As usual, American Idol won, well, everything. This week I am combining the 18-49 top twenty that used to be in a separate weekly posting into the weekly overall viewing rankings. I know people are very interested in overall viewing and will continue to produce that table as well (scroll down), but, it’s the adults 18-49 demo rankings that matter more, both in terms of ad revenue and a show’s renewal prospects.
So let’s take a look at the broadcast network 18-49 rankings for the week ending April 26, 2009:
| Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | 18-49 Rating | 18-49 Viewers (000) | |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 8.3 | 10,941 | |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 8.2 | 10,881 | |
| 3 | GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM | ABC | 5.0 | 6,578 | |
| 4 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 4.7 | 6,255 | |
| 5 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 4.7 | 6,252 | |
| 6 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | R | CBS | 3.9 | 5,198 |
| 7 | FRINGE | FOX | 3.9 | 5,100 | |
| 8 | RULES OF ENGAGEMENT | CBS | 3.8 | 5,020 | |
| 9 | OFFICE | NBC | 3.8 | 4,960 | |
| 10 | BIGGEST LOSER 7 | NBC | 3.7 | 4,928 | |
| 11 | CSI | CBS | 3.7 | 4,817 | |
| 12 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 3.5 | 4,662 | |
| 13 | CRIMINAL MINDS 10PM-SP(S) | S | CBS | 3.5 | 4,639 |
| 14 | FAMILY GUY | FOX | 3.4 | 4,477 | |
| 15 | PRIVATE PRACTICE | ABC | 3.3 | 4,361 | |
| 16 | DANCING W/STARS RESULTS | ABC | 3.2 | 4,275 | |
| 17 | 24 | FOX | 3.2 | 4,250 | |
| 18 | AMAZING RACE 14 | CBS | 3.2 | 4,161 | |
| 19 | 30 ROCK | NBC | 3.1 | 4,108 | |
| 20 | BROTHERS & SISTERS | ABC | 3.1 | 4,069 |
Nothing too surprising in the top five since House had the week off. Props to CBS and Two and a Half Men – with a repeat making the top 10 and that same repeat beating out new episodes of Fringe, Rules of Engagement, The Office and The Biggest Loser with adults 18-49.
But, I’m fine with FOX declaring Fringe an adults 18-49 hit. Sure, a repeat of Two and a Half Men beat it, but it beat The Office, too and nobody will have any problem if I declare The Office a demo hit. Obviously not one of The Office’s better ratings performances, but it’s still top 10, with more adults 18-49 than CSI, Survivor, Family Guy or Private Practice. But back to Fringe, it’s a demo hit.
There seem to be a lot of Fringe haters on our blog, and if you’re a fan of one of the shows that beat it, especially the Two and a Half Men repeat, you can raise your arms triumphantly and say, “Fringe!? Ha!” if it suits you. But otherwise, you’re looking up at Fringe, not down at it.
I know, I know, “Where would Fringe be without American Idol!? Huh!? Where!?”
Not in the top 10 
There’s no doubt that the Idol lead-in helps Fringe a lot, but realistically, nobody expected Fringe to beat any of the shows that came above it even with the lead-in. Not even the Two and Half Men rerun (and that’s to Men’s credit).
So, yes, Fringe benefits from the Idol lead-in, but if I’m at FOX, I’m thinking good use of the lead-in is being made. Fringe will certainly be back next season, and without the Idol lead-in. We’ll have to wait until then to examine the “what if”.
NBC also placed Celebrity Apprentice (#21) and Heroes (#22) in the top 25. FOX also placed Hell’s Kitchen (#23), and The Simpsons (#24). A Lost clip show on ABC was #25 with a 2.9 rating. And more props to CBS comedy repeats, a rerun of The Big Bang Theory came in at #26, also at a 2.9 rating with ever so slightly fewer adults 18-49 viewers than the Lost clip show.
