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

Saturday, November 29

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 24)

Friday, November 28

  • Adam Sandler (The Cosby Show) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Josh Hutcherson (Future Man) - Josh is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Gary Cole (mixed-ish/Fam/Veep/Family Affair) - Gary is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Jeff Goldblum (Search Party) - Jeff appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Jane Krakowski (Schmigadoon!/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/30 Rock) - Jane is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Niecy Nash-Betts (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Marlo Thomas (That Girl) - NBC's Today has Thanks and Giving: Marlo Thomas with St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital Kids in the 10am hour.
  • Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn talks about his new book Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Modern Living on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

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) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

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)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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11/25 - COZI TV Acquires Malcolm & Eddie and The Steve Harvey Show; 53rd International Emmy® Awards Winners
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11/21 - HBO Renews Comedies The Chair Company and I Love LA; Kelly and Mark to Host International Emmy® Awards
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11/13 - Antenna TV Re-Acquires One Day at a Time and Sanford and Son; Season 2 of the Wild Series It's Florida, Man
11/12 - Fox Midseason 2026 Schedule; Hulu's Tell Me Lies Season 3 Premiere Date
11/11 - Cast Announced for Netflix's A Different World Sequel; Hulu's Sebastian Maniscalco Special Trailer
11/10 - ABC's New Game Show The Greatest Average American; Prime Video Christmas Movie
11/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 10, 2025)
11/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox and Sony Developing Reimagined Bewitched; Samsung TV Plus Launching AFV Channel
11/07 - TBS and TNT Holiday Schedule; Hulu's Back 'Four' More Reasonable Doubt; Remembering Diane Ladd of Alice
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11/05 - ABC 2025 Holiday Specials; Netflix Renews Nobody Wants This for Season 3
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11/03 - Apple TV Holiday Schedule; Another Week and Dancing with the Stars Rises Again
11/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 3, 2025)
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10/31 - Hulu Renews King of the Hill for Seasons 16 and 17; FX Renews Adults for Season 2; Remembering June Lockhart
10/30 - ABC's The Golden Girls 40th Anniversary Special on November 11; NBC 2025 Holiday Specials
10/29 - ABC Midseason 2026 Schedule; Hulu Renews Only Murders in the Building for Season 6, Now in London
10/28 - Hulu Debuts Trailer for Original Holiday Film; Sidelined Returns for Sequel on Tubi