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Week 19 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 19 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox 9.9/15.0, CBS 5.7/8.8, ABC 5.4/8.4, NBC 5.3/8.4, The CW 1.4/2.1, MyNetworkTV 0.9/1.4
Total Viewers: Fox 17.25 million, ABC 8.49 million, CBS 8.44 million, NBC 8.24 million, The CW 2.1 million, MyNetworkTV 1.41 million
Adults 18-49: Fox 6.6/16.6, ABC 3.0/7.8, NBC 2.9/7.4, CBS 2.1/5.5, The CW 0.9/2.2, MyNetworkTV 0.6/1.4

Analysis: Week 19 so far has again seen Idol score big for Fox, although it was down once again from previous week...the Super Bowl will air tonight on Fox and crush everything once again. Fox is obviously on top by big this week in all categories and will even be higher after tonight. CBS, ABC and NBC are battling for a distant second in HH, viewers, and 18-49. Fox will for sure win the week thanks to Idol and the Super Bowl, no doubt. Last week, week 18, Fox was number one all categories. CBS was second in HH and viewers, while NBC was second in 18-49. NBC was third in HH and viewers, while ABC was third in 18-49. CBS was fourth in 18-49 and ABC fourth in HH and viewers.
On Monday, all of the big 4 aired Bush's State of the Union address from 9-10 followed by a half-hour analysis, so lots of preemptions. ABC had the highest rated hour of the night with an abbreviated 60 minute Dance War doing a solid 9.45 million, down slightly from previous week. NBC aired American Gladiators and it did 8.6 million, down from previous week by over a million. CBS was in repeat mode for its sitcom as Mother did 7.33 million and Men at a special time did 9.6 million. Fox aired an encore of Sarah Connor Chronicles which did 5.99 million. The CW had a Gossip Girl special from 8-9:30 doing 1.72 million and a repeat of Aliens in America at 1.58 million. The battle of the 10:30 sitcom repeats after the State of the Union went to CBS, see below.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to Idol's 28.22 million, down from previous week. An all-new episode of House followed with 22.56 million, obviously a season high. CBS was a distant second with a repeat of NCIS at 11.77 million, very solid on par from previous week...followed by a repeat of The Unit at 6.93 million, down from previous week and a new 48 Hours Mystery at 7.86 million, up from previous week. NBC aired a two-hour Biggest Loser at 8.33 million, down from previous week and a Law & Order: SVU repeat followed with 9.29 million. ABC had two repeats of Just for Laughs start the night off with 5.03 million, slightly up from previous week, another repeat followed with 4.71 million, up from previous week's repeat...a new According to Jim followed with 5.7 million, down from previous week and a new Carpoolers only managed 3.84 million, down from previous week. ABC closed the night off with a repeat of Boston Legal at a 5.24 million. The CW aired a repeat of Reaper at just 1.55 million and all-new One Tree Hill did 2.79 million...down from previous week.
On Wednesday, it was all Fox again. American Idol did 25.57 million, once again down from previous week. The second showing of Moment of Truth followed with 17.64 million, way down from the premiere, but still great. NBC started the night off with a repeat of Deal or No Deal at 9.68 million, down about 4 million from previous week as it was a repeat, the NBC airing of USA Network's Law & Order: Criminal Intent did 8.89 million, up a bit from previous week, followed by the original Law & Order at 11.1 million, up from previous week. ABC's Wife Swap did 5.78, followed by the two-hour encore of last season's Lost finale at an impressive 8.47 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating. CBS started off slow with two repeats of Old Christine at 4.89 and 4.75 million, but up from the now removed Power of 10. Repeats of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY did 8.74 and 7.3 million...seems below normal. . The CW had a new showing of Crowned and a repeat of One Tree Hill at 1.42 and 910,000...Crowned is not doing good, down again from previous week.
On Thursday, Lost is back and ABC won the night. Sure ABC's big gun of Grey's Anatomy is now off-air because of the strike, but ABC has put Lost on Thursdays and the premiere dominated. A clip show even won the 8pm hour with an impressive 13.16 million, followed by the season premiere at a dominant 16.14 million and a 6.7 18-49 rating, and the series premiere of Eli Stone did well with 11.14 million. Fox was second thanks to Idol's promotion for sure, as Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? and Don't Forget the Lyrics! did 10.56 and 10.97 million, the latter did unusually high it seems CBS started the night off with a repeat of CSI: NY at a solid 8.67 million, followed by a repeat of CSI at 11.69, down from previous week, and a repeat of Without a Trace closed the night off with 10.18 million, also down from previous week. NBC started the night with the repeats of My Name is Earl and The Office at 5.27 and 4.45 million, a two-hour Celebrity Apprentice followed with 7.82 million, down from previous week and it got slaughtered at 9pm by ABC.
Like usual, no Friday finals yet, but CBS, NBC and Fox had something to smile about. NBC's 1 vs. 100 had the highest rating at 8pm, followed closely by a repeat of CBS' Ghost Whisperer. At 9pm a House repeat won the hour for Fox,. The 10pm hour was very close as ABC, CBS and NBC did decent enough for a Friday. On Saturday, it was a dead night like usual. Cops had the highest 18-49 rating in the low 2's.
Tonight will be all Fox with the Super Bowl (I know...any idiot can tell you that). Will this Super Bowl beat the 1982 record of a 49.1 rating? Or the highest total viewers of 94.08 million which was in 1996? We shall find out soon! Who will be second tonight is the story. Usually movies do the best, and ABC has one from 9-11pm with Meet the Fockers.
As for the week, Fox will win in HH, viewers and 18-49. The battle for second is up in the air. I predict CBS second, ABC third and NBC fourth.
This coming week...has CBS premiering a new sitcom (see yesterday's blog for a review) and returning Old Christine tomorrow night. Will the Super Bowl help any of Fox's shows go up a bit? We shall see. Lost and Eli Stone are a must watch this Thursday...let's see how much it will hold in the ratings from previous week. And finally, the strike could end this week, so it could be a very happy week!

