| Scoreboard |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating: Adults 18-49 | 3.1/9 | 2.7/7 | 2.6/7 | 2.0/6 | 1.5/4 | 1.3/3 |
| Rating: Adults 18-34 | 2.0/6 | 2.9/9 | 2.1/6 | 1.5/5 | 1.7/5 | 1.5/4 |
| Total Viewers (million) | 11.49 | 6.48 | 7.27 | 7.02 | 3.95 | 2.74 |
CBS won the night both with adults 18-49 and overall viewers on the backs of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
FOX edged out ABC for second with adults 18-49 and FOX won the night outright with adults 18-34 by a wide margin with its lineup of So You Think You Can Dance and Glee. Glee was the night’s highest-rated program of the night with adults 18-34 and teens.
Modern Family and Cougar Town were both up from the ratings-notched November 4th when Cougar Town hit a series low with adults 18-49 (CMA Awards aired last week) and were the night’s most-watched comedies.
Both The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried were up about 5% from last week, and Criminal Minds was up almost 10% with adults 18-49, though CSI: NY was down 16% with adults 18-49 from last week’s CSI crossover.
It was the most viewers for The New Adventures of Old Christine since March 11, 2009, and the best adults 18-49 delivery since the season premiere on Sept. 23, 2009. It was Gary Unmarried’s best with adults 18-49 since November 19, 2008.
The America’s Next Top Model finale reached season highs in women 18-34 and women 18-49, and matched season highs in adults 18-34 and adults 18-49. This was down more than 25% with adults 18-49 from last year’s fall finale on 11/19/08.
The In The Spotlight With Robin Roberts: Janet Jackson special didn’t have out of the park ratings (at least from an “all things Jackson” perspective, but it did outperform the last new airing of Eastwick by more than 25% with adults 18-49.
In Late-Night Local People Meters Wednesday night:
- Conan O’Brien (1.0/4 in 18-49 in local people meters) trailed CBS’s LATE SHOW (1.1/5) in Nielsen’s 24 local markets with People Meters.
- At 12:35 a.m., Jimmy Fallon (0.5/3 in 18-49 in local people meters) trailed CBS’s LATE LATE SHOW (0.7/4).
Full Details:
| Time | Net | Show | 18-49 Rating/Share | Viewers (Millons) |
| 8:00 | CBS | New Adventures of Old Christine | 2.2/7 | 7.45 |
| FOX | So You Think You Can Dance | 2.1/6 | 5.68 | |
| NBC | Mercy | 2.0/6 | 7.79 | |
| ABC | Modern Family (R) | 1.9/6 | 6.16 | |
| CW | America’s Next Top Model | 1.7/5 | 3.66 | |
| 8:30 | CBS | Gary Unmarried | 2.5/7 | 7.17 |
| ABC | The Middle | 2.4/7 | 7.10 | |
| 9:00 | CBS | Criminal Minds | 3.7/9 | 13.47 |
| ABC | Modern Family | 3.7/10 | 9.16 | |
| FOX | Glee | 3.2/8 | 7.29 | |
| NBC | Law & Order: SVU | 2.6/7 | 8.43 | |
| CW | America’s Next Top Model (Clip Show) | 0.8/2 | 1.81 | |
| 9:30 | ABC | Cougar Town | 3.2/8 | 7.90 |
| 10:00 | CBS | CSI: NY | 3.2/9 | 13.68 |
| ABC | Robin Roberts: Janet Jackson | 2.3/7 | 6.64 | |
| NBC | The Jay Leno Show | 1.4/4 | 4.83 |
=
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
You can see TV ratings from other recent Overnight ratings reports here.
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.
A repeat of MF did better than Hank… ouch
What sort of ratings were new episodes of Hank getting? Those look like pretty good repeat ratings.
It’s pretty easy to beat out Hank when Hank isn’t even on the schedule…although it never was hard to beat out Hank when it was on the schedule.
Modern Family was at 3.5 its last airing, which is not a season low. (It was at 3.4 twice.) But good to see it back at 3.7.
Way to go Glee! Another great episode. I cant wait to see how big this show will grow after Idol!
Ditto Julia, I was just about to post the same thing. Nov. 4 wasn’t a season low for total viewers either.
