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Week 24 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

Week 24 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: Fox 10.0/15.2, CBS 5.5/8.7, NBC 5.3/8.4, ABC 5.2/8.1, The CW 1.4/2.2, MyNetworkTV 1.1/1.7
Total Viewers: Fox 17.25 million, CBS 8.47 million, NBC 8.13 million, ABC 7.72 million, The CW 2.1 million, MyNetworkTV 1.69 million
Adults 18-49: Fox 6.4/16.0, NBC 2.7/7.0, ABC 2.5/6.6, CBS 2.4/6.3, The CW 1.0/2.4, MyNetworkTV 0.6/1.5

Analysis: Week 24 so far has seen again Idol score big for Fox on three nights...no more Thursday airings now starting this week. Through the first four days of week 24, we have Fox on top obviously, with a close race for second with CBS with the edge in HH and viewers and NBC with the edge in 18-49. NBC and ABC are close behind, while NBC is 2nd in 18-49, though ABC and CBS are right there behind it. Last week, week 23, Fox was number one in all categories (no really?). CBS was second in HH and viewers, with ABC second in 18-49. Third in HH and viewers was ABC, and NBC was tied for third in 18-49 with CBS, but fourth in HH and viewers.
On Monday, ABC was on top again for the second straight week. ABC aired the ABCNews special The Royal Family and it drew big viewers with 14.14 million from 8-10pm, however October Road followed with just 5.3 million, but its highest numbers in a while...season finale is tomorrow from 9-11pm. NBC was next with Deal or No Deal moving to 9pm again and doing 10.82 million, down from the 15.43 million it did the previous week at 8pm. Then NBC the reality series, My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad to 8pm and it did 7.24 million, down over a bit from previous week when it was at 9pm. Medium closed the night off with 9.08 million, up well over a million from previous week...a better lead-in helped. CBS was next with a mix of repeats and new episodes. Sitcom repeat of Two and a Half Men lead the night with 9.96 million (down about 3 million from previous week), besting the new episodes of The Captain and Old Christine, a CSI: Miami repeat closed the night with 9.35 million, up from previous week. Fox aired the last two episodes of the season for Sarah Connor Chronicles and it did 7.75 and 8.29 million...up from previous week, but the 8pm showing was lower than Moment of Truth the previous week. The CW had a repeat of Gossip Girl doing 1.4 million, up a bit from previous week, and a new Pussycat Dolls at 1.69 million, down a tad from previous week.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to Idol at 28.44 million, slightly down from previous week, but that was 90-minutes. Special premiere of new drama New Amsterdam did 13.47 million, not too good, but held more than Back to You did the previous week. NBC aired a two-hour Biggest Loser at 8.62 million, up from previous week and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU drew a decent 9.03 million. CBS was next with a repeat of NCIS at 10.22 million, down from previous week, followed by the Tuesday edition of the disappointing Big Brother 9 at just 6.18 million, down from previous week, and Jericho at 5.65 million, down over a million from the previous week...a very up and down series. ABC had two episodes (new/repeat) of Just for Laughs start the night off with 4.71 million (down a tad from previous week), followed by a repeat with 4.54 million (also down just a tad from previous week)...a new According to Jim followed with 5.49 million (up from previous week) and the finale of Carpoolers only managed 3.99 million, but up from previous week. ABC closed the night off with the new limited and interesting series Primetime: What Would You Do? at 5.9 million, but that was down nearly two million from its premiere. The CW aired a repeat of Top Model Exposed at just 1.53 million and all-new One Tree Hill did 2.93 million, down a bit from previous week.
On Wednesday, it was all Fox again. American Idol did 28.32 million, up from previous week when it was a 90-minute episode, impressive. The Moment of Truth returned and did 14.72 million, seems lower than normal after Idol, looks like the touch is wearing off. As NBC did on Monday, they have moved Deal or No Deal to 9pm and it did 8.95 million, down from previous week's 9.3 million, which was at 8pm. Law & Order: Criminal Intent has now moved from 9pm to 8pm, which is weird, and it did 6.74 million (down a lot from previous week when it aired at 9pm). The original Law & Order closed the night with 9.63 million, down also a lot from previous week. These Monday and Wednesday moves have not helped at all, except for Medium's numbers. CBS continues to struggle with Big Brother 9 at just 5.58 million, up a tad from previous week, repeats of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY followed with 9.03 and 8.5 million, both up from previous week. ABC's Wife Swap did 5.16 (down a bit from previous week), followed by Supernanny at 7.08 million (down from previous week) and MEN IN TREES did 5.77 million, up a bit from previous week when it returned. The CW had an all-new Top Model at a decent 3.52 million (down from the premiere), with Idol leaving soon from 8pm, expect Model to go back above 5 million soon... a repeat of Pussycat Dolls' did 1.9 million, once again better than its Monday premiere!
On Thursday, Fox was on the map for the third (and it will be final) straight week as American Idol aired its third and final results show on a Thursday and did 26.5 million, up a bit from previous week, followed by yet another preview airing of New Amsterdam at 10.12 million, down over 3 million from its premiere and down from previous week's timeslot holder...this show is doomed on Mondays where it will be moving to. CBS started the night off with Survivor: Micronesia at 12.64 million, up a tad from previous week, followed by repeats of CSI and Without a Trace at 9.71 and 9.57 million...both down from previous week. Lost was the show again for ABC, Lost enhanced repeat started the night off at 8pm with 5.46 million (up a bit week-to-week), followed by an all-new episode at 13.01 million and a 5.4 18-49 rating (up from previous week), and Eli Stone closed the night with 7.14 million, on par with previous week. What a great episode that was. NBC started the night with an hour-long repeat of The Office not doing much at just 4.19 million (up a bit from previous week), Celebrity Apprentice followed with 8.84 million (up from previous week), followed by Lipstick Jungle at just 5.82 million, but it was up a bit from previous week.
Like usual, no Friday finals yet. NBC's Amn$sia continues to do bad at 8pm, as the third Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular special was number one in the slot once again. CBS' Ghost Whisperer repeat and a House repeat on Fox at 9pm, was no match for NBC's Dateline which also was #1 at 10pm. On Saturday, Fox won with its usual line-up, and CBS's 48 Hours did decent for a Saturday.
Tonight will be ABC with the win most likely again, as Oprah's Big Give will likely do great again following Home Edition. NBC is in repeat mode for the entire night, while CBS will suffer with Big Brother and make a Cold Case repeat go down again. Fox's new sitcom Unhitched premiered to some bad numbers, but this week Family Guy is not new, so it might do even worse...the other Fox animated comedies from 8-9pm are new, though.
As for the week, Fox will win in HH, viewers and 18-49. Battle for second is unclear, but I predict CBS will be second, followed by ABC (a good Sunday will do it) and NBC in 4th.
This coming week...sees a quiet week, as the return of scripted programming is near, along with Dancing with the Stars (March 17)!

