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Week 21 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 21 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox 8.9/13.7, NBC 6.0/9.5, CBS 5.6/9.0, ABC 4.6/7.2, The CW 1.5/3.2, MyNetworkTV 0.9/1.4
Total Viewers: Fox 15.36 million, NBC 9.48 million, CBS 8.88 million, ABC 6.95 million, The CW 2.16 million, MyNetworkTV 1.36 million
Adults 18-49: Fox 6.3/15.8, NBC 3.2/8.2, CBS 2.6/6.8, ABC 2.4/6.1, The CW 0.9/2.3, MyNetworkTV 0.5/1.4

Analysis: Week 21 so far has again seen Idol score big for Fox, especially the two-hour event on Tuesday. Fox is on top thus far this week through Thursday in all categories and will be most likely after the end of tonight, when the week ends. NBC and CBS are battling for second in HH, viewers, and 18-49, while ABC could be in that mix after tonight's powerful two-hour Home Makeover. Last week, week 20, Fox was number one all categories. CBS was second in all categories. ABC was third, while NBC was fourth across the board.
On Monday, NBC was on top. NBC aired a 90-minute American Gladiators and it did 8.82 million, while Deal or No Deal also followed with a 90-minute episode and did a solid 13.15 million. Waste of a game show (if you can even call it that), no one will ever win a million. CBS was next with a mix of repeats and new episodes. Sitcom repeat of Two and a Half Men lead the night with 11.9 million, besting the new episodes of The Captain and Old Christine, a CSI: Miami repeat closed the night with 8.56 million. Fox aired its Prison Break & Sarah Connor Chronicles block and did OK with 7.84 and 8.32 million...the latter keeps dropping. ABC success with Dance War doing a solid 9.16 million for 90-minutes, before the bottom fell off with Notes from the Underbelly (probably the last scheduled airing) doing 4.15 million, followed by a season low for October Road at just 4 million. It is too bad it is dying, as Road is a good show. The CW had a repeat of Gossip Girl doing 1.26 million and two new episodes of Girlfriends at 1.69 and 1.98 million. Those were probably the last episodes ever for the show, as the show will be ending this season.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to a special two-hour Idol at 29.96 million. CBS was a distant second with a repeat of NCIS at 11.38 million, followed by the launch of Big Brother 9 at just 6.88 million and the season premiere of Jericho at 7.08 million, not too good. NBC aired a two-hour Biggest Loser at 7.4 million and a Law & Order: SVU repeat followed with 8.34 million. ABC had two episodes (new/repeat) of Just for Laughs start the night off with 5.07 million, followed by a repeat with 4.78 million...a new According to Jim followed with 4.91 million and a new Carpoolers only managed 3.9 million. ABC closed the night off with Boston Legal at a 7.25 million. The CW aired a repeat of Reaper at just 1.97 million and all-new One Tree Hill did 3.16 million.
On Wednesday, it was all Fox again. American Idol did 24.75 million. The free-falling Moment of Truth followed with 14.01 million, as it has dropped each episode. NBC started the night off with another Deal or No Deal at 11.07 million, the NBC airing of USA Network's Law & Order: Criminal Intent did 9.06 million, followed by the original Law & Order at 10.22 million. ABC's Wife Swap did 5.18, followed by an impressive showing from Supernanny at 8.8 million and Cashmere Mafia closed the night off with 5.31 million.. CBS didn't find any success with the second night of Big Brother 9 at just 5.65 million, that must have made the repeats of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY go below normal, as they did 7.62 and 7.74 million. The CW had another Top Model Exposed and a repeat of One Tree Hill at 1.41 and 1.04 million.
On Thursday, Lost continues to do well for ABC, as Valentine's night shaved some ratings off of everything. Lost enhanced repeat started the night off at 8pm with 6.21 million, followed by an all-new episode at 13.76 million and a 5.8 18-49 rating, and Eli Stone closed the night with 7.46 million. CBS started the night off with Survivor: Micronesia at 13.18 million, followed by a repeat of CSI at 10.87 and a repeat of Without a Trace closed the night off with 9.65 million. NBC started the night with yet another Deal or No Deal (they said it was Valentine's themed) at 12.18 million, Celebrity Apprentice followed with an above average 9.11 million, followed by week two of Lipstick Jungle at just 6.0 million. Fox was off the map as Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? and Don't Forget the Lyrics! were preempted for the 39th Annual NAACP Awards at just 3.85 million.
Like usual, no Friday finals yet, but CBS, NBC and Fox had something to smile about. NBC's 1 vs. 100 was the highest rating at 8pm, followed closely by a repeat of CBS' Ghost Whisperer. At 9pm a House repeat won the hour for Fox in the demos, while a CBS music special won in viewers. The 10pm hour was very close with NBC, ABC and CBS, as Las Vegas' two-hour finale edged away. On Saturday, Fox won with just 6.5 million or so.
Tonight will be ABC with the win, lead by the two-hour Home Makeover. The wild card is NBC's Knight Rider movie, it could do decent or bomb. American Gladiators will have its finale before Knight Rider, so it could get a nice sampling in young adults. But a finale that started at 7pm? That might not be a good idea. CBS will do well with 60 Minutes, but will Big Brother rebound at all for its third outing? Cold Case is all new at 9pm, followed by the CBS debut of Dexter, which will probably not draw as much as CBS would usually do at 10pm. Fox should get a boost in 18-49 with its animation, as they are all-new. My predictions for tonight HH/Viewers: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. 18-49: ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS.
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 in HH/Viewers, NBC second in 18-49, while ABC is third in 18-49 and viewers.
This coming week...February sweeps continues, as The Oscars will close the week with 40 million viewers next Sunday.

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of February 4-10)

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) 2 episodes - Two repeats did 770,000 and 1.23 million.
  
• Aliens in America (The CW) - Now that it gets a solid lead-in, a repeat on a Sunday did over 1 million, at 1.14 million.
• Girlfriends (The CW) - A repeat did 850,000 viewers...not good.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did 900,000 viewers...not good, but built from the lead-in.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 6.84 million following the NFL Pro Bowl.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - A new episode did 6.06 million...not good, but it had a repeat as its lead-in.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat built on its lead-in and did 6.55 million and another repeat built on that with 7.29 million.

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 7.06 million for a repeat...not good, but not bad either.
• Welcome to The Captain (CBS) - 7.03 million for its second episode, held mostly everything from the lead-in, but not really good. Down just under a million from its premiere.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 11.9 million tuned in for a repeat...how is this so rewatchable? Very good.
• Old Christine (CBS) - A new episode did 9.89 million, up from previous week's season premiere.
• Girlfriends (The CW) 2 episodes - Two all-new episodes did 1.69 and 1.93 million, not too good, but it followed a drama repeat rather than sitcoms.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - A new episode did 4.91 million. Whenever it faces Idol head-to-head it suffers it seems. With no Idol it does 6-7 million.
  
• Carpoolers (ABC) - Just 3.9 million, but it is pretty funny.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) is sitcom repeat on The CW from 7:30-10, and Fox's animated comedies are all-new from 8-10.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men repeat and a new Old Christine were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Welcome to The Captain, How I Met Your Mother repeat) or just plain old terrible (Girlfriends, Carpoolers).