So it looks like ABC will be parking those Modern Family repeats at 8pm from now on. The Middle got a big boost, too.
What’s up with CBS’s comedies? They’re up quite a bit over last year, no? Gary, anyway. Is it just people looking for comedies before Modern Family comes on?
I can’t believe how well MF has held up. It premiered to a 4.3 in adults, and is still sitting in the high 3’s, with a pretty crappy lead-in, in an all-new line-up. CBS can crow all it wants about NCIS LA, but MF is the hit of the season.
If ABC can just find a suitable replacement for 8pm, the Wednesday comedy block will be pretty solid.
The Middle had a pretty good rebound too – up .6 from last week
(it was such a funny episode!)
Julia, in the overnights Modern Family had a 3.4 on 11/4, and it was the series low. The comparisons in the overnight reports, unless specifically stated otherwise compare preliminary to preliminary rather than preliminary to finals.
Cougar Town had a 2.7 in the preliminary #s on 11/4.
CSI: NY benefitted from the crossover although its demo are on par with what it has been getting for a while, Criminal Minds was steady and up from last week. 8pm was ho hum but getting rid of Hank was a wise decision.
Not too bad for mercy.
In that case, still not a series low! Its third airing (10/7) was 3.2 in the prelims, and 10/21 was 3.3.
so a repeat of MF beat the last 4 airings of Hank (1.6, 1.6, 1.5, 1.3) and The Middle hit its highest demo since the pilot.
You always hate to see shows pulled from the schedule and replaced with repeats of more successful shows, but… sometimes there’s a good reason for it. Mostly because it benefited “The Middle.”
“Gary Unmarried” won its half hour in 18-49 fast nationals (“Dance” – 2.2/6, “Mercy” – 2.1/6). Imagine what that show could do with a real lead-in.
looks like ABC made the right move replacing Hank with Modern Family repeats. The Middle really benefited from the change too. I had a feeling that The Middle would do better without Hank.
Good job to NBC’s Mercy which won it’s time slot in total viewers and with a 2.0 18-49 share was very competitive with the CBS comedies.
Is there any show on all of television with more consistent ratings than Glee’s? Hasn’t it had virtually the exact same demo every week since the season premiere?
Last night’s Glee episode settled it — I *will* be buying this show on DVD. So tell me that it *will* be released at the end of Season 1.
spuffy, the first 13 episodes of Glee will be on DVD at the end of December.
Chuck, it doens’t matter if Mercy won the timeslot in viewers, it was fourth in the demo.
So Christine and Gary actually win their time slots or are at the least usually competitive. Why do theses shows not receive good press? Does CBS ignore them or is it just me?
Julia, indeed. 11/4 was the series low (18-49) for Cougar Town, but not for Modern Family!
So proud of Glee for doing well, happy for Modern Family and Cougar Town as well
For what show would 11/4 in 18-49 be a series low?!
Jack, I’m pretty sure 11/4 would be impossible. You can’t have a lower share than rating.
gbd, 8-830pm Wednesday is a pitifully rated half hour of broadcast shows. When the “winner” needs just a 2.2 rating, even press releases have better things to focus on, although I’m sure it will be trumpeted in CBS’ release today.
Doug (2) said it, but it bears repeating:
MF is the new hit of the year, not NCIS:LA.
The lessons you can take from that are worth noting too:
You can get hits on a completely new night.
You can get a hit without any kind of lead-in.
You can get a hit without it being a franchise. Heck, the show is the second most unique offering of the year, directly against the most unique offering (Glee). I still wonder what this show would do free of Glee, say, at Tuesday 9pm. (Yes, that would require ABC moving their ever-weakening DWTSResults show.)
Any kind of afterglow from the hit doesn’t last long (CT gets some, but the effect is gone by the time Eastwick starts).
And when do we start putting bets on what the AI-lead Glee gets? Flirting with 4.0s?
