Week 25 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Week 25 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

2012-13 Week 25 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A.
Adults 18-49: N/A

Week 25 (March 11-17) Analysis: Daylight Savings Time has kicked in (since last Sunday) and this is the first full week with it and a lot of 8pm shows in particular saw drops. We don't have the final first four night network averages, a we don't have Thursday network numbers yet. We do have Thursday final program ratings below in our analysis. We can project through the first four nights, CBS is in the lead in HH/total viewers, while Fox is way on top in adults 18-49. CBS is in second place in 18-49, followed closely by ABC with a good Bachelor finale showing, then NBC is a very distant fourth like every week this winter. In HH/viewers, Fox is a close second behind CBS, while ABC is third. And NBC is a distant fourth which is a given without SNF and The Voice. When the week is done, Fox will hang on and take the week in 18-49 once again and CBS will take total viewers. More on that later. As for the previous week, week 24, Fox took home first in adults 18-49 with only a 2.3 rating. CBS was second and four tenths behind Fox, while ABC was four tenths behind CBS. NBC was way back there once again in fourth with just a 1.1 18-49 rating, four tenths behind ABC. Among total viewers, it was of course CBS on top easily over Fox and ABC. And NBC was way back behind in fourth, like every week since January.

Monday saw a big win for ABC with a big finale event. ABC started with a two-hour The Bachelor season finale from 8-10:07pm and did 10.42 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, which is up seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Look for Dancing with the Stars season 16 to begin tomorrow night. Then Castle was preempted for the LIVE The Bachelor: After the Final Rose that did a big 10.81 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, unbelievable these days for 10pm. The finale event was up from last winter's finale by a good amount. For NBC, they had a two-hour The Biggest Loser from 8-10pm doing 5.62 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, which is down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. It's done OK, nothing special like the competing ABC reality series. At 10pm, week ten (just one more to go NBC!) of new drama dud Deception didn't do much with 3.28 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which was on par in 18-49 with previous week. CBS was almost all repeats with its comedies again, as a repeat of How I Met Your Mother did 5.23 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. A new Rules of Engagement at 8:30pm did 7.05 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Not too bad since the lead-in and lead-out were repeats again. At 9pm, a repeat of 2 Broke Girls followed with 6.35 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week's repeat. Next, a repeat of Mike & Molly did 6.39 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. A repeat of Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 6.87 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, back up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Fox aired a repeat of Bones at 8 and it did 5.05 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. At 9pm, week eight of new drama The Following at 9pm didn't miss a beat really with 8.15 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which down just a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired week nine of The Carrie Diaries at 8 and did 1.03 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, which is again on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 9, 90210 was new and did only 0.67 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. Pathetic. The show has been canceled and will end in May.

On Tuesday, it was Fox with the victory for the second straight Tuesday thanks to the return of Hell's Kitchen. On CBS, NCIS was a repeat and did 13.18 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, which is solid for a repeat. At 9pm, a repeat of NCIS: Los Angeles did 11.95 million and that same 1.9 18-49 rating. At 10pm, week three of Golden Boy did 8.53 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and good enough to win a weak hour. Onto ABC, at 8pm week three of Celebrity Wife Swap did 5.02 million and a 1.6 18-48 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. More celebrity episodes will air in summer, as Splash will start this week. At 9pm, the season finale of The Taste did 3.45 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. I guess this was working more at 8pm, so there is a lesson, sometimes a move to 9pm doesn't work for an 8pm show. A new Body of Proof aired at 10pm and did 6.6 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's season high. I think it will be better once compatible Dancing comes as a lead-in this week (and next week with Results). NBC aired Betty White's Off Their Rockers from 8-9pm as the first half-hour was a repeat and did 3.59 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 week-to-week. A new episode followed at 8:30pm and did 3.59 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, also down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, Go On was a repeat and it only did 2.45 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. It's tough to keep a comedy on air if it doesn't repeat that well. At 9:30pm, it was more bad news as a repeat of The New Normal did a horrible 2.24 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. At 10pm, a new Smash did 2.9 million and an embarrassing 0.9 18-49 rating, back up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's series low. It is moving to Saturdays at 9 beginning April 6. I bet they wished they had more Parenthood episodes now right? Fox preempted its comedies Raising Hope, New Girl and The Mindy Project once again, this time for the two-hour season premiere of Hell's Kitchen. The first hour did 5.3 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, while the second hour did 5.78 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, both hours were down 1.3 18-49 rating points from previous week's two-hour American Idol in the time period. The CW aired a repeat of Hart of Dixie and did just 0.75 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating. A repeat of Beauty & the Beast did 0.72 million and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week.

