Sunday, November 15, 2009

Week 8 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 8 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thurs finals):


Households: #1. ABC 8.7/13.8; #2. CBS 8.7/13.8; #3. Fox 4.6/7.1; #4. NBC 4.0/6.4; #5. The CW 1.6/2.4
Total Viewers: #1. CBS 13.99 million; #2. ABC 13.89 million; #3. Fox 7.72 million; #4. NBC 6.39 million; #5. The CW 2.44 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. ABC 3.9/10.2; #2. CBS 3.7/9.6; #3. Fox 3.0/7.6; #4. NBC 2.3/6.1; #5. The CW 1.2/3.1

Week 8 (Nov. 9-15) Analysis: For week 8 we have ABC and CBS neck and neck through the first four days in all categories as ABC was boosted by the CMA Awards on Wednesday. ABC should hang on for an 18-49 win this week, with CBS winning in HH/viewers. NBC could surpass Fox this week for 3rd thanks to a big NFL game tonight between the Pats and Colts. Through the first four days in week 8 ABC and CBS are tied for first in HH, with CBS with a very slight edge in total viewers, and ABC leads in 18-49 by a bit. Fox is third in all categories, while NBC is back in fourth everywhere as usual. Last week, week 7, CBS went by Fox for the week in HH/viewers, while Fox took the 18-49 crown. CBS was second in 18-49, nipping by NBC and ABC. ABC was third in HH/viewers, while NBC was fourth.
On Monday it was ABC on top in viewers and a battle between Fox and CBS for 18-49. A two-hour Dancing with the Stars did 17.62 million for ABC, up a million from the previous week. An all-new Castle followed with a solid 9.82 million, up from the previous week, despite being preempted in Pittsburgh for MNF. Next up was CBS with its comedies and CSI: Miami. How I Met Your Mother started it off with 8.67 million, down a tad week-to-week, while Accidentally on Purpose followed doing 7.89 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, both down some from previous week. Two and a Half Men followed doing 14.44 million, up nearly a million week-to-week and The Big Bang Theory followed did a nice 12.8 million, up a tad from previous week. The show also did a 4.7 18-49 rating just like the previous week, building on the lead-in's 4.6 rating. A new episode of CSI: Miami featuring a cross-over did 14.38 million, the best numbers since the season premiere. Fox started with House doing a solid 13.31 million and a night best 5.3 18-49 rating, followed by Lie to Me at only 7.41 million. NBC was next with Heroes doing 5.26 million, down from the previous week. A new episode of Trauma followed and did only 5.35 million and only a 1.8 A18-49 rating, both down from the previous week. The Jay Leno Show followed with only 4.05 million, but actually up a tad from previous week, but it still only did a 1.2 18-49 rating. The CW on Mondays has been a struggle this season, with One Tree Hill doing only 2.67 million and Gossip Girl at an even worse 2.37 million...but both up some week-to-week.
On Tuesday, CBS was in control as usual, but ABC continues to be much improved. CBS had the always reliable NCIS opening the night off with 20.96 million...up some from previous week. A new episode of NCIS: Los Angeles was next and did 16.23 million, up nearly a million from previous week. And finally CBS aired a new The Good Wife and did 13.35 million, also up from previous week. ABC was second for the night with episode two of V doing 10.7 million, though down from the 14.3 million from its premiere...still good! 3.8 18-49 rating was also solid, but down from the 5.2 the week before. Then it was Dancing with the Stars: The Results doing 16.23 million, up well over a million week-to-week as we said goodbye to Aaron Carter. They also had Susan Boyle performing. ABC followed with a special titled In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: Bright Lights, Bright Stars doing a solid 9.34 million, better than the forgotten the previous week. NBC was next with The Biggest Loser 2-hour show doing 9.65 million, up some from previous week, followed by the The Jay Leno Show at 5.81 million, which was down some from previous week. Fox aired So You Think You Can Dance for two-hours and did only 5.76 million, down from previous week. The CW was next with a new 90210 doing only 2.06 million, but it was up a bit from previous week, followed by a new episode of dud Melrose Place at an even worse 1.27 million. Can Heather Locklear actually help this show this week? What a dud! 0.7 18-49 rating? Come on!
