SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Households: 1. CBS 8.0/12.8 rating/share; 2. Fox 7.9/12.2; 3. ABC 4.1/6.6; 4. NBC 4.0/6.4; 5. The CW 0.8/1.2
Total Viewers: 1. Fox 14.04 million; 2. CBS 12.97 million; 3. ABC 6.55 million; 4. NBC 6.5 million; 5. The CW 1.22 million.
Adults 18-49: 1. Fox 4.9/13.1 rating/share; 2. CBS 3.0/8.1; 3. NBC 2.3/6.1; 4. ABC 2.1/5.6; 5. The CW 0.5/1.3

Week 18 (Jan. 17-23) Analysis: Week 17 will see NFL playoffs determine the winner, like previous week. Last week NBC had the primetime NFL game on Saturday and Fox had an overrun on Sunday, this week it was Fox with a primetime game on Saturday and CBS with an NFL overrun tonight. But for now, through the first four nights CBS has the lead in HH/viewers, with ABC in second. ABC leads the 18-49 race over CBS. NBC is in third everywhere and Fox is back in fourth. Last week, week 17, had CBS edge NFL-driven Fox for first in HH/viewers. CBS was however second in 18-49 as Fox took home the 18-49 crown thanks to the big Saturday primetime NFL playoff game. CBS had a big NFL playoff overrun on Sunday, doing 50.55 million (and a 17.4 18-49 rating) from 7pm-7:48pm, thus they secured second in 18-49 for the week. ABC was third everywhere while NBC was back in fourth as it has no more NFL.

Monday saw CBS cruise to an easy win with Fox a distant second. ABC was third for the night overall with The Bachelor doing 8.8 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, basically on par with previous week. At 10pm ABC aired a repeat of Castle and did 5.57 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. It will be all-new tomorrow with a big episode. CBS was back to new episodes with its comedies and Hawaii Five-0. At 8pm, a new How I Met Your Mother started it off with 10.54 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, which is excellent at 8pm these days. At 8:30, a new Rules of Engagement did 9.89 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, good but the 18-49 could have been slightly higher. Two and a Half Men followed with a new showing of its own doing 15.56 million and a 4.6 18-49 rating, which is tops overall for sitcoms in total viewers. At 9:30, Mike & Molly was new too and did 12.8 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, a solid performance. A new showing of Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 10.83 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, which is good for 10pm. Fox returned House for a new episode and it came in lower than normal doing 10.52 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating. Quietly this show has fallen quite a bit, yet no one says anything in the media. A new episode of Lie To Me followed at 9pm with 5.93 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. NBC started its night with a new Chuck doing 5.97 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is actually a season high. At 9pm, new series The Cape didn't impress with 6.22 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, declining from its lead-in even. Not good for its second episode. At 10pm, the series debut of Harry's Law aired doing a solid 11.07 million but just a 2.2 18-49 rating. That is too old and basically cancels out its total viewer performance, which doesn't really matter anyway on Madison Ave. The CW was next with a repeat of 90210 doing 960,000 total viewers and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par from previous week in 18-49. Gossip Girl followed with a repeat registering just 700,00 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, down a lick from previous week.

Tuesday had CBS win once again. CBS started with an all-new episode of NCIS and did 21.09 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating, down from previous week's series high in total viewers. NCIS: Los Angeles was next and new and did a great 17.29 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, but also down from previous week. At 10pm, The Good Wife aired and did a solid 11.43 million but only a 2.1 18-49 rating, both down from previous week. For ABC, No Ordinary Family was all-new in the 8pm hour doing 5.71 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, going up from previous week's series low. At 9pm, a new V aired doing 5.7 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, which is up a tenth from previous week. At 10, Detroit 1-8-7 was new preempted for A Special Edition of 20/20 with Diane Sawyer doing 6.13 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, which is not too good but better than Detroit the previous week. Fox again had a repeat of Glee do 4.41 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, which was off some with previous week's repeat. Next Raising Hope weas preempted for the finale of Million Dollar Money Drop again doing 5.29 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. NBC did decent with The Biggest Loser doing 8.24 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, but down some from previous week. Parenthood was next and new doing 5.58 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week. The CW was preempted One Tree Hill for the final two episodes of Life UneXpected that did 1.54 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating at 8pm and 1.48 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating at 9pm. Not too good.

