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Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, September 19, 2007 September 20, 2007 7:56 pm

Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.
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Big evening of series/season premieres and finales goes to CBS among households and viewers, while FOX takes the night among adults 18-49. Kid Nation performs so-so, down year-to-year, while FOX’s Back to You does well for the network, especially among adults 18-49. On The CW, ‘Top Model’ posted its usual strong season premiere numbers, but its lead-out, the new drama Gossip Girl doesn’t fare too well, only able to match last year’s timeslot numbers.

CBS finished in first place on the evening with a 5.9/10 household rating/share and 8.94 million viewers, but was third among adults 18-49 with a 2.6/7 rating/share .

  • Last Week:
    • Households – 5.6/9 [#1]
    • Viewers – 8.30M [#1]
    • Adults 18-49 – 2.2/6 [#1]
  • 8:00 p.m.: The series premiere of Kid Nation (5.8/10 HH rating/share, 9.07M viewers, 3.0/9 A18-49 rating/share) did not really benefit from all the hype and controversy that surrounded its premiere. Overall, the series performed okay, but had several knocks against it. First off, it was off by considerable amounts from last year’s comparable program in the timeslot (Jericho). I’m sure the following numbers should please fans Jericho: Compared to the year prior, Kid Nation‘s premiere was off by 2.59 million or 22% among viewers, 24% among households and 12% among adults 18-49. Dare I suggest that Jericho could return sooner than expected if Kid Nation doesn’t perk up?
    • Timeslot comparison (Jericho – series premiere – September 20, 2006):
      • Households – 7.6/12 to 5.8/10 (-%)
      • Viewers – 11.66M to 9.07M
      • Adults 18-49 – 3.4/10 to 3.0/9
    • Last week’s numbers (fast nationals – Power of 10):
      • Households – 5.3/9
      • Viewers – 7.84M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.0/7
  • 9:00 p.m.: A repeat of Criminal Minds (5.6/9 HH rating/share, 8.62M viewers, 2.4/7 A18-49 rating/share).
  • 10:00 p.m.: And lastly, a repeat of CSI: NY (6.2/11 HH rating/share, 9.13M viewers, 2.4/7 A18-49 rating/share).

NBC followed in second place on the evening with a 5.2/9 household rating/share, 8.00 million viewers and a 2.8/9 rating/share among adults 18-49.

  • Last Week:
    • Households – 3.6/6 [#2]
    • Viewers – 5.52M [#2]
    • A18-49 – 2.1/6 [#2]
  • 8:00 p.m: The Wednesday premiere of Deal or No Deal (6.4/11 HH rating/share, 9.74M viewers, 2.4/8 A18-49 rating/share) gave NBC a win for the hour among households and viewers, but trailed among adults 18-49, where it finished in fourth place for the hour. It was also the evening’s most watched program in the former two categories. Sure it skews a tad bit older, and Deal or No Deal is no longer the powerhouse it was once not too long ago, but it’s still a solid performer for the network. So long as it doesn’t continue to fade, all is good.
  • 9:00-11:00 p.m.: That was followed by the two-hour fifth season finale of Last Comic Standing (4.5/8 HH rating/share, 7.14M viewers, 2.9/8 A18-49 rating/share) which showed solid growth from its lead-in among adults 18-49 of 21%. And though compared to last year’s finale Last Comic Standing was off among households and viewers, made up for that decline in its performance of adults 18-49, which grew slightly (+4%).
    • Season finale comparison (August 9, 2006):
      • Households – 4.8/8 to 4.5/8
      • Viewers – 7.65M to 7.14M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.8/9 to 2.9/8
    • Week-to-week numbers (fast nationals):
      • Households – 4.0/7 to 4.5/8
      • Viewers – 6.30M to 7.14M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.8/8 to 2.9/8
    • Last week’s numbers (fast nationals – 10:00 p.m. – Dateline):
      • Households – 4.2/7
      • Viewers – 6.06M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.1/6

Fox finished in third place on the evening with a 4.8/8 household rating/share and 7.62 million viewers, but managed a strong first place finish among adults 18-49 with a 3.0/9 rating/share.

