and its been historically a bad slot for CBS since the 80s.
One thing about 30 Rock is that had it been a laugh track or studio audience type sitcom it might succeed and be doing better than The Office actually reaching 10+ million viewers. People say this is why they think its overrated b/c Lorne Michaels promised them it was going to be a multi-cam back in ‘06 but NBC changed their minds and made it a single-cam with no laugh track.
The proof is already on the wall when SNL aired their specials earlier this season and hit 11 million viewers with healthy demos and SNL is a smart sketch multi-cam comedy show that fit well with the rest of the lineup. It looks like besides the SNL name the multi-cam factor worked for it.
Don’t the animated sitcoms skew young, I would bet The Simpsons and especially Family Guy get young demos. I’m so glad the animated sitcoms don’t have laughter tracks because it would look out of place thougb I think The Flintstones and other cartoons used one for a few seasons.
Robert, the last few years have trended differently than normal. Call it poor match ups in the Sweet Sixteen. I think the larger market/larger alumni based schools are all out right now. There also isn’t a big Cinderella team either that fans are rooting for. It’s also a bad year for “big star players.”
Hot Pocket, you don’t seem to understand much about how the TV industry works.
The Office is most likely much more profitable for NBC than 2.5 Men for CBS because the DVDs sell like crazy. Even if 2.5 Men had great DVD sales, CBS wouldn’t see a penny of that.
Demos are all that matters. That’s what advertisers are paying for. Period.
CBS is NOT successful on Wednesdays. Beating the horrible ABC lineup by .1 or .2 does not equal success. They are trying to spin it as a success, but it is not. CBS is lucky enough to be in the position that they can afford to be patient and see if that block ever does start to work, though I really doubt it ever will.
The post-Super Bowl spot doesn’t mean much at all ever. There are rare exceptions where you see some very slight long term effects, but that’s the rare exception, not the norm.
Multi-cams are just as likely to fail as single-cams. The networks wouldn’t have so many single-cams if they hadn’t had failure after failure for multi-cams. The TV industry is a business and they go with what will make them money.
poor samantha who
SW is a million times better than in the motherhood, better production/editing/acting, everything… yet its stuck behind an outright awful show.
i had been pulling for motherhood given the set of actors and being a fan but the show was completely forgettable. the show spent hardly any time introducing the characters, the acting was off, the editing jumped around too much, the parts that should have been entertaining (megan pretending to be pregnant and using it for advantage) fell absolutely flat.
its always hard to watch actors you like play horrible roles and keeping this show on for the full run without changing channels was difficult. unless next weeks episode can fix this train wreck i cant imagine how it wont sink like a rock.
Julia you’re wrong. Advertisers look at total viewers too. I remember reading an article a year ago and it was talking about how advertisers make their money. It mentioned that a high amount of viewers and dependable demo ratings are what they look for. The Office scores a decent of amount of viewers and a healthy demo to be strong in the marketplace. Men is the big money maker for the whole comedy scene because it gets 15 million viewers and young demos.
DVD sales are in important too and Men does very well in syndication but it goes towards studios and if the studio is combined with the network which is why you keep seeing Jim on ABC.
Big cinderella stories don’t happen often, and big star players are very rare, and usually only around for a year anyway. I suspect stars going directly from high school to the pros (Lebron, Kobe) or only playing college for 1 year do have an impact on the tourney’s ratings, but it’s hard to quantify.
Unfortunately we lack a lot of historical data for the NCAA tourney, but the period of 2001-2008 was remarkably consistent over the entire tournament, and so far this year does not appear to be inconsistent with last year.
I love sam who!!!! in the motherhood was Ok but sam is hilarious…Im so happy it’s back, and I like it way better than ugly betty. In the motherhood’s character, the one from will and grace , she is the funniest part of that show!!!
Kryptonite, if a show has a large audience, the demo will be at least decent. Which would be the only reason why an advertiser would look for a show with a large audience. The demo is what sets the ad rate and what the advertisers look for.
“Apparently Alex you only know half the story when it comes to what advertisers want. They look at viewers too, that’s why they report viewers and demos on these ratings sites… The other networks like NBC and ABC are 18-49 dependent. Advertisers love shows that draw a huge amount of viewers and that’s why Two and a Half Men is making the most money for any comedy right now.”
Apparently you have no idea how advertising works in the modern age.
For the most part advertisers no longer care about total viewers unless they’re very small or very large, which isn’t the case for the majority of shows on network television. What advertisers care about are various demographic breakdowns of the audience for any given show because advertisers know exactly who they’re selling their products to so they match their target audience with the demos shows are achieving.
It doesn’t matter if The Office is ‘only’ being seen by 8 million people because it’s the ‘right’ 8 million to produce big demo numbers. Two and Half Men for example has to nearly double The Office’s total audience to score a 0.5 higher in the 18-49 and it gets absolutely destroyed when you compare the 18-34. So whilst Two and Half Men is averaging 6-8 million more viewers then The Office advertisers don’t care because The Office is scoring excellent demo numbers.
You even contradict yourself – the other networks are 18-49 dependant and yet you can’t see why The Office is a major hit and you’re trying to argue that viewing figures are important when the networks are demo dependant. And only in yours and CBS’ dreamland is Two and Half Men the biggest money making comedy on television right now.
“You saying The Office is a huge hit is a spin by you… NBC was banking on The Office scoring huge and reflecting on its original rating and instead it still fails to score over 10 million viewers and repeats poorly.”
Me saying The Office is a hit is a statement of fact.
