SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Households: 1. CBS 7.7 rating/12.0 share; 2. Fox 7.6/11.9; 3. ABC 7.0/10.8; 4. NBC 2.7/4.2; 5. The CW 1.2/1.8
Total Viewers: 1. Fox 12.72 million; 2. CBS 12.53 million; 3. ABC 10.8 million; 4. NBC 4.07 million; 5. The CW 1.78 million.
Adults 18-49: 1. Fox 3.9 rating/10.4 share; 2. CBS 3.3/8.8; 3. ABC 2.8/7.5; 4. NBC 1.4/3.6; 5. The CW 0.7/2.0

Week 6 (Oct. 24-30) Analysis: The World Series has lifted Fox to the lead in viewers and 18-49 through the first four nights. ABC launched Once Upon a Time last Sunday and had the highest rated new drama premiere of the season and episode two is on tonight. But through the first four nights this week, CBS has edged Fox for first in HH, but Fox has the edge in total viewers. In 18-49, Fox has a bigger lead over CBS. ABC is a competitive third across the board, while NBC still way behind in fourth, as some repeats were mixed in (including the terrible move by airing Prime Suspect repeats Mon-Wed at 10). I expect CBS and Fox to battle or HH/viewers but Fox should have enough to take 18-49, even with an NFL overrun tonight on CBS. ABC and NBC will be certain for third and fourth. As for last week, week 5, Fox was first over second place CBS thanks to World Series action and the NFL overrun on Sunday night. CBS was in second place across, the board, with ABC right behind. NBC was fourth across the board even with an NFL Sunday night game, but that game was terrible and a blowout.

Monday had CBS on top again in 18-49, but Fox was right behind them with the World Series. Starting with ABC, Dancing with the Stars won the total viewer race with 17.17 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, both off some from previous week. A new Castle at 10pm was first place with 10.81 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, also off some from previous week. Look for the hostage episode tomorrow night that should do well. For CBS, How I Met Your Mother started it off with 9.79 million and a 4.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. 2 Broke Girls followed with 11.19 million and a 4.5 18-49 rating, also up a tenth from previous week. Very consistent. At 9pm, a new Two and a Half Men, with new star Ashton Kutcher, did 15.29 million and a 5.5 18-49 rating, up some from previous week for the first time this season. A new Mike & Molly followed the huge lead-in and did 12.16 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating, up from the previous week. An all-new Hawaii Five-0 was next doing 10.7 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week. Fox preempted Terra Nova and House for Game 5 of the World Series doing 14.32 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating, but in primetime it did 13.54 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating. NBC followed with another two-hour The Sing-Off doing only 4.18 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. What a dud. At 10pm, NBC aired a repeat of Prime Suspect again and it did an embarrassing 2.43 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. Rock Center with Brian Williams launches tomorrow night, but I don't think it will be big at all. The CW had a new Gossip Girl doing just 1.36 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. At 9pm, Hart of Dixie did 2.01 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, up a good number from previous week.

On Tuesday, Fox was on top in 18-49, with CBS winning total viewers. CBS had the quiet leader NCIS opening the night off with 19.43 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Then spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles was next and did 15.89 million and 3.7 18-49 rating, up from previous week. And a new Unforgettable did 11.25 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Looks 2.5 is its normal showing, not bad for 10pm on Tuesdays. ABC was next with new comedy Last Man Standing with Tim Allen leading the night off doing 9.88 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, only off some from previous week. Loved the Halloween episode. Week two of Man Up! was next and it went down to 6.78 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down a million from previous week. Could have been much worse, but they need to go up this week to have a chance of staying on the schedule. Then Dancing with the Stars: The Results followed at 9pm with 14.1 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, on par with previous week with X Factor airing on a special night again, as we said goodbye to Chaz Bono. Look for Justin Bieber on this Tuesday's episode and that will spice up the ratings. An all-new Body of Proof followed and did a decent 9.43 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, on par week-to-week, but wish the 18-49 was a bit higher. Fox preempted Glee and comedies New Girl & Raising Hope for The X Factor on a special night again doing 12.09 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating for a special extended episode from 8-10:30pm. NBC was next with a two-hour The Biggest Loser doing 5.51 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, up some from the previous week, as it was down each week the past few weeks. At 10pm, Parenthood was preempted for a repeat of Prime Suspect and did just 2.84 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating. The CW preempted 90210 for a repeat of Ringer that did 961,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, then another repeat of the Sarah Michelle Gellar drama did 840,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating. Looks like this new series isn't repeating well.

