Thursday, January 13, 2011
TCA Winter 2011 Press Tour: NBC; The Game's Season Premiere Sets Series Highs on BET
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
Wednesday, June 7
Night Court - "Just Tuesday" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abby makes a mistake in the courtroom, she decides to adopt an all-business approach to get things back on track, but her new style catches everyone off guard.
Night Court - "Dan v. Dating" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abby's encouragement, Dan attempts to venture back into the dating world, but reigniting his love life proves more complicated than anticipated; Gurgs and Olivia search for a new office and find something they weren't expecting.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Inflates" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Dennis and Mac get into inflatable furniture to deal with the economy's inflation; Dee tries to find a place to crash after being evicted by her greedy landlord; Charlie wants to pitch Frank his investment idea.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "
Frank Shoots Every Member of the Gang" (FXX, 10:33PM ET/PT)
After Frank shoots Dennis and Dee, they resolve to take Frank's gun away; Mac and Charlie go on a road trip with their moms to get their inheritances.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)
Wednesday, June 7
- Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Watch Chris on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/George/It's a Living) - Sheryl Lee is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Laura Benanti (Younger/The Detour/Go On/Starved) - Laura appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ben Schwwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - Ben appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Betty Gilpin (GLOW/Nurse Jackie) - Betty is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken will be on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Sarah appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/Luis) - Charlie appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Chris is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Brittany Snow (Ben and Kate) - Brittany and entrepreneur Jaspre Guest talk about their online platform September Letters on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) - Maitreyi appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:45am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
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