SVU down a couple ticks. The show only has a 2.5ish base that watches the show, as opposed to turning it on when another show isn’t on. I know people think the idea is crazy, but NBC really has to crunch the numbers on that budget vs. the results before the upfront…
@cool–if you read what I wrote I said it won its time slot and was “competitive” with the other 8PM shows–2.2 for Christine, 2.1 for So You Could Dance. I’m looking at things from NBC perspective and feel that they will not necessarily cancel a show which isn’t performing that much worse among the 8PM shows in the demo and which usually wins its timeslot. I know this site is all about the 18-49 demo but “Mercy” hasn’t been doing that poorly compared with its competition.
Nice to see Mercy bounce back a little.
there was a little trumpeting of the Old Christine/Gary Unmarried numbers behind the scenes. Perhaps “trumpeting” is the wrong word…more like Kazoo-ing in this case, but I’d definitely count on mentions for both in the press release.
cool writes, “Chuck, it doens’t matter if Mercy won the timeslot in viewers, it was fourth in the demo.”
So was “SVU.” You think that’s going anywhere?
I’m sure NBC is tickled pink to have a show which wins its time slot in any measure whatsoever, what, considering how many shows they’ve got which are fourth in households, demos and everything else under the sun.
Can’t belive Glee went down after last week’s episode. Still very strong. It’s demo will be huuuuge with an Idol Bump.
Yay for Modern Family. What a diffrence dumping Hank did on the whole line up.
Mercy at a 2.0? Was this the week the Real Desperate Housewives were on? That shows fate is intriguing to me.
Bill: Gotcha. Will be interesting to see if ABC trumpets MF’s repeat numbers.
Robert: kazoo-ing? lol
GBD, as for ABC, yes. I was waiting for the formal press release, but here’s what it will say about that:
At 8pm, a repeat of Modern Family was up 46% from an original Hank two weeks ago in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.3/4), registering ABC’s best series number in the half-hour in 7 weeks (and 2nd highest rating this season) – since 9/30/09.
Regarding Mercy it also should be pointed out that it also increased from last week. It went from a 1.8 adult 18-49 demo to a 2.0 and its overall audience climbed from 6.76 million to 7.79 million. I think that should be noted as well.
Riff, a total viewers win is only good for the PR people. It doesn’t mean that NBC is thrilled with it. We have to keep in mind that these shows aren’t competing with the shows on other networks when it comes to cancellation and renewal. They are competing with the other shows on the same network. Mercy’s performance is weak, and it’s demo rating vs the networks average say that it will most likely be canceled in May.
CBS is supporting those two comedies. They do run promos and they are still on the air despite last season when everyone thought they’d be gone.
Glee just gets better and better. The over the top parts are funny and the quiet moments are genuine. Great writing.
Tommy writes, “We have to keep in mind that these shows aren’t competing with the shows on other networks when it comes to cancellation and renewal. They are competing with the other shows on the same network.”
Is that what Bill and Robert told you? Well, you go with that. Me, I’ll go with reality – which is that the only thing the networks care about is improving time periods from what they had there previously and staying competitive with everything else in the time slot. They don’t make “indexes” and say, “Oh, this show is only at a .91? Well, it’s below our network average of .92 so we must cancel it then!” Sorry if you’ve been fooled into thinking otherwise
Woot for Modern Family! It’s tearing it up!
Mercy really rebounded this week, I guess you could blame it on the CMA’s.
Well you can think that all you want Riff, I’ll see you in May when Mercy isn’t on NBC’s schedule for 2010-11.
Riff, is that why shows like Moonlight and Without a Trace, which won, or were at least competitive in their timeslots on a regular basis were canceled? Because networks only care about timeslots?
Nikki Finke is reporting NBC picked up Trauma…which they canceled a few weeks ago. WTF?
I saw that too Brad, wonder if she accidentally slipped something in her tea this morning?….lol
Brad, we’ll see if that’s just a web glitch of some sort. I’d love to have a “ Uncanceled” post, another TV by the Numbers first.
If it’s true (and I’m sure that if it’s not, the piece will mysteriously disappear from her site with no mention of it ever again) this looks very very very very very bad for Parenthood.
Riff, of course broadcast networks don’t do the simple analysis I do, they do far more, with lots more data and lots more people working on it.
The idea that the competition with 3-4 other broadcast shows in a timeslot is an overriding concern seems both anachronistic (what about all the cable shows getting 60%+ of the adults 18-49 demo) and silly PR puffery. “Winning” and “Losing” is really just a press release matter, and something for sites like ours to chatter about.