Wednesday it was Fox again with the win thanks to American Idol, as it airs two-hours every Wednesday and Fox only programs 2 hours a night. But first, CBS started the night off with a new Survivor: Caramoan at 8 doing 9.89 million and a 2.718-49 rating, which is up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week for a season high. Criminal Minds was a repeat at 9 and did 7.21 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which is up two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 10pm, a repeat of CSI did 7.94 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up three tenths in 18-49 from previous week...good showing. ABC kicked off the night with a repeat of The Middle doing 4.75 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week's repeat but still beat a new airing of NBC's comedy, ouch. At 8:30pm a new episode of The Neighbors did 4.72 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week, as its lead-in was a repeat again. What a great episode it was though. At 9pm, a repeat of Modern Family did the best of the block with 5.18 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which also down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Suburgatory followed at 9:30pm with a repeat doing 3.56 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating. At 10pm, Nashville was a repeat and did 2.69 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. This show will be back next season because it is so well done. On Fox, a two-hour American Idol did a solid 13.44 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week, as it finally didn't go down. Onto NBC a new episode of Whitney started it off at 8pm with 3.38 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, back down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and still couldn't top an ABC comedy repeat. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed and did 2.45 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Law & Order: SVU followed at 9pm with a repeat that did only 4.59 million and only a 1.1 18-49 rating, but on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 10pm, a repeat of Chicago Fire did 3.9 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW aired a repeat of its new hit Arrow and did 1.59 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week. At 9pm, a repeat of Supernatural did 1.32 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, also on par in 18-49 week-to-week. These two shows work well with each other, even in repeats.

On Thursday, Idol plummeted so CBS took the night. Starting with ABC, a repeat of Shark Tank aired and did 4.47 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week, as this series is so durable anywhere. The regular season premiere of Wife Swap is this Thursday at 8. At 9pm, Grey's Anatomy was all-new and did 8.2 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, a season low but not too bad after a few repeats and on a night with repeats at 8 and 10. At 10pm, ABC aired a repeat of TV's #1 show at 10pm Scandal doing 3.86 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. New episode this Thursday, people! CBS had a night of new episodes and opened with a new The Big Bang Theory doing 15.9 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, which is #1 for the week of course but down seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week as Daylight Savings Time has hit. A new Two and a Half Men was up next and benefited with 12.18 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, but down six tenths in 18-49 from previous week. At 9pm, a new episode of older-skewing Person of Interest followed with 14.34 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. At 10pm, a new showing of freshman Elementary closed the night with 11.33 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, if it wasn't for Scandal, this would be a good 10pm number. Fox had American Idol from 8-9pm and did 11.93 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which was down five tenths in 18-49 from previous week when it aired 8-9:32pm. Glee aired at its normal time of 9pm and did 5.37 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week when it aired 9:32-10:32pm. NBC aired new episodes of its comedies, as week six of Community did 2.58 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Daylight savings time factor, but I still find it odd that this show airs at 8pm in the first place. Parks & Recreation was new at 8:30pm and did 3.0 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, not too good but it built nicely from its lead-in. A new The Office was next and did only 3.54 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, which is not good. At 9:30m a new 1600 Penn, which is doing horrible, did only 2.23 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week's series low. They have four episodes left and NBC will burn them off the next two Thursdays. At 10pm, NBC had a repeat of Law & Order: SVU doing 3.77 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, as that was down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries aired at 8 but was new and did 2.41 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, as it seems the younger skewing shows were hit hard by daylight savings time returning. At 9, Beauty and the Beast was also new and did 1.43 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, which could be better.

Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS tied ABC Friday for first in 18-49, as the top show on ABC was a repeat. CBS had a repeat of Undercover Boss at 8 and it managed to be first place. Kitchen Nightmares was third for Fox as ABC's Last Man Standing and Malibu Country were second, but Last Man won its 8pm, half-hour. NBC's Fashion Star was again in fourth place. ABC was still in first at 9pm by a lot even when Shark Tank is a repeat, easily beating a new Grimm on NBC. CBS was third with a repeat of Hawaii Five-0. At 10, Rock Center was last place again for NBC, losing to first place Blue Bloods on CBS and second place 20/20 on ABC. Fox again struggled badly with Touch at 9, with distant fourth place finish.
Saturday had ABC win on a very slow night again. Fox took the 8pm hour with Cops, but struggled at 9 again with a repeat of The Following. CBS struggled at 10pm with 48 Hours, as ABC took the hour with with 20/20 Saturday from 9-11pm. That series also took the 9pm hour. NBC settled for repeats of American Ninja Warrior, Chicago Fire and SNL which all struggled but the latter was second place at 10. CBS didn't do much with crime repeats from 8-10pm. ABC aired a repeat of Celebrity Wife Swap at 8pm and was second place.

Tonight ABC Sunday is all-new from 8-11pm. A repeat of AFV starts it off, then new episodes of Once Upon a Time, Revenue and Red Widow, as Once airs a flashback on how the characters came to Storybrooke! I think it will be a first or second place finish for ABC, as it depends on how low Red Widow is. NBC devotes the night to Dateline from 7-9pm then Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars from 9-11pm. NBC will likely finish third or fourth place. CBS has 60 Minutes at 7, followed by a new Amazing Race, the new episodes of struggling The Good Wife & The Mentalist from 9-11pm. I'm thinking a third finish for CBS in 18-49. Fox's animation block is all new from 7:30-10pm and should be second (or first, if Red Widow does terrible at 10) place in 18-49.

As for the week (week 25), Fox will hang on and take the week again in 18-49. CBS will be second, and ABC will be third in 18-49. NBC will be way behind and of course in fourth. So basically similar to week 24. For total viewers, CBS will remain first. Fox should be second, followed by ABC. And NBC in a distant fourth. As for the coming week (week 26), ABC has the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars tomorrow that I think will do better than the all-star season. The 'how will they do' factor returns. NBC counteracts with the season finale of The Biggest Loser at 8 and dud Deception at 10. ABC also premieres Splash this Tuesday at 8 and I think that could do very well (meaning a solid second behind NCIS). Go Nicole Eggert! CBS will start the NCAA Tournament in primetime Thursday through Saturday. And on Friday, Last Man Standing & Malibu Country have their season finales on ABC, with Jonathan Taylor Thomas guest starring on the former!

Week 25 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 24 -- March 4-10)

The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode at 8 did 4.85 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week in 18-49.
The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Its normal time of 7:30pm was preempted, but a special new episode at a special time of 8:30pm did 4.04 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, also on par in 18-49 with previous week, like its lead-in
Bob's Burgers (Fox) 2 airings - The normal 8:30 airing was preempted, but a new episode aired at a special time of 9:30pm again and did 3.85 million and 1.8 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from previous week. A repeat at 7pm did 2.07 million and just a 0.9 18-49 rating, a half a point lower in 18-49 than previous week's Simpsons repeat in the time period.
Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode at 9 did 5.27 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, the best of the block and #1 for the night.
American Dad! (Fox) - A new episode aired at a special time of 7:30pm instead of 9:30pm and did 3.27 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which of course is below normal.

Monday Sitcoms

How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat at 8 did 5.23 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week's repeat.
Rules of Engagement (CBS) - Week six at 8:30pm did 7.05 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, solid but down a tenth in 18-49 from the previous week since the lead-in was a repeat again. On an island of repeats, so not too bad.
2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A repeat at 9 did 6.35 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par in 18-49 with previous week's encore.
Mike & Molly (CBS) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 6.39 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week. Only built on total viewers from its lead-in this time.

Tuesday Sitcoms

Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted.
New Girl (Fox) - preempted.
Go On (NBC) - A repeat (gulp!) of this series did just 2.45 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating.
The Mindy Project (Fox) - preempted.
The New Normal (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm was clobbered with just 2.14 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating. I guess the bright spot is that it was only down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week...but that was a new episode.