Wednesday it was ABC on top by a big margin thanks to the 43rd Annual CMA Awards doing a solid 17.18 million and a 5.3 18-49 rating. Congrats to Taylor Swift. CBS started with Old Christine doing 7.2 million, up from previous week, followed by Gary Unmarried at 7.3 million, up a million from previous week and looks like a season high. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was next and did 12.77 million, up some week-to-week, while CSI: NY also did a cross-over and did 14.51 million, its best showing since the season premiere. ABC comedies return this week, but Hank is canceled, but we will have new episodes of The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town this week along with 10pm drama Eastwick as usual. NBC opened the night with Mercy doing 6.68 million, on par really from previous week and only a 1.7 18-49 rating. Law & Order: SVU followed and did 8.77 million, up from previous week. At 10pm NBC aired The Jay Leno Show of course at just 4.75 million, down again week-to-week. Fox returned their Wednesday schedule with So You Think You Can Dance doing only 5.72 million but Glee returned to 7.53 million and a solid 3.4 18-49 rating. The CW had its usual showing of Top Model at 3.2 million, down from previous week and a repeat of Vampire Diaries followed with 1.15 million, which was also down a tad week-to-week.
Thursday it was CBS and ABC battling. ABC opened the night with FLASHFORWARD doing 8.28 million down some from previous week, though kept its 18-49 rating intact from previous week. A new Grey's Anatomy followed with 14.87 million and a great 5.6 A18-49 rating, both up from previous week. And a new episode of Private Practice did a solid 10.25 million and a 3.9 A18-49 rating, both up week-to-week and what an episode that was! CBS opened with Survivor: Samoa at 12.94 million and a 4.0 A18-49 rating, both up from previous week. A new episode of CSI followed with 17.38 million, up a lot from previous week, as the cross-over ended. At 10pm The Mentalist was also new and did 16.17 million, down a bit from previous week despite the lead-in going way up. Fox started with underrated Bones and did a solid 10.22 million, well up from previous week, but Fringe was still lost in the shuffle but up from previous week's series lows of 4.86 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating to 5.91 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating. Still needs to do better. NBC was next with Community at 8pm doing 5.09 million down some from previous week, followed by sitcom dud Parks & Recreation at only 4.58 million, down week-to-week. At 9pm, The Office did 8.05 million and a solid 4.2 18-49 rating, both basically on par from previous week. A new episode of 30 Rock did 6.0 million, down ever so slightly from the previous week. The Jay Leno Show closed the night with only 4.75 million, down some week-to-week. The CW's only consistent player so far is Vampire Diaries and did a great 4.1 million, basically on par week-to-week, followed by a new Supernatural at 2.69 million, up some from previous week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday with their dramas as usual. NBC was good with Law & Order at 8pm and 20/20 at 10pm for ABC won its hour in 18-49.
Saturday numbers had Fox's regular line-up and ABC's College Football battle for the win in a close race, with Fox prevailing in a low rated finish in 18-49.
Tonight the full ABC Sunday line-up is airing (AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters), look for solid numbers as usual even despite the big NFL game tonight. NBC has a better than normal NFL game tonight for the second week in a row, so look for it to be above normal again. CBS has its usual players including dud Three Rivers still airing. Fox has an overrun of the late afternoon NFL game which will do big, leading into Animation Domination from 8-10. Look for CBS to win the week likely in HH/viewers over ABC but ABC will likely take 18-49. NBC could overtake Fox in all categories for 3rd place thanks to NFL, or Fox could hand on at least in 18-49 since they have an NFL overrun tonight. Look for Ed Norton and Elizabeth Banks on a hilarious episode of Modern Family this Wednesday on ABC Comedy Wednesday!