Here’s the overall viewing broadcast top 20 for the week ending April 26, 2009:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | # Viewers (LIVE+SD) (000) | HH RATING (LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) | 18-49 Rank |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 23,963 | 13.9 | 22 | 2 | |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 23,947 | 14.0 | 22 | 1 | |
| 3 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 20,528 | 13.0 | 20 | 5 | |
| 4 | DANCING W/STARS RESULTS | ABC | 14,725 | 9.6 | 14 | 16 | |
| 5 | CSI | CBS | 14,639 | 9.2 | 15 | 11 | |
| 6 | CRIMINAL MINDS 10PM-SP(S) | S | CBS | 13,723 | 8.9 | 15 | 13 |
| 7 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 13,642 | 8.5 | 13 | 4 | |
| 8 | GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM | ABC | 13,511 | 8.9 | 14 | 3 | |
| 9 | NCIS 9P-SPECIAL(S) | SR | CBS | 12,648 | 8.0 | 12 | |
| 10 | MENTALIST, THE-10PM SP(S) | SR | CBS | 12,456 | 8.1 | 14 | |
| 11 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | R | CBS | 11,484 | 7.1 | 11 | 6 |
| 12 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 11,303 | 6.8 | 12 | 12 | |
| 13 | RULES OF ENGAGEMENT | CBS | 10,588 | 6.5 | 10 | 8 | |
| 14 | COLD CASE | CBS | 10,566 | 6.5 | 10 | ||
| 15 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | 10,520 | 6.8 | 13 | ||
| 16 | 24 | FOX | 10,341 | 6.1 | 9 | 17 | |
| 17 | AMAZING RACE 14 | CBS | 10,268 | 6.0 | 10 | 18 | |
| 18 | FRINGE | FOX | 9,895 | 5.9 | 9 | 7 | |
| 19 | SURVIVING SUBURBIA | ABC | 9,869 | 6.6 | 10 | ||
| 20 | CRIMINAL MINDS | R | CBS | 9,843 | 6.4 | 10 |
Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
All numbers are Live + SD (live, plus same day DVR viewing)
Gee, I’m glad I moved out of the 18-49 demo a while back. I feel liberated from all those teevee execs running after me (wink).
Fringe-haters huh? Well, I guess every show has them. Most of my friends seem to be Chuck-haters, and I love that show. I love both shows.
For me, television is mostly about Chuck, Fringe, and NCIS. Sprinkle in several others that interest me, but those are my big three.
Reality tv… grrrr
House is a repeat
Hoy, House isn’t in either of the tables above and did not air on FOX at all last week.
Wow, NBC is back on the board! I wonder if they’ll stay…
Fox is correct in declaring Fringe the “#1 new series among 18-49.” And the CBS “skewing older” factor is quite noticeable with this consolidated report.
Well, airing after House AND American Idol, it SHOULD be a hit.
I like Fringe. I discovered it when iTunes had it for $0.99 an episode during the winter break.
So it had nothing to do with american idol for me!!!
Daniel, NBC was only back on the board because I listed the 18-49 rankings first, the peacocks were still absent from the total viewing rankings.
Fringe has gotten better now that we know what the show is about and where its headed. I didnt like it much when it started, but it sort of grows on you… like one of Walter Bishop’s fungus experiments. Now that someone figured out what all those glyphs are (each one is a letter forming a word) once the season is over Im guessing the words form one or more sentences. Jericho did a similar thing with the morse code gimmick. Fringe will never be a runaway hit with 15-20 million viewers, but if it holds around 10 million and keeps a high key demo, it will be around as long as LOST or HEROES.
well Heroes is a bad comparison
Fringe is more like X Files in terms of ratings. For the 1st 3 years, it was never a massive hit. Now, true Fox put Fringe in front of AI, but remember CBS put Harper’s Island on after CSI and that didn’t matter, the audience numbers still significantly eroded in the 2nd week. Sometimes lead-ins don’t work. If it had 7 million and a high demo, Fox would still keep Fringe around because of the ratings in the demos.
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/grading_the_networks.php
Even TV Week is declaring Fringe a hit!