Wednesday it was ABC with the win and Fox's Game 6 of the World Series was rained out. CBS started the night off on top with Survivor: South Pacific at 11.79 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, up from previous week. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was a repeat and did 11.26 million and a solid 2.8 18-49 rating, good repeat numbers. At 10pm, CSI was a repeat too and did 9.06 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating. ABC started off with its Laugh On comedy block with The Middle doing 10.16 million and a great 3.2 18-49 rating, for series highs! The new sitcom Suburgatory followed with a great 9.73 million and a series best 3.4 18-49 rating, up from previous week again. This series is red-hot, no pun intended on the red! Let's get Amy Davidson to guest star or recur--help us out with that! At 9pm, the mega hit Modern Family was a REPEAT and it still did 11.31 million and a huge 4.5 18-49 rating. The 4.5 is by far the highest rated repeat in a long time! A new Happy Endings was next with 8.33 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, up from the previous week and series highs even with the lead-in as a repeat! Great sign for this comedy that keeps getting buzz every week! At 10pm week six (already?!) of my favorite fall series Revenge did a solid 8.72 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, its best ratings since the premiere, as I predicted last week. We hear episode seven this week will be HUGE, so make sure to tune in for this vital episode. Fox preempted The X Factor for MLB World Series Game #6, BUT it was rained out! So Fox went with repeats of Glee instead, as the first hour did only 2.45 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, followed by the second hour doing 2.25 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating.I know it was a last minute scheduling and a repeat, but this show has lost buzz and its audience it seems. NBC opened the night with a repeat of Up All Night at 3.48 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating. At 8:30pm, a repeat of Whitney did 3.8 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week. At 9pm, Harry's Law was a repeat and still did nothing, doing just a 0.8 18-49 rating and 4.47 million viewers. At 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was preempted for the Prime Suspect repeat stunt at 10pm doing 3.51 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating for last place. The CW had a repeat of Ringer leading the night off with 1.23 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. The declining fast America's Next Top Model was next at 9pm with 2.27 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, but up some from previous week.

Thursday it was Fox with the win again with the World Series. But first, ABC opened the night with Charlie's Angels preempted for the classic special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown doing 7.44 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, for the best 18-49 showing all season in this time period for ABC! At 9pm, Grey's Anatomy followed with 9.93 million and a 3.7 A18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Great episode! Still near the top among scripted dramas. At 10pm, Private Practice, with Benjamin Bratt, did 6.4 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. CBS opened with The Big Bang Theory at 14.54 million and a 4.6 18-49 rating, down from previous week's season high for 8pm. Then, week two of Rules of Engagement was next doing 10.62 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, down from previous week. Still solid. A new Person of Interest followed with 11.62 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week in 18-49. A new episode of The Mentalist followed and did 12.42 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week. A 2.5 is now the leader on Thursdays at 10pm? Fox preempted The X Factor for MLB World Series Game #6 doing 21.06 million and a 6.5 18-49 rating overall through 12:43am ET. But in Primetime it did 19.32 million and a 5.6 18-49 rating. NBC was in the familiar fourth place with the should-be-not leading-off Community getting slaughtered with 3.42 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating only, followed by Parks and Recreation at only 3.87 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating. Not good. At 9pm The Office jumped to 5.53 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, but this was an all-time low for it on Thursdays. A new episode of Whitney closed the comedy block with only 4.19 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, but it wasn't down as much as the other sitcoms. NBC has another drama bust with a new Prime Suspect closed the night with only 4.03 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating. The three-episode repeat stunt this week did not help. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries did 3.28 million, and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up from previous week and is heating up! The new The Secret Circle was next at 2.31 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week, could be better.

Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but Fox easily won with Game 7 of the World Series. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for ABC was down, CBS aired repeats and NBC had the season premiere of Chuck with terrible ratings and OK numbers for the premiere of Grimm. The latter will be hurt next week when similar skewed series Fringe airs opposite it.
Saturday numbers it was all ABC with the triple overtime game between Stanford and USC in Saturday Night Football, with Fox's two-hour America's Most Wanted special doing OK.