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of January 21-27)

• Aliens in America (The CW) - A repeat did 880,000 viewers...nearly doubling the viewers from previous week when it was against the NFC Championship game on Fox.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A new episode did a below average 7.45 million and a 3.65 18-49 rating. A repeat followed and did better actually 7.57 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat built on its lead-in and did 7.72 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, not bad for a repeat.
• American Dad (Fox) - A new episode did just 6.16 million.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 7.33 million for a repeat...up a bit from previous week's repeat of 7.13 million.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.6 million tuned in for a repeat...down from previous week by 2 million, but it aired at 8:30 on this night.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A special 10:30pm repeat did 5.16 million, the best of the 10:30 sitcom repeats on this night.
• Samantha Who (ABC) - A special 10:30pm repeat did 3.8 million, the second best of the 10:30 sitcom repeats on this night.
• The Office (NBC) - A special 10:30pm repeat did 3.65 million, the third best of the 10:30 sitcom repeats on this night.
• CW Monday Comedies: Aliens in America. All preempted but a repeat of Aliens at a special time of 9:30pm did 1.58 million.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - A new episode did 5.7 million, down from previous week's season high of 6.28 million.
  
• Carpoolers (ABC) - Just 3.84 million, down from previous week's 4.92 million.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Two repeats at a special night and time did 4.89 and 4.75 million.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - A repeat did OK with 5.27 million.
  
• The Office (NBC) - A repeat did just 4.45 million.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) is a repeat of Aliens in America on The CW at 7:30, and Fox's animated comedies are preempted as Fox airs the Super Bowl.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men repeat was impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as According to Jim, How I Met Your Mother repeat) or just plain old terrible (The Office repeat, Carpoolers).