Of course the broadcast network’s objectives are overall ratings maximization. And timeslot improvement is certainly a factor, but potential timeslot improvement (or, could I do better next year) has got to be just a big a factor. That’s where relative ratings across the rest of network seems to play a factor.
The only reason I can see NBC picking up Trauma is if they are having troubles with their 2010 schedule. They can always move up FNL from its June-ish launch or *gulp* extend Heroes. They already did so for Chuck.
wowwwww mercy growed a lot! doesn’t matter what you say, almost 8 million people are watching the show: NBC should consider it. in the last minute it reached 8 million. heroes’s performance last monday went to a 4.71 million viewers in the second half. and heroes is likely to be renewed. so sad the show isnt coming back till december 2..
V should be moved to wedensday in the 8 eastern slot. It would have very little competition. Its rating this week would have beating all those shows and probably improved with not having to go up against ncis.
Of course with American Idol in March that won’t matter much!!
Yeah, I really have a hard time seeing Trauma being the best of all options, between airing Persons Unknown, airing Parenthood, more Heroes, reairing FNL at first opportunity, or some emergency reality show, with the massive budget Trauma has.
But if it is true, PU (lolz) and Parenthood have to be catastrophes.
If it is true that NBC picked up Trauma (which I doubt too.) I’d say all beats are off when it comes to predicting what NBC may or may not cancel.
Finke has expanded her story, and says that “additional” episodes have been ordered.
Who knows if that is just enough to get to mid-February though.
Chuck wrote: “Good job to NBC’s Mercy which won it’s time slot in total viewers and with a 2.0 18-49 share was very competitive with the CBS comedies.”
Cool wrote: “Chuck, it doens’t [SIC] matter if Mercy won the timeslot in viewers, it was fourth in the demo.”
The mantra I’ve seen on this site, insistently, is that the 18-49 demo is all that matters, that total viewership is irrelevant to networks and advertisers. I don’t know how everyone knows this — do you work in TV marketing/media? At the same time, I don’t have facts to dispute this assertion (although it’s counterintuitive to suggest that advertisers don’t care that 20 MILLION people might watch, say, the finalie of “Dancing with the Stars,” demo notwithstanding).
However, if demo really is all that matters, then I have two questions:
(1) Why does Nielsen tally and report total viewers if no one cares about those figures? Someone is PAYING Nielsen to gather these numbers, yes? I venture that Nielsen is not collecting and reporting total viewers as a public service for our entertainment. It stands to reason that these numbers are important to someone, for some purpose.
(2) If total viewers are irrelevant, why does THIS web site bother to report them? Why not just report the 18-49 demo, perhaps with anecdotal info on other demos (i.e., 18-34) when noteworthy? Apparently, tvbythenumbers.com thinks that total viewership figures are of some value to someone, as well.
Ok, she finally added content to the post, and she’s taking pot shots at Hibberd, and possibly TVBTN, though I bet it’s mostly Hibberd. But her account as to why the show is going to be saved is total BS. She claims there has been a recent ratings rise. The ratings for the past two weeks have been steady at 1.8, which is down from the two weeks previous, where it was 1.9. Where is this rise she’s talking about?
I think she’s just full of hot air honestly, if it happens it’s mostly only due to NBC’s lack of programing options.
Time to break out the bingo cards?
Tommy is right. It’s only get additional episodes because they have nothing else to air. I think that only reinforced the fact that Chuck will air in January to give NBC more time to find something to air before the 2010 Fall season starts. I read The Listener got picked up by Canadian TV…they could air some of those episodes.
If it was premature to report that Trauma wasn’t getting any additional episodes, wouldn’t NBC have come out and set the record straight on that?
Julia,
Wow! So are you a cynical know it all in every area of your life, or are we, the patrons of this site, the fortunate ones?
