Day 92: WGA's Strike; ION Touts Its Ratings for RHI and Drew Carey; 5 More RTN Affiliates

Monday, February 04, 2008

Day 92: WGA's Strike; ION Touts Its Ratings for RHI and Drew Carey; 5 More RTN Affiliates

Today is day 92 of the strike. Rumors are swirling that this will be resolved very soon. An announcement could come as soon as this week! I bet nothing will come officially until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest (as right now the main stories are the high-rated Super Bowl and Super Tuesday primaries). If the strike does end this week, production on many shows could be back up and running by the end of the month or early March for sure and we could start getting new episodes of our favorite scripted shows by the end of March or early April! Good news indeed!
Don't forget to tune in to the new CBS sitcom Welcome to the Captain premiereing tonight at 8:30pm, and then an hour later at 9:30pm it is the season premiere of Old Christine!

The RHI mini-series Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Ricky Schroder (NYPD Blue, Silver Spoons), Victoria Pratt (Day Break) and the legendary Peter Fonda, garnered significant ratings success with its Sunday, January 27 debut on ION Television. According to Nielsen Media Research data, the two-hour original television movie, a dynamic new adaptation of the classic tale by Jules Verne executive produced by Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., was seen in more than 1.1 million households and attracted over 1.6 million total viewers. The mini-series is the fifth original production from RHI Entertainment to air on ION, also generated the highest delivery among key demographics of RHI content on ION since its start. The Sunday night RHI Movie Weekend block has shown continued growth versus the fourth quarter, boosting households by 112 percent and more than doubling in every demographic category. RHI programming airs on ION Fri-Sun from 7-11pm.
Meanwhile, ION Television saw a ratings boost on Monday, January 28, as The Drew Carey Show delivered a 0.6 HH rating, doubling its four-week average of 0.3 HH since its launch on New Year's Day. In its 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. timeslot, the Emmy-nominated series captured 622,000 households (close to 1 million total viewers), and delivered a 73 percent increase in adults 25-54 and a 141 percent increase in women 25-54 in comparison to its average performance since its launch. After somewhat a slow start, hopefully it can keep this up as ION will add Baywatch right after it starting March 3.

Retro Television Network has announced that it will partner with White Knight Broadcasting to bring RTN programming to Shreveport, Louisiana (KSHV-DT) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (KZUP-CA). The network will launch late this year in both markets. Also, under the terms of the agreement, RTN programming will also air an additional four to seven hours a day on Shreveport's My Network affiliate, KSHV.
In addition, they will launch an RTN affiliate in Wichita/Hutchinson, Kansas. The network will begin airing in the second quarter of this year on KGPT, a Great Plains Television Network station.
Finally, they will launch RTN affiliates in two South Dakota markets, Sioux Falls and Rapid City. In Sioux Falls, the network will begin airing in March on KAUN, a station owned by J.F. Broadcasting that currently airs ION Television. In Rapid City, RTN programming will launch this summer on a digital stream of KOTA, the local ABC affiliate that is owned by Duhamel Broadcasting.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.