Tonight ABC Sunday is all-new (but AFV is preempted for series premiere encore of Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives, and Pan Am). Once opened big for ABC and episode two after an encore of the premiere tonight will help it even more. Look for good numbers again. NBC will win the night with the NFL as Cowboys and Eagles will draw. CBS has its normal line-up of 60 Minutes, Amazing Race, The Good Wife and CSI: Miami, with delays expected as they have the national NFL game from 4:15pm-7:15pm or so. Fox has the animated comedies finally, as they launch a new one in Allen Gregory starring the voice of Jonah Hill.

As for the week (week 6), Fox should win in HH/viewers and for sure in 18-49. A strong game 6 and 7 of the World Series is the reason why. CBS will be second, with ABC in third in all categories, leaving NBC back in fourth even with a big NFL game tonight. Allen Gregory on Fox should premiere decently, but nothing major. Maybe Bob's Burgers style. As for the coming week (week 7), we have the first full week of November sweeps. ABC has its premiere of Scared Shrekless tomorrow night (Halloween night) at 7:58pm, leading into Dancing Halloween episode at a special time. It's a good move, as most trick-or-treaters or partiers should be home by 8 or 8:30 on a school/work night.

Week 6 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 5 -- Oct. 17-23)

• The Simpsons (Fox) - preempted.
  
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted.
  
• Family Guy (Fox) - preempted.
• American Dad! (Fox) - preempted.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - An all-new episode did 9.79 million and a 4.3 18-49 rating, up some from previous week in 18-49. Not sure what made this season re-surge, it'll be interesting to see if it lasts all season.
  
• 2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A new airing did 11.19 million a 4.5 18-49 rating, also up some from the previous week in 18-49. It's doing as well as CBS could have thought, I think.
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.29 million and a 5.5 18-49 rating is excellent and for the first time this season it didn't drop from previous week. Has it stabilized?
  
• Mike & Molly (CBS) - With the strong lead-in, a new episode did 12.16 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating, up from previous week.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Last Man Standing (ABC) - An all-new episode in the 8pm half-hour did 9.88 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, off some from previous week but still very solid. Look for a back nine pick-up this week maybe?
  
• Man Up! (ABC) - Week two of this comedy did 6.78 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down a million from the premiere. Could have been worse, but needs to do better. No more drops.
  
• New Girl (Fox) - preempted, will air next this Tuesday.
  
• Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted, will air next this Tuesday.
  

• The Middle (ABC) - A new episode did 10.16 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating for series highs. Great showing as the Halloween episode delivered! This is a classic family comedy.
  
• Suburgatory (ABC) - A new episode did a very good 9.73 million and a series high 3.4 18-49 rating, building from its lead-in again and up from the previous week! Jane Levy is such a star!
  
• Up All Night (NBC) - A repeat did 3.48 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, as it doesn't seem to repeat all that well.
  
• Whitney (NBC) - A repeat did 3.8 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, down some from the previous week. This is its last Wednesday repeat airing, thank god.
  
• Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat did 11.31 million and a 4.5 18-49 rating, yes a REPEAT did that high! Wow. Best 18-49 rating for a repeat, scripted or unscripted, in years.
  
• Happy Endings (ABC) - A new episode did 8.33 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, for series highs again. This is by far its best showing ever as it did this with a repeat lead-in. Wow and what a funny Halloween episode!
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A new episode did 14.54 million and a 4.6 18-49 rating, down a half a point from previous week. World Series probably affected it a bit.
  
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - The second episode this season did 10.62 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating. Solid numbers, but down some week-to-week.
  
• Community (NBC) - A new episode did just 3.42 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. When is this not going to lead-off anymore?
  
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A new showing of this show did 3.87 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, likewise for this series, as it should never be in the 8pm hour. It doesn't fit the hour.
• The Office (NBC) - A new episode did 5.53 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, for the best of the block like usual, but this is way lower than usual and its lowest ratings ever on a Thursday.
  
• Whitney (NBC) - A new episode did 4.19 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating. Why this show was picked-up for a full season is beyond me, but it was down the least this week among the four NBC comedies. That's the only positive.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 2 airings - A repeat on Saturday did a prelim 2.24 million and a prelim 0. 718-49 rating, lower than previous week's Men repeat. A second airing did no better at 8:30pm with a prelim 1.87 million and a prelim 0.6 18-49 rating. They should stick with better repeating comedies like Bang or Men.
  

Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 8-10pm, with repeats 7-8pm. Look for the series debut of Allen Gregory at 8:30pm.

Summing it up. Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, Last Man Standing, Suburgatory, The Middle, Happy Endings, Rules of Engagement were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Office, Whitney ) or just plain old terrible (such as Community, Parks & Recreation).