I was starting to wonder if you hated all shows, but it almost sounds like you like MF. That’s one thing we can agree on, at least.
would NBC really cancel mercy? I mean it was #1 in total viewers
Glee often rises in the finals. I imagine a 3.3 or 3.4 demo, as usual. With the IDOL lead in this spring and the DVD out in DEC I imagine its gonna do amazingly well in the demo, I’m guessing around what Fringe did last season. Except Glee doesn’t need a cushy timeslot to survive… Fringe on the other hand…
Bill or Robert, can we get a smiley icon that’s banging it’s head on a wall to display in the posts? All these total viewer lovers warrant one.
@Blurred if NBC were doing better than they are now they probably would. But with the network overall troubles they may just keep it around. It has won its time slot four times this season and while it doesn’t win the 18-49 demo it’s not far from what the competition does at the same time. They may have nothing better to put there.
Tommy, you’ll have to make do with these smilies.
thanks Bill, I guess this one will work
Tommy says:
November 19, 2009 at 10:16 am
Bill or Robert, can we get a smiley icon that’s banging it’s head on a wall to display in the posts? All these total viewer lovers warrant one
Suck up
…So does Modern Family edging out Criminal Minds in the share department make it the #1 show of the night?
I guess ABC has somewhat found the comedy block that it’s been looking for
I guess I’ll hafta give the Middle a try
the promos reminded me of Malcolm in the Middle kinda
tdot, as others have complained, it’s a bad rip-off of Malcolm in the Middle. But it’s told from the mother’s POV, not the middle child. And in this case, the mother is not the wonderful Jane Kaczmarek, but Patricia Heaton.
Yay! for The Middle they deserve it, such a funny show, glad for Modern Family Cougar Town as well.
Mercy did really good I think, I mean i’m not a fan of NBC shows, but Mercy deserves a little credit 2.0 for NBC now is very good
am I sensing a “Why I’m Not Watching ‘The Middle’” post?
Except I am watching it. God dammit I need a job!
GLEE is the best show on TV…..amazing writing and cast…. it will be a huge contender come emmys. It premiered to numbers this season where it stayed throughout….not much a drop at all. Shows fans love it. With more fans from idol, this one will last a while.
Hey just wondering did u guys get the finals for friday night? i just want to know did medium rise to a 2.0.
Robert – you need to follow @TravisYanan on Twitter. You can find the link to the Friday finals there…
Actually, it looks like I’m not watching The Middle anymore. They took it off Hulu.
Edit: This could be a reason to write something about how horrible abc.com’s player is, though.
I’m not watching it! The “Janitor” from Scrubs was a deal breaker for me.
Glee is the model of consistency.
Mercy went up a few ticks I see, and that rerun rating for MF is pretty impressive. Looks like it helped The Middle quite a bit. Burn on Hank.
WHoooooossssshhhh!
To me I see a very close battle between the 8:30 comedies!! Gary Unmarried and The Middle (Watch Gary Live and Record Middle) have almost the same amount of viewers. Mebe if CBS gets rid of Gary then ABC can pick it up for next season and put it in the 8pm slot. Which I would Love and the fact that ABC makes the show!!!
This is kind of a bad sign that Modern Family is a bad to mild repeater. I was expecting a little better than that for Modern Family. Shoot iCarly does better than that on cable.
The story of the night had to been Mercy’s growth. Those who said this show was a grower is right. NBC might have a little star on its hands.
Really happy to see The Middle up.. deserves to stay on the air
CBS has to be happy with the comedy hours numbers. I mean Christine was first in adults and a close second in total viewers. And Gary builds on Christine which is what every network wants. their numbers might be low compared to other nights but on wednesdays they win their hour.
NBC has to be happy at mercy because it won in total viewers. I know that means nothing to them, but still its something. it means people are actually watching, so that means it could grow.
One of the things that’s interesting is that the CBS comedies are up in the demo this year. Gary is consistently getting a 2.5. The block is slowly growing but I think if CBS can find a booster its numbers will be off the roof.
You got to get the viewers first before you raise the demos so this is a good sign for Mercy. NBC should move Trauma to Wednesdays after Mercy and put SVU on Mondays where it can get out of Criminal Mind’s shadow.
@ODG09, don’t make such assinine assertions without at least trying to back it up with evidence. Show me when an iCarly rerun had more than 6.2 million viewers. Come on, I double dog dare you!