Freshman performance: Focusing its fall promotional firepower on “Fringe” paid off for Fox. The sci-fi-tinged drama from J.J. Abrams is one of the season’s few hits, currently ranking as the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49.
I’m surprised that Lost wasn’t on either list however.
Pattern Lost was a clip show last week.
I’m glad desperate housewives is still going steady, though I would have liked this season to average 15 million per episode this season. And then 13 million maybe next year.but hey this season has been good, and the same goes for grey anatomy I guess.
I never noticed what great retention Rules of Engagement has after Two and a Half Men. CBS really needs to give that show a full season even though quality wise it is a bit on the low end.
I’m curious to see how Fringe would do when it’s not being fed viewers by House or American Idol. Maybe Fox will put it on Thursdays after Bones or something next year. I would guess its core demos would still be strong enough to call it a cult hit, or would this move be too risky?
Fringe has really grown on me, and it’s gotten a lot better than it was when it first started out. I’m really hoping that Fringe keeps some good ratings next season without American Idol as a lead in.
ThePattern: Even TV Week is declaring Fringe a hit!
Freshman performance: Focusing its fall promotional firepower on “Fringe” paid off for Fox. The sci-fi-tinged drama from J.J. Abrams is one of the season’s few hits, currently ranking as the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49.
How is lost the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49? Isn’t The Mentalist beating it by a lot? I really like Fringe, but having to choose between the two, the mentalist is way better. and it’s ratings are a lot better, too.
Gee. Now i see why Two and a half men got a multi series order on renewal. a 3.9 on a repeat? bloody hell. I find the show amusing, but i’ve never gone out of my way to watch it.
“How is lost the No. 1 new show in adults 18-49? Isn’t The Mentalist beating it by a lot? I really like Fringe, but having to choose between the two, the mentalist is way better. and it’s ratings are a lot better, too.”
You answered your own question – The Mentalist is the #1 new show overall but Fringe is the #1 new show in the demographic. I would actually be curious to see where The Mentalist places in 18-49.
Slow week in the demo. 3.1 makes the list for the first time since the holidays?
Yeah, ‘Lost’ clip-show coming in at #25 in the demo.
Why does everyone think that Fringe is only a hit with American Idol? It got IDENTICAL ratings in the fall when it was paired with house. Fringe has a loyal audience and casual viewers on’t really find Fringe that easy to pick up and I understand that.
I guess people assume, the lead in will make any show successful.
Look at Eleventh Hour, the same show as Fringe.
CSI hasn’t made it a hit.
It’s too early to call Fringe a hit. It has never shown that it can get those ratings on its own. The one time it was asked to stand on its own two feet, it got 3.2 in the demo (that was for its premiere). Since then, it’s been benefiting from House and American Idol lead-ins. Perhaps that exposure is helping it earn more loyal viewers. But we all know what happened to Samantha Who and Lie To Me when their lead-ins were taken away….
We’ve had this discussion before.
It’s a “hit” as long as the people who lead-in don’t dislike enough to turn it off and thus drop its ratings. It’s that simple. And even if they did, again, it still would survive on its own, probably with five or six million viewers and a 3.0 demo.
Don’t get hung up on the “hit” word. All it means is that the show isn’t a “miss.”
Based on what I can gather with a quick search (here and elsewhere), Fringe’s 9:30 numbers seem pretty stable. It’s inevitable that they’re going to lose viewers from Idol (given the obvious differences in appeal between the two), but they seem to be holding steady and solidly performing against the second hour of Biggest Loser (which I’d assume is what a lot of Idol viewers are tuning into at 9). Maybe I’m assuming too much based on the 9:30 ratings, but it seems to me that Fringe has been on long enough that viewers know what they’re getting and the show has a solid fanbase (whether it’s people watching Fringe after Idol or people tuning in for Fringe).
And honestly, why take Fringe away from a good lead-in? It’s working for Fox and I don’t see a pressing need to move it away from Idol or House next season.
Fringe is very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. There, I said it.