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, September 10

The Conners - "Jeoparde, Sobriete and Infidelite" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene makes a decision about her trip to Hawaii, leading to a heated encounter with Barb; Becky gives a presentation on addiction to Mark's class.

The Conners - "Two Proposals, a Homecoming and a Bear" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Two proposals bring change to the Conner family; Jackie uses her "Jeopardy!" infamy to her advantage.

The Conners - "Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Conners continue to deal with the pandemic while navigating breakups and newfound sobriety, all while planning an upcoming wedding.

The Conners - "Education, Corruption and Damnation" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Ben declines Darlene's proposal, she starts to ponder why she tends to be so negative in life, prompting her to start a journey of self-discovery, which leads to Pastor Phil.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love Yourz" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin, worried about his son Calvin Jr.'s math struggles, recruits his eccentric friends Pookie and Peanut to help.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "To The Left" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Vinny's nightmare causes him to want to get saved and Mr. Brown will do the baptizing, while Lindor is up to his neck in everyone's IT needs.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 9)

Tuesday, September 10

Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Catch Jane on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now/The Associates) and Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - Steve, Martin and Selena are guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kevin Hart (Die Hart/The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Caitlin Reilly (Hacks) and Rickey Thompson (Foursome) - Caitlin and Rickey are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) and Mark Consuelos (Alpha House/Hope & Faith) - E! News has interviews with Kelly and Mark at 11pm on E!.
The Cast of Emily in Paris) - E! News has interviews with the cast of Emily Paris at 11pm on E!.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew is introducing the newest Drew-crew member, Valerie Bertinelli! Plus, Valerie is making a shrimp and veggie cups recipe from her latest cookbook, Indulge, on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Zoë Kravitz (High Fidelity) - Zoë is joining Drew to talk about her directorial debut Blink Twice. She's spilling on what it was like working with fiancÃ© Channing Tatum and her take on their viral NYC bike photo on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam discusses his mockumentary series Mr. Throwback on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.