I’m pretty shocked that Old Christine out-performed a re-run of Modern Family… shocked and delighted!
For some reason Gary Unmarried and Old Christine always go down in finals so I won’t be surprised to see GU and The Middle tied!
So that proves it! Kelsey Grammer was pulling Patricia Heaton down. Hahaha! Didn’t they have a show last season that got axed?
Hooray for The Middle! Hope it keeps it up.
After three weeks of the November Sweep, FOX continues to hold on to the A18-49 lead, while CBS has the viewer crown.
2009-10 November Sweep
21 Days (20 finals, 1 prelim)
Rank Net A18-49 P2+
—-
1. FOX 3.5 9,887,000
2. ABC 2.9 10,042,000
3. CBS 2.8 11,162,000
4. NBC 2.5 7,461,000
5. UNI 1.3 3,414,000
6. CW 1.1 2,389,000
7. ION 0.3 909,000
Broadcasters can take heart in continued year-over-year improvement vs the first three weeks of last years November Sweep with P2+ viewers up +4%, households up +3% and A18-49 down a mere -1%. The three networks driving the year-to-year improvement are FOX (up +32% in A18-49, +45% in households and +48% in P2+), CW and ION, while the other nets are down in single digits (ABC, CBS) or double digits (NBC, UNI) on a year-to-year basis.
Total viewers really do matter very little, but it’s not true that they do not matter at all. The nets use all sorts of metrics to combine the varying demos with total viewers when they try and trumpet their shows to ad buyers. This doesn’t mean ad buyers care about them, but some people at the nets do. Remember, some of the people running these networks are not the brightest pennies in the pond. It is true that people can fail upward.
As for Mercy, however, its total viewer numbers are meaningless. Yeah, if you are DWTS, or something like it, and your total viewers can flirt with 20 million, that can help you overcome weaker demos with some (emphasis on the SOME) advertisers, but winning the hour with under 8 million viewers is nothing to crow about. No one is paying a premium for that.
But some ads are actually targeted at older buyers. This does happen, especially when those older buyers are rich. A lot of the drug companies especially target older viewers, and so those companies do look at total viewers and the over 49 crowd. There actually are products aimed at older people exclusively. That means that a show with 15-20 million viewers can get by with only decent, or even mediocre, demos. That show would not be Mercy, however, which is targeted at younger female viewers and is not drawing them. And the extra older viewers it is drawing are just not a large enough block to mean jack shit to ad buyers.
It does say something about the state of network TV, however, when the biggest new hit of the season can’t even draw ten million viewers. I know that doesn’t mean much of anything when it is getting solid demos, but I’m not talking money for a second. I’m just talking about network total viewership levels, which have just shrunk dramatically in the last five years. When even a hit show can’t draw double digits in total viewers, it just looks weird when you see it in print.
By the way, I’m just talking about the Big Three and their Little Sister. I know that overall viewing is up, but the drastic drop in broadcast network viewing is staggering.
Modern Family deserves all the successes in the world. I love that it ends every episode with the family together.
I think the whole Middle getting pulled down by Hank is a myth. When Hank was getting above 6 million viewers, The Middle was barely touching 6.5 million viewers. It has more to do with finding a comedy that was compatible with it, Hank and The Middle might’ve two different audiences which is why I would like for ABC to opening up another block focusing just on the traditional sitcoms when they start airing Accidentally on Purpose.
I think both Christine and Cougartown are examples of money and power talk, bullshit walks. Their shows have been nurtured, given good press and the best possible time slots, ( speaking of Christine earlier in its run.) They are so-so. Without seeing Glee, but knowing what a talent Jane Lynch (? ) is and what a decent concept it is, it has to be better than Cougartown. The Cougars just aren’t that funny. But Acc to Jim and Scrubs have been on a long time, for reasons nobody ( meaning Dorothy in Kansas) can figure out. If anyone posting here can give me a reason for Scrubs being renewed that doesn’t have to do with the power couple Christa and her husband the producer, please tell me. Don’t beg the question by saying, 18-35 year old women like it. They like it because it was given a great time slot and incredibly generous press. They like it because they can’t help but like it. I’m sorry,but a certain % of human beings can be counted on as being as predictable as Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man.That’s the % of sure things Hollywood cement ponds and Ferraris are made of.
mercy was hilarious last night with the real housewife of new jersey!! i really think this show deserve so much.