Week 8 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 7-- Nov. 2-8)

  • Brothers (Fox) - 1.66 million were tuned in in some of the country but then at 7:15om the markets that were airing NFL came in and but even still this show only did 3.42 million, ouch.
  • The Simpsons (Fox) - preempted.
  • The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Aired at a special time of 9:30pm and did a series low of 6.45 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating.
  • Family Guy (Fox) 2 episodes - Two all-new episodes aired at 8 and 9. At 8pm it did 7.26 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating and the regular 9pm airing did 8.0 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating. Not bad, but could have been higher since it was an all Seth MacFarlane night. The comedy special at 8:30 was so-so with 6.73 million.
  • American Dad (Fox) - Aired at a special time of 7:30pm and was all-new at 3.87 million. Not good, but this is a tougher slot and no cushy lead-in.

Monday Sitcoms

  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new showing did 8.67 million, decent but a bit off from previous week, 18-49 rating of 3.5 is the same as previous though. Solid, but not great like Big Bang here last season.
  • Accidentally on Purpose (CBS) - 7.89 million for a new episode...down from previous week.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 14.44 million for a new episode. Up nearly a million from previous week and an improved 4.6 18-49 rating.
  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 12.8 million is excellent, but surprised it didn't go up more since the lead-in was up a lot. 4.7 18-49 rating was the same as the previous week.


Tuesday Sitcoms

  • None.

Wednesday Sitcoms
  • Old Christine (CBS) - New episode did 7.2 million...up some since there was no comedy competition from ABC.
  • Gary Unmarried (CBS) - New episode did 7.3 million...up a million from previous week since there was no ABC comedy competition.
  • The Middle (ABC) - preempted for CMA's...returns this week!
  • Modern Family (ABC) - preempted for CMA's...returns this week with a major episode!
  • Cougar Town (ABC) - preempted for CMA's, as with the above comedies, will return this week.

Thursday Sitcoms

  • Community (NBC) - New episode did 5.09 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. Both down week-to-week. Needs to do better, what happened to the growth from the previous few weeks?
  • Parks & Recreation (NBC) - This show did terrible doing only 4.58 million but it held the lead-in's 2.1 A18-49 rating at least.
  • The Office (NBC) - 8.05 million for a new episode, down a tad from the previous week. In 18-49 it did a 4.2 rating, up a tick.
  • 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode did 6.0 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating. Down week-to-week in viewership by a bit.

Friday Sitcoms

  • None.

Saturday Sitcoms

  • None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 8-10pm tonight, all-new.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, & How I Met Your Mother were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Gary Unmarried, 30 Rock) or just plain old terrible (such as Brothers from week 7, Parks & Recreation).


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 2

Shifting Gears - "Restoration" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt, the widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop, is confronted with his most unexpected and challenging project yet when his estranged daughter, Riley, and her adolescent children come crashing back into his life.

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Shifting Gears - "Grief" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Riley discovers a closet filled with her late mother’s clothes, she insists Matt hasn’t processed her death and urges him to see a grief counselor. Meanwhile, Gabriel faces a crisis of confidence when he’s put in charge of the shop for a day.

Shifting Gears - "Valentine's" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A Valentine’s Day visit to his late wife’s grave sparks an unexpected connection for Matt in an unlikely place. Meanwhile, Riley is thrust into the spotlight for a promotional video at the dance studio.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Protector in Chief" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Speed Demons" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After losing his job, Jeremy decides to move to the backwoods of Georgia to help his grandfather, who has purchased a rundown home for the elderly.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

Wednesday, July 2

  • Will Arnett (Murderville/Arrested Development/Flaked/The Millers/Up All Night/Running Wilde), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) and Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Watch Will, Jason and Sean on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Monica Barbaro (FUBAR) - Monica appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Owen Thiele (Overcompensating), Amita Rao (Deli Boys) and Malik Elassal (Adults) - Owen, Amita and Malik are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Glen Powell (Scream Queens) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen in the 10am hour.
  • Casey Wilson (The Righteous Gemstones/Black Monday/The Hotwives/Marry Me/Happy Endings) - Casey talks about The Great American Baking Show on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - The Drew Barrymore Show has a repeat their skincare show and Drew and Valerie Bertinelli are talking all things moisturizers and hydration with board certified dermatologist and TikTok sensation Dr. Shereene Idriss.
  • Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Joe talks about Netflix's Nonnas on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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