TCA Winter 2011 Press Tour: NBC; The Game's Season Premiere Sets Series Highs on BET

Thursday, January 13, 2011

TCA Winter 2011 Press Tour: NBC; The Game's Season Premiere Sets Series Highs on BET

NBC is up today at the TCA Winter 2011 press tour. They are not having an executive session today due to the recent Comcast deal still pending. So we are really not getting any new info today. The day started off with an USA Network Character Breakfast. Then there were panels for Syfy series Being Human and Face Off. Then before NBC was up, Bravo's Platinum Hit, Mun2's I Love Jenni and Oxygen's The Glee Project were up. Panels later this afternoon will have NBC shows go up, as we see The Cape (Mondays at 9pm), Perfect Couples (premieres next Thursday at 8:30pm), America's Next Great Restaurant (premieres Wednesday, March 16), Harry's Law (premieres Monday at 10pm), and Community (Thursdays at 8pm). The day will conclude with a NBC Universal Evening Event party.
IF there is anything noteworthy from NBC's panels this afternoon, we will let you know, so stay with us!

BET's scripted night of programming broke ratings records as millions tuned in on Tuesday, January 11 to watch the hour long cable debut of sitcom The Game at 10:00 p.m. and the series premiere of Let's Stay Together at 11:00 p.m. The Game was the #1 ad-supported sitcom telecast in cable TV history, garnering 7.7 million total viewers and 4.87 coverage rating according to the Nielsen Company and was the #1 The Game telecast on broadcast and cable ever (beating its airings on The CW by miles). The premiere also ranks as the #2 telecast in BET history among viewers (behind BET Awards '09).
Let's Stay Together, a brand new scripted series on the network, ranked among the top 5 ad-supported sitcom premieres in cable TV history ever and was the #2 series telecast in BET history behind The Game, debuting to 4.4 million viewers among 2.7 million households with a 3.0 coverage rating on Tuesday, January 11 at 11:00 p.m.
Following BET Networks' successful syndicate acquisition in February 2009, the BET premiere of The Game picked up where things left off at the end of season three (over two years ago) with the show's main cast -- Coby Bell, Hosea Chanchez, Brittany Daniel, Pooch Hall, Tia Mowry and Wendy Raquel Robinson.
In addition to its incredible on-air performance, The Game had the highest amount of social media buzz of all other prime time television shows, according to Trendrr's Prime Time Television Activity Chart for Tuesday, January 11. At one point, commenting on The Game Facebook page averaged 893 likes per minute, and 750 comments per minute, after the question "What did you think about tonight's episode?" within the first 28 minutes after the post. The Game related topics dominated Twitter with 9 out of the top 10 trending topics 30 minutes into the program.
So why did The Game get such big ratings? The CW aired the series only in primetime once a week, while BET has been airing the series since February in all day parts with a lot of marathons, gaining new fans and airing it with similar style sitcoms. With the amount of networks available today, it is very hard to find an audience for a series airing just once a week. Comedies tend to repeat well and are perfect for marathon viewing. The previous high for The Game on The CW was 3 million viewers for the season two premiere, which was more than doubled in the BET premiere. Maybe more network sitcoms need to have their sitcoms air for marathons or daily afternoon airings to get a bigger audience in primetime. Original dramas on cable also are doing well with the marathon blocks and extra encores, such as ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars, which recently saw series highs for the return.
Both series will regularly air every Tuesday on BET at 10pm & 10:30pm, respectively.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, September 17

The Conners - "Young Love, Old Love and Take This Job and Shove It" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene worries about Mark making friends at his new school; Mark turns to Ben for personal advice; Becky finds herself thriving in college and starts thinking about her future plans.

The Conners - "Let's All Push Our Hands Together for the Stew Train and the Conners' Furniture" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jackie devises an offbeat plan of how to serve the customers at the diner, it's anything but smooth service; Dan begins to sell some furniture to make room for his new bride and her things.

The Conners - "Yard Sale, Phone Fail and a College Betrayal" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
As Louise starts to move into the Conner's home, Dan decides to sell the furniture set he bought for Roseanne when they were first married; but finds it harder than he thought it would be.

The Conners - "Three Exes, Role Playing and a Waterbed" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene brings Nick to the hardware store, where they run into Ben, who invites Nick to join him at The Lunch Box to watch a Bears game; Dan tries to spruce up the bedroom while Louise is out on the road; Jackie meets Logan's mom.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "The Chicken or the Egg" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Curtis searches for reasonably priced eggs in the middle of a city-wide egg shortage; Lisa attempts to gain professional work experience by going to work with the Paynes.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Dying for Love" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Cora has been contacted by an old crush from high school who shows up, and to her surprise, he proposes; Leah gets concerned when Jeremy starts coming home later than usual and spending time with single friends she's never met.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 16)

Tuesday, September 17

George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Catch George on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Kaitlin appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) - Lily is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Brian appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
Halle Berry (Living Dolls) - E! News has an interview with Halle at 11pm on E!.
Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - NBC's Today has Hispanic Heritage Month: Eva Longoria Shining a Light on Latina Small Businesses some time between 7-9am.
Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his new children's book PictureFace Lizzy on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your listings) and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer talks about An American Story: Everyone's Invited on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael talks about Transformers One on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap - Ashley talks about Emily in Paris ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
Eve (Eve) - Eve opens up in her new memoir, Who's That Girl?, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Marlon Wayans (Marlon/The Wayans Bros.) - Marlon talks about his Wild Child comedy tour on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel talks about Fox's Crime Scene Kitchen on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel discusses his new game show Flip Side on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.