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of February 25-March 2)

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - The show returned with new episodes but only managed 1.45 million...it will probably do way more than that on Nick at Nite in Fall 2009...that is pathetic!
  
• Aliens in America (The CW) - All-new as well and it did just 1.1 million...lower than previous week's repeat which was 1.13 million...not good.
  
• Girlfriends (The CW) - A repeat did 1.24 million, up from previous week.
  
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did 1.31 million...finally above a million for a repeat.
  
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode did 8.18 million...not bad, seems lower than normal, especially the 3.9 18-49 rating.
  
• King of the Hill (Fox) - 7.75 million for a new episode...not bad, but it held most of the lead-in's numbers for once.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - Just 7.8 million for a new episode, but the whole Fox line-up was on a 27-minute delay thanks to NASCAR..so that could be a big reason why the lowness of these numbers.
• Unhitched (Fox) - Premiered at 9:58pm and did just 5.77 million...how terrible that Fox launched it 28 minutes late.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 6.56 million for a repeat...up again from previous week.
• Welcome to The Captain (CBS) - 5.47 million for a new episode, up a tad from previous week, not good at all...one more to go.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.96 million tuned in for a repeat...down nearly 3 million from previous week's repeat...why? It seems ABCNews' Royal Family affected it.
• Old Christine (CBS) - A new episode did 8.35 million, down from previous week and a season low.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - A new episode did 5.49 million..not against Idol so it went up. Hopefully for the sake of sitcoms, it goes up even more this week...as we get two episodes this week!
  
• Carpoolers (ABC) - Just 3.99 million for the finale (up though from previous week)...so ABC has aired them all and is happy no more are airing.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• None
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) 1 hour - A repeat did just 4.19 million...but it did go up a tick!
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

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

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men repeat was impressive for the week (well nothing really, as Men was below 10 million even and down nearly 3 million week-to-week). Everything else was OK (new Old Christine, How I Met Your Mother repeat) or just plain old terrible (new Welcome to The Captain, Carpoolers).