Great post moraliste!
fox should put fringe at 8pm wednesday, its getting killed where it is and ‘dance’ aint exactly storming the ratings on an easier night.
Hmmm – 2.0 demo at NBC = the new 3.0
And just think – what could SVU do with a decent lead-in?
Mercy’s 4 week trend is not good, compared to Trauma’s – but Trauma was so low, it was looking up at a snake’s belly – on a plane
Yeah, Fringe would do better than currently than it is on another night. It would do great on Tuesdays with no lead-in. In fact, if roles were reversed, Lie To Me would do worse off than Fringe in the Thursday timeslot.
Ok, 8PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays are both not options for Fringe. FOX will not replace Idol with it, that’s just crazy, crazy, crazy talk to the extreme. And Post Idol will go to stronger FOX produced shows, (Glee, Human Target, and whatever the name is of the other new show.) Point being, Fringe will not be moving to those nights. Mondays are out too, since they won’t give up House at 8PM, they won’t trough Lie to Me to Thursdays because it’s produced by FOX. Sundays are out because of the Animated shows, so that leave you with 2 options, Thursdays and Fridays. Fridays are not really an option for Fringe, because it’s too expensive.
My reviews for last nights shows:
New Adventures of Old Christine–8/10
The Middle–8.5/10
Modern Family–8/10
Cougar Town–9/10
Glee–9.5/10
Mercy–9/10
Do you think taht if Old Christine will be picked up by ABC in CBS cancels it, like last year?
I hope Glee will get a big boost when it starts airing after American Idol.
I hope Mercy gets renewed for a second season, it went up a lot this week and it is really turning into a great show!
Its good to see The Middle go up this week, now that Hank is no longer pulling it down. It might just get a second season renewel if it continues to grow.
Gary Unmarried, Mercy, and Criminal Minds had its best episodes of the season so far. Christine was outrageously funny towards the end. I was disappointed with CSI: NY but at least its numbers were really good.
NBC needs to really move SVU out of there because I keep missing it. Why not put Trauma there like somebody mentioned before.
I think I can see CBS swapping Christine & Gary next season.
Yay, The Middle climbed to 2.4. Very pleased with the numbers of Modern Family and Cougar Town. The interview with Janet Jackson performed below my expectations I thought it could be on par with the 20/20 Rihanna interview.
Gary’s numbers are good, Old Christine climbed a bit but still low. I hope it manages to survive for another season.
Glee’s is very consistent, with Idol I think the show could pull pull 3.5-4.0.
Good for The Middle. For a sitcom on ABC, a 2.4 should get a renewal if it stays there.
I could of sworn Gary Unmarried was a 2.2 zombie that would never really go up or down. I stand corrected, last week a 2.4, this week a 2.5(might tick down in finals) but a 2.4 is also good enough for a CBS WEDNESDAY comedy renewal.
Modern Family looks good, and a 3.2 for cougarttown is no need for panic mode, its still fine. Overall, a great night for comedies!
weds 8pm is such a blackhole, 8:30pm gets better, but still.
2.5 wins the hour by a mile.
>>>Total viewers really do matter very little, but it’s not true that they do not matter at all. The nets use all sorts of metrics to combine the varying demos with total viewers when they try and trumpet their shows to ad buyers. This doesn’t mean ad buyers care about them, but some people at the nets do. Remember, some of the people running these networks are not the brightest pennies in the pond. It is true that people can fail upward.
As for Mercy, however, its total viewer numbers are meaningless. Yeah, if you are DWTS, or something like it, and your total viewers can flirt with 20 million, that can help you overcome weaker demos with some (emphasis on the SOME) advertisers, but winning the hour with under 8 million viewers is nothing to crow about. No one is paying a premium for that.