  • Last Week:
    • Households – 2.8/5 [#4]
    • Viewers – 4.23M [#4]
    • Adults 18-49 – 1.5/5 [#4]
  • 8:00 & 8:30 p.m.: The series premiere of Back to You (6.0/10 HH rating/share, 9.44M viewers, 3.1/10 A18-49 rating/share) and the second season premiere of ‘Til Death (4.9/8 HH rating/share, 7.76M viewers, 2.7/8 A18-49 rating/share) combined to give FOX a nice time period victory among adults 18-49. Additionally, looking at the comparable year-ago performance (Bones: Season 2 premiere) the hour stayed mostly even, and actually increased by 7% among adults 18-49 (first comparison below). Moving onto ‘Til Death, that program failed to match its first season premiere (off by 1.06 million or 14% among viewers, 12% among households and 10% among adults 18-49). I’ve also included a comparison between this opener and the show’s 1st season finale (look below for those percentage losses).
    • Timeslot comparison (Bones – 2nd season premiere – August 30, 2006):
      • Households – 5.6/10 to 5.4/9
      • Viewers – 8.61M to 8.60M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.7/9 to 2.9/9
    • Season premiere comparison (‘Til Death – September 7, 2006):
      • Households – 5.7/10 to 4.9/8 (-10%)
      • Viewers – 8.82M to 7.76M (-880,000 or 11%)
      • Adults 18-49- 3.0/10 to 2.7/8 (-21%)
    • Episode-to-episode numbers (‘Til Death – 1st season finale – April 11, 2007 – 8:30 p.m.):
      • Households – 5.5/9 to 4.9/8
      • Viewers – 8.64M to 7.76M
      • Adults 18-49 – 3.4/11 to 2.7/8
  • 9:00 p.m.: The series premiere of Kitchen Nightmares (4.2/7 HH rating/share, 6.64M viewers, 3.1/8 A18-49 rating/share) was the weak link on the evening when looking at households and viewers. However, as you’ll see in a moment, not all was bad. As you can see from the numbers below, Kitchen Nightmares was not able to match last year’s comparable performance in the timeslot among households and viewers, but the good news is that the lower overall audience did not harm the shows solid performance among adults 18-49 (+7% over last year and +15% from its lead-in). If it can continue to perform this well in the A18-49 demo, you can safely overlook its lower overall audience.
    • Timeslot comparison (Justice – series premiere – August 30, 2006):
      • Households – 5.8/9 to 4.2/7
      • Viewers – 8.86M to 6.64M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.9/8 to 3.1/8

ABC followed in fourth place for the evening with a 3.9/7 household rating/share and 5.63 million viewers, but was fifth among adults 18-49 with a 2.0/6 rating/share.

  • Last Week:
    • Households – 2.9/5 [#3]
    • Viewers – 4.33M [#3]
    • A18-49 – 1.6/5 [#3]
  • 8:00 & 8:30 p.m.: Back-to-back repeats of According to Jim (2.7/5 HH rating/share, 4.10M viewers, 1.4/2 A18-49 rating/share).
  • 9:00 p.m.: That was followed by the Grey’s Anatomy special “Come Rain or Shine: From Grey’s Anatomy to Private Practice” (5.0/8 HH rating/share, 7.02M viewers, 2.5/7 A18-49 rating/share) which actually performed quite well for the type of program it was, improving nicely upon what has normally been airing in the timeslot over the past several weeks.
  • 10:00 p.m.: Primetime: Medical Mysteries (4.1/7 HH rating/share, 5.68M viewers, 2.0/6 A18-49 rating/share) ended the night for ABC with an okay performance, growing by very noticeable amounts from the week prior, when ABC aired NASCAR in Primetime (which has simply failed to catch