Wednesday had the return of American Idol and it dominated despite it being down double digits from last season. The two-hour premiere did 26.23 million and a 9.7 18-49 rating. Great of course. I don't think it will be this high again though until probably the season finale, so other networks will have good chance, I think. The series should settle into 20-22 million and 6-7 18-49 rating for the rest of the season, which is still tops on TV. CBS started the night off with dud Live to Dance doing just 5.08 million and an embarrassing 1.0 18-49 rating. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was next and was on the low side with 12.02 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating. At 10pm, the first of three special Wednesday airings of Blue Bloods did 12.3 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating. That is about as good as The Defenders in 18-49 where it matters most. ABC was all-new with its Laugh On comedy block and had The Middle open the night with a solid 8.32 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, down some from its series highs the previous week. Better With You was back after being preempted the previous week, doing an OK 6.37 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, opposite Idol. ABC aired Modern Family with a new episode at 9pm doing 10.94 million and a 4.6 18-49 rating, actually up from previous week in 18-49 despite Idol. It's just too bad the next two weeks are repeats, as I think Modern would even do better. Cougar Town was also new and did 5.68 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which is below normal for this series and was down the most of all the comedies from usual thanks to Idol. At 10pm, a new episode of new drama Off the Map aired and did 5.79 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is not down too much from the premiere the previous week. It skewed younger than the premiere...by a lot, too. NBC started off with a new Minute to Win It at 8pm doing 5.06 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was eaten by Idol. After that a new episode of Chase on its new night and time barely registered with only 4.35 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was next and was all-new doing 6.97 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which was down from previous week thanks to a horrendous lead-in. The CW had more repeats, this time with Nikita starting it off at 8pm doing 1.56 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, down from previous week. At 9pm a repeat of Hellcats did only 820,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, which was down from previous week.

Thursday saw once again Fox win the night in a rare Thursday win. But first, ABC opened the night with an all-new Wipeout doing 8.26 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, down quite a bit from previous week but still good against Idol and these numbers are on par with the summer version this past summer. Then Grey's Anatomy was next but it was a repeat doing an above average 4.72 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Private Practice was also a repeat and did 3.27 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, which isn't too good. CBS opened with a new The Big Bang Theory and it did great with 13.63 million and a 4.2 A18-49 rating, virtually unaffected against Idol, like Modern the previous night. Then a new $#*! My Dad Says followed with 10.29 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week. This series has been consistent lately, which is a good sign. Next, CSI was new and did 14.34 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which is a bit better than lately. A new The Mentalist did 14.82 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, which seems below normal. OK so onto Fox, at 8pm a new American Idol did 22.9 million and a 7..8 18-49 rating, which is down big from the previous night but still way above anything else. It was also down big from night two last season. This is all expected, though. A new episode of Bones followed at 9pm and did 10.55 million and 3.5 18-49 rating, which good, Fox doesn't need to air this solid show here. It could be used elsewhere and do the same type of ratings. NBC was back with new episodes with its comedies, as Community did 4.73 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, its highest ratings in a while. Surprising since Idol/Bang did great. Then the timeslot premiere of new comedy Perfect Couples did 4.15 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. It will just get worse, I think from here as the comments from those who watched were brutal. I expect about a 25% drop this week. This premiere was also already lower than what this slot usually was doing this season. At 9pm The Office was back and did a season high in in 18-49 of a 4.5 18-49 rating. It also did 8.26 million, which is not as high. At 9:30pm, the season premiere of Parks and Recreation got off to a decent start with 6.14 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating. That is good, but will it be like this the rest of the season? At 10, NBC started with 30 Rock doing 5.34 million and a 2.7 18-49. That is actually good for 10pm, but then Outsourced ruined it will only 3.95 million and 1.8 18-49 rating, for series lows. However, the 18-49 rating average for the hour came out to a 2.3, which is OK for 10pm these days. The CW was next with a repeat of Vampire Diaries doing a 1.35 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par with previous week... followed by a repeat of Nikita doing 1.32 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, also basically on par with previous week.

Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but Friday had a rare win for Fox with the season premiere of Kitchen Nightmares and the new night for Fringe both do a prelim 1.9 18-49 rating, which is great for Friday (sadly). Oh how have times changed. Fox was a half a point better than second place ABC. Saturday had Fox win again with its crime reality series doing a prelim a 1.7 18-49 rating, as CBS and ABC were tied for a distant second place.