But some ads are actually targeted at older buyers. This does happen, especially when those older buyers are rich. A lot of the drug companies especially target older viewers, and so those companies do look at total viewers and the over 49 crowd. There actually are products aimed at older people exclusively. That means that a show with 15-20 million viewers can get by with only decent, or even mediocre, demos. That show would not be Mercy, however, which is targeted at younger female viewers and is not drawing them. And the extra older viewers it is drawing are just not a large enough block to mean jack shit to ad buyers.<<<<
But with NBC's current struggles, they need as many viewers at they can possibly get. If Mercy can build up to 8 or 9 million viewers, it has a really good chance of coming back next season regardless of the demos.
Plus a network can rely on demos to their detriment. ABC canceled George Lopez because its 18-49 demos went way down from the previous seasons, even though its overall ratings went down only slightly and was equivalent to According To Jim. It was replaced by that dreadful piece of boring crap called Cavemen, whose ratings made George Lopez look like Grey's Anatomy in comparison.
I hope abc will renew The Middle for 2nd season. The show just so damn funny.
My comment:
ABC-ABC’s comedy wednesday is doing better than well.MD repeat did better than Hank.That proves Kelsey Grammar isn’t big this year.Or any year.CT does well in demos.The Middle is doing well in demos too.
CBS-New Adventures of old Christine is better than Gary Unmarried in total viewers but GU is better than demos.Criminal Minds is getting better,CSI:NY the season is great.Great to see the numbers
With Glee doing well with teens, does that mean many ads targeting teens would no doubt be on that show?
Well I’m glad Modern Family is doing well now, it could beat 10 million next week.
Good to see Cougar Town back in the 3s, hope it gets renewed for a second season, it’s one awesome show.
LOL @ Modern Family repeat beating Hank first runs, and MF has what? A 6 episode or so vault only!
why don’t they start The Middle at 8pm?
Happy to see The Middle doing so good and winning the timeslot.
Julia writes, “Riff, is that why shows like Moonlight and Without a Trace, which won, or were at least competitive in their timeslots on a regular basis were canceled? Because networks only care about timeslots?”
“Moonlight” wasn’t a time slot improvement. It also dipped in between its sandwich shows. And there were a ton of behind the scenes problems (including Joel Silver reportedly not even caring if it got a second season or not). And the fans are insane. They replaced it with shows that improved time slot retention from IT, so they made the right decision.
As far as comparing a freshman series with a show that had been on 7 years, oh, gimme a break. I already said on here that “Without a Trace” was the dumbest cancellation of last season and I stand by that. It focused on a subject close to my heart and I’m sorry it got replaced with that snorefest starring whatsherface from “ER.” But it was also an expensive show (yes, shocking, shows that have been on for 7 years being expensive) that CBS probably felt ran its course. I didn’t agree with them, but it was their prerogative to think so — especially since a lot of former fans were complaining about how bad it had gotten. If “Trace” were in its first year and had improved Tuesday 10:00 as much as it did last season, it would be on this season. Case closed.
Thirdly, convenient of you to compare CBS to NBC, as if they’re not apples and oranges. CBS has an embarrassment of riches and can afford to drop a hit here or there to cut costs. NBC was in that position in the mid ’80s when shows like “Blacke’s Magic,” “Aaron’s Way,” “Sara” and “All Is Forgiven” did well yet weren’t renewed. Now? They’re about, oh, 15 hits away from that position.
Actually, Mercy had its best numbers since its premiere, tying in 18-49 demo the 2nd episode and 2nd best in overall viewers. I’m really crossing my fingers for Mercy, because it’s becoming such a great show, and I really see a big opportunity for this show to grow. However I don’t see SVU as a good companion to Mercy, ratings-wise.
Glee is doing great for Fox, from my point of view. With American Idol it won’t be much better, I bet in a 3.5/3.8 limit.
The comedies are impressing me, with Old Christine and Gary Unmarried holding on well for CBS. Cougar Town is also doing really good, despite being a lower performer compared to Modern Family.
So You Think You Can Dance 2.1/6 5.68
tscc #’s move it to fridays fox hehehe
another example of the genius of fox exec’s
I can tell you now that unless The Middle dips below a 2.2 it will be here again next year. ABC executives really like it and if it were on after a new Modern Family than it could probably score at least a 3.0. With the ’strong’ 2.4 following a repeat ABC will be looking at giving it a post Dancing With The Stars slot in the spring. I would bet on my house that The Middle will be here in a year’s time.