Wednesday Sitcoms

The Middle (ABC) - A repeat at 8 did 4.75 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, which is down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week. DST factor maybe.
Whitney (NBC) 2 airings - A new episode at 8 did 3.38 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth in 18-49 from previous week and it didn't beat a competing ABC comedy when it was a repeat. At 8:30pm, a repeat followed with only 2.45 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, down two tenths in 18-49 week-to-week.
The Neighbors (ABC) - A new showing of this new comedy did 4.72 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week. That was such a good episode and its a shame it was surrounded by repeats.
Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat at 9 did 5.18 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week but #1 for the block as usual even when it is a repeat. Sign of a strong anchor.
Suburgatory (ABC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 3.56 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, which is OK. It's all-new this Wednesday, along with The Neighbors.

Thursday Sitcoms

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - At 8pm, a new episode did 15.9 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, which is #1 for the week but down seven tenths in 18-49 from previous week as Daylight Savings Time is here. I thought it would do a 5 at least, but still good.
Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A new episode did 12.18 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, solid but tumbled down six tenths in 18-49 from previous week for a season low.
Community (NBC) - Week six did 2.58 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which is down four tenths in 18-49 from previous week. As I expected, it went down this Thursday.
Parks & Recreation (NBC) - A new showing at 8:30pm did 3.0 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, not too good but it is doable.
The Office (NBC) - A new episode at 9 did 3.59 million and only a 1.9 18-49 rating, for one of its lower rated episodes ever.
1600 Penn (NBC) - A new episode at 9:30pm did only 2.23 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up a tenth in 18-49 from the previous week. Not too good since the previous week the lead-in was a repeat and it only went up a tenth.

Friday Sitcoms

Last Man Standing (ABC) - A new episode did a prelim 6.4 million and a prelim 1.3 18-49 rating, which was down two tenths in 18-49 from previous week's preliminaries. Richard Karn was great again! Season finale this week with JTT!
Malibu Country (ABC) - A new airing of this new comedy did a prelim 5.52 million and a prelim 1.0 18-49 rating, down three tenths in 18-49 from previous week's prelim ratings. Season finale also this week.

Saturday Sitcoms

None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are a mix of new and repeat episodes of Fox Animation Domination comedies from 7-10pm.

Summing it up. The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Modern Family, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Rules of Engagement, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Neighbors, How I Met Your Mother) or just plain terrible (such as Community, 1600 Penn).

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, November 22

Happy's Place - "Happy's House" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie agrees to take Isabella to Happy's house in search of a connection to their late father, leading Bobbie to worry about what they may find; Gabby hopes to strike it rich by searching through Happy's penny collection looking for a rarity.

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Orlando" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Rosie's spoiled nephew Orlando visits, Mayan sets out to expose Rosie's cultural gender bias; George wants to teach Chance the value of hard work, but, instead, helps him create a toxic work environment.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Whacking the Mole" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola has a romantic dream about Bob, she tries to suppress her feelings for him and pays the price.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ralph Lauren and Fish" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob and Abishola finally go on a proper date, which is interrupted by Dottie's medical emergency.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Tough Like a Laundromat Washing Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob hires Abishola to take care of Dottie in his home while she recovers; Dottie has a hard time dealing with her limitations and takes it out on Abishola.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Useless Potheads" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abishola only helping part-time, Bob, Douglas and Christina struggle to take care of Dottie.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Wiz-Taken Identity" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Billie struggles with a spell, Roman says he could do it if he was a wizard: to prove him wrong, Billie uses a Power Glass to transfer her powers to Roman.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - " Ain't Gnome Party Like a Wizard Party" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Justin embraces mortality to live with his family; his new challenge arises when Alex introduces Billie, a wizard-in-training, seeking Justin's mentorship.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Friday, November 22

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy is a guest 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.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Lopez vs Lopez/Search Party/Corporate) - Andy, Thomas and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Drew is joined by the hilarious Andrew to celebrate all things Thanksgiving on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie tells Sherri about her new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.