SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Week 8 Ratings Numbers Through Thursday; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 8 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Households: CBS: 10.3/15.9; ABC: 7.7/12.0; NBC: 7.2/11.1; FOX 4.5/6.8; The WB: 2.7/4.1; UPN: 2.4/3.6
Total Viewers: CBS: 16.25 million; ABC: 11.82 million; NBC: 10.77 million; FOX 7.16 million; The WB: 4.13 million; UPN: 3.56 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 5.4/13.8; ABC: 4.3/11.1; NBC: 3.9/10.1; FOX 3.1/7.9; The WB: 1.7/4.2; UPN: 1.5/3.9.

Analysis: The first four days of the first "full" week of sweeps saw CBS take a commanding lead. A better than usual showing of CSI: NY on Wednesday is a big part of that. As there was a crossover with CSI: Miami that night. ABC's Lost won its hour in everything, but CBS's Criminal Minds was a strong second place and CBS should be proud it has done well. Also, ABC's Monday Night Football had its best ratings in five years thanks to the marquis match-up between the undeafted Colts against the Super Bowl champion Patriots.
Friday saw CBS winning in total viewers and adults 18-49, and Close to Home did MUCH better than what Threshold did. Look for Close to Home to move to this slot for good. If Threshold doesn't perform against Law & Order: SVU and Boston Legal, look for it to be gone very soon. Remember, these numbers I have provided does not include Friday or last night. It should be an interesting battle between ABC and CBS among adults 18-49 after tonight. CBS will for sure win by a wide margin in total viewers for the week.


Monday Sitcoms

• The King of Queens (CBS) - Very consistent. Over 11.23 million viewers and a solid 3.5 adult 18-49 rating.
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Built on A18-49 from lead-in to a 3.6 but down in total viewers with 10.55 million.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 16.19 million tuned in. The show has been doing much better in recent weeks.
• Out of Practice (CBS) - A four million drop from its lead-in this week with 12.17 million. Adult 18-49 rating was solid enough with a 4.1 rating, down from the lead-in's 5.2 rating.
  
• Arrested Development (FOX) - Back-to-back all-new episodes still couldn't bring this show to life in the ratings. 4.19 and 3.94 million viewers tuned in. After that FOX has canceled this show. So how bad was it? UPN almost beat the show at 8:30 p.m.
  
• One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends (UPN), Half and Half (UPN) - Like King of Queens on CBS, this entire block is always consistent. 3.6-4.2 million tuned in, though One on One was only at 3.09 million to start off.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - 7.83 million tuned in. While that is not good, it is not that bad either.
  
• Rodney (ABC) - For a few weeks Rodney was building on Jim, not this week. 7.5 million tuned in. Look for Hot Properties in a test shot in this slot this week.
  
• My Name is Earl (NBC) - Slowly the show is going down, but still solid. 11.57 million tuned in (for 3rd in its slot) with a 5.2 A18-49 rating, tying Two and a Half Men for the best in that measure among sitcoms for the week.
  
• The Office (NBC) - Over 4 million viewers turned their sets off when they saw this show come on.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - We now have a three network battle of sitcoms from 8 to 9 p.m. George wins its slot in total viewers among the sitcoms with 7.92 million.
• Freddie (ABC) - Wins its slot among adults 18-49 with a 3.5 rating, second in viewers among sitcoms in the slot with 8.36 million.
  
• That '70s Show (FOX) -Winning its slot in adults 18-49 with a 3.4 rating, but only 6.98 million overall.
  
• Stacked (FOX) - Ouch! Pamela better get back to first run syndication shows, only 5.05 million tuned in for the season premiere and an even worse 2.2 adult 18-49 rating, down big from its lead-in's 3.4 rating.
  
• Still Standing (CBS) - Did slightly better, second in timeslot among sitcoms overall with 7.79 million but only a 2.3 adult 18-49 rating.
  
• Yes, Dear (CBS) - The reduced order sitcom performed well, winning its slot among sitcoms with 8.78 million, but second in its slot in A18-49 with a 2.9 rating.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• Joey (NBC) - Ellen visited, to some of the best numbers of the season, if not the best, with 8.08 million. NBC would be upset at those numbers last year but should be smiling a bit from previous weeks. I still think this show will be gone soon.
  
• Will & Grace (NBC) - Built on the lead-in by a lot, with 8.85 million and a 3.6 adults 18-49, up from the 3.1 from the lead-in.
  
• Everybody Hates Chris (UPN) - It consistently gets around 5.33 million each week.
  
• Love, Inc. (UPN), Eve (UPN), Cuts (UPN) - It's another round of freefall...though this week it was more steady from 8:30 to 10. 2.79, 2.79, and 2.69 million for all three.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• Bernie Mac (FOX) - The show is being wasted here. A terrible 5th place overall behind even UPN.
  
• Malcolm in the Middle (FOX) - Even worse than its lead-in.
  
• What I Like About You (The WB) - And I thought FOX was bad in this slot? This was even worse.
  
• Reba (The WB) - A repeat at 8:30 improved on its lead-in and a new episode at 9 p.m. did better.
• Hope & Faith (ABC) - It is now getting each week around a 4.5 rating, good for third in its slot.
  
• Hot Properties (ABC) - 4.2 rating for the Oprah themed episode. Tune in this Tuesday for a special night and time airing at 8:30!
• Twins (The WB) - Better than Living with Fran, but still WB was 6th place.
  

Summing it up. My Name is Earl, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, Freddie, and The King of Queens were the only impressive sitcoms this week. Everything else was OK (such as According to Jim, George Lopez) or just plain old terrible (such as Stacked, WB Friday, UPN Thursday).