You’ll find very few shows on television that can beat The Office in 18-49 and even less that can top its 18-34. Like it or not The Office is one of the biggest shows of television right now where it really matters. Its Super Bowl performance and lack of long term gains from it are completely irrelevant.
“Multi-cams are more likely to succeed that’s why Steve had to axe every single-cam he’s had so far except the ones he has now airing and they will be too in the future.”
Multi-camera shows are more likely to succeed? That’s why ABC green lit two new single camera comedies and one multi-camera comedy? That’s why the only network who has any multi-camera comedy hits in recent years is CBS? NBC in particular stopped making traditional mulit-camera sitcoms because people didn’t watch them, you get that right?
“One thing about 30 Rock is that had it been a laugh track or studio audience type sitcom it might succeed and be doing better than The Office actually reaching 10+ million viewers.”
Again viewers aren’t important and I would say that 30 Rock is a success – only three of the ‘incredibly popular’ multi-camera comedies score higher 18-49 and only one scores a higher 18-34 and it gets about the same total viewers as CBS’ apparently successful Wednesday night comedy block.
“The proof is already on the wall when SNL aired their specials earlier this season and hit 11 million viewers with healthy demos and SNL is a smart sketch multi-cam comedy show that fit well with the rest of the lineup. It looks like besides the SNL name the multi-cam factor worked for it.”
Are you seriously trying to argue that because Saturday Night Live election specials did well multi-camera shows are more popular? Really?
samantha who? is better at monday nights.
plus nbc needs ro switch their thursday night around
Nick C,
While I hate to disagree without feeling like I’m backed up by data, I don’t buy those reasons for NCAA ratings drops at least vs. last season.
I don’t think the difference in the alumni populations of these two groups is significant on a national audience basis.
Big (alumi) schools in the Sweet 16 (exclusive to each year)
2008: Tennessee, Wisconsin, Texas, UCLA, Washington St.
2009: Missouri, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Purdue
No Cinderella: You really think Davidson v. Wisconsin (the 1 Sweet Sixteen low seed matchup last year) drove big ratings last year?
Big star: Almost impossible to argue for or against. Who was the big star again that drove the Sweet 16 ratings last season. Stephen Curry?
vs. last years ratings I completely agree with Robert. NCAA vs. strike dreck, much less of a contest. That easily explains the difference.
Bill, Your right with NBC in its current form 15 million viewers for ER is silly, but if it were on ABC after Grey’s Anatomy or on CBS opposite a slew of shows it would do 15 mil viewers and they would stick. My point is the show still works. The concept can be reinvented in many different ways. Its a franchise that still has juice. Im a fan and Im saddened that NBC is ending it. A show on NBC getting 9.8 mil viewers is pretty darn good, especially when the show before it(30 Rock)gets two mil less viewers.
chuck
Man, that 18-34 rating for The Office is just off-the-charts, isn’t it?
For a niche show to dominate in the most important demo of all is truly amazing to me, especially considering how The Office just dribbled out of the gate initially. That it is now pulling those demos AND getting such boffo DVD sales has to be one of the most unlikely success stories since Seinfeld. Debate it until you are blue in the face, but The Office is hands down one of the biggest hits on television, at least as I define a hit, and that is that it is making HUGE-HUGE-HUGE dollars for all concerned.
And I don’t even watch it. Maybe I should start.
We can talk ratings, buzz, Emmys, and anything you want, but it all comes down to money, people. What makes a hit is making money. By all accounts, The Office does that as well or better than anyone else.
Certainly it has to be making a shitload more money than The Mentalist or any of those other geriatric CBS “hits.”
That 18-34 for The Office is outstanding.
alex, schmoker, yes the Office is sooo money. i *think* it brings in more ad revenue per 30-second spot than any other sitcom (2.5Men may be slightly higher), which, though it seems to escape some people, is what advertising and broadcast tv is all about.
M*A*S*H was definitely first broadcast in the UK (on BBC2) without a laugh track. (Later reruns on cable/sat have the canned laughter.) In fact, it was the lack of canned laughter (highly uncommon on British TV at the time) which convinced Ricky Gervais to go without it for The Office.
The single/multi – laugh/none debate is sort of meaningless. HIMYM breaks lots of the rules of Serious Modern Comedy: it’s multicam, and has a laugh track. But it also borrows elements from singlecams — the quick cuts and flashbacks, after Arrested Development.
The problem with multicam arises when showrunners and writers and approving execs get stuck in ruts: it became easy to make formulaic multicam because the production fit more easily into a comedy-by-numbers template. But now there’s been enough singlecam done for that to become formulaic too, as Ted and ITM show.
ER may be too expensive to produce. Yes, most of its big stars are gone like Noah Wyle and George Clooney but Warner Brothers wont take a paycut to make the show.
As far as a spinoff is concerned, I think John Stamos and the producers of ER are working on something for his character on the show.
I predict over 17mln for ER finale…
Apparently Dollhouse got 1.3 in the demo last night, which tied with TSCC, and only got 40,000 more viewers. Which to me says they are both dead dead dead, but I’m guessing will give the TSCC fans a reason to think they have a shot.
Steven,
you have no taste if you think In the Motherhood is a good, funny or creative show when compared with Ugly Betty.
ABC’s Comedy Block will be crashed!
I think my shock when I look at ratings every week is just how many damn people watch the train wreck that is American Idol.
I just don’t get the fascination.
samantha who will likely go into season 3 with what they are doing. they are prolonging the story so much to make it to season 3. too pity it is better pair it off with DWTS. SW got good SUPPORTING CAST.