Tonight ABC's regular Sunday of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters is only new from 7-9pm, so the dramas are in repeats. NBC has the the network television premiere of the big screen movie Sex and the City from 8-11 which could do OK. CBS is the winner tonight of course with NFL AFC Championship Game from 6-10pm that will lead into a special new episode of Hawaii Five-0 on a special night. Fox has new episodes of animation from 7:30-10pm, except Family Guy is a repeat at 9pm. Look for season lows for the rest of the animated comedies.

As for the week (week 18), with the NFL playoff game tonight, CBS will take over and win the week over Idol-fueled Fox. Fox will be second across the board. ABC and NBC will battle for third. And for the coming week (week 19), is a slow week with a good mix of new and repeats. The State of the Union airs Tuesday at 9pm on all of the major networks.

Week 18 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 17 -- Jan. 10-16)

• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A new episode at 8pm did 6.38 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, down big from previous week where it had a HUGE direct NFL playoff overrun lead-in. Still solid, but lower than normal. A repeat at 7pm did only 2.63 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating opposite the NFL on CBS.
• Bob's Burgers (Fox) - The second episode for this series did 5.07 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, which is OK but could be better. And of course this also was down big from previous week.
• Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode at 9pm did 7.06 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, which is solid and and built a full point from the lead-in.
• American Dad (Fox) - This series is now at 7:30pm, and a new episode didn't do too good with just 3.54 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. Not good, but it was opposite the NFL everywhere but out west. We'll see how it does in the coming weeks without NFL in the mix.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A new showing at 9:30pm did a solid 5.52 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, also could be better.

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did 10.54 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, which is great and nothing to complain about these days.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 9.89 million for a new episode is solid as is the 3.3 18-49 rating, but it could be a bit better. In live ratings, the retention is much better as the lead-in is heavily DVRed.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.56 million for a new episode is excellent. A 4.6 18-49 rating is normal business for this show.
• Mike & Molly (CBS) - 12.8 million for a new episode and a 18-49 rating of 3.7, is good but of course no Big Bang from last season. Still serviceable out of a big lead-in.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted.
• Running Wilde (Fox) - preempted.

• The Middle (ABC) - A new episode of this sitcom did 8.32 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, down from previous week's series highs but this was facing the season premiere of American Idol.
• Better with You (ABC) - A new episode did 6.37 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is OK and certainly decent but it could be better.
• Modern Family (ABC) - A new episode did 10.94 million and a 4.6 18-49 rating, which is up from previous week when it was 20 minutes late (thanks to the President's speech) in all time zones but out west. Actually that is very good against Idol, which grew each half-hour.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - A new episode of this series did 5.68 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which that may be one of its lowest ratings of the season, keep in mind it was on against the final half-hour of the Idol premiere and this series probably has the same type of audience of any of these comedies with Idol. If it can do these numbers the next week or two, it would be good, especially since the other three comedies are repeats the next two weeks.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A new episode did 13.63 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating, which is amazing considering Idol aired against it.
• S#*! My Dad Says (CBS) - A new showing did 10.29 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, basically on par with previous week even though Idol was on. And keep in mind, the previous week its lead-in was a repeat. It will be like that this week as well...can it do it again?
• Community (NBC) - A new episode did 4.73 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, its best ratings in a while. The question is, will it go below a 2 by this week? I have kept it off the loser list this week, as it was up and even faced new Idol/Bang.
• Perfect Couples (NBC) - The actual premiere of this show did 4.15 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is up from the sneak peek it had last month...BUT it is the worst performance of the season in this timeslot. And I think it will get worse.
• The Office (NBC) - A new episode did 8.26 million, which is up from recent episodes and it also did a 4.5 18-49 rating, which is a season high. Quite surprising actually it went up that much, as it was doing mid to high 3's.
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) - The return did decent with 6.14 million and a good 3.2 18-49 rating. Now that it has the exposure after a hit show...can it find an audience finally? We shall see.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - The new time was off to a decent start doing 5.34 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating. The latter especially is good at 10pm these days. Let's see if it can continue though, especially when ABC returns with new episodes for sweeps.
• Outsourced (NBC) - This was by far the worst performance of the block, as a new episode on its new night did only 3.95 million at 10:30pm and a 1.8 18-49 rating, for series lows. A second season seems far away now, but let's see if it can hold or go up in the next few weeks.

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7:30-10 with new episodes.

Summing it up. Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, Rules of Engagement were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Cougar Town, 30 Rock) or just plain old terrible (such as Outsourced, Perfect Couples).