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, December 9

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 8)

Tuesday, December 9

  • Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Catch Regina on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) - Lily appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She also talks about Is This Thing On? on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Amy Sedaris (No Activity/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Strangers with Candy) - Amy appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Tony Rock (Living Biblically/Mann & Wife/All of Us) - Tony is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) - Andy Cohen interviews Matt on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo. He also talks about Christmas in December on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (Emily in Paris) - Philippine and Emily in Paris creator and executive producer Darren Star are guests on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Mila stops by for a chat about Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Taran Killam (Stumble/Single Parents) - Taran talks about ABC's High Potential on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) - Mark and Tom talk about The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kery talks about Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Toni Collette (United States of Tara) - Toni talks about Goodbye June on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Zachary Levi (Less Than Perfect/Telenovela) - Zachary tells Sherri about his new film Not Without Hope on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie plays behind-the-scenes and shares moments from her biggest projects like Good Will Hunting. Plus, she tells Drew about joining the cast of Emily in Paris on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie, Amirah Kassem, Mikel Welch are facing off against Drew in the annual quirky Christmas tree competition on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Marlo Thomas (That Girl) - Marlo tells Drew about her amazing work with St. Jude's Children's Hospital on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series (DVD)
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
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 (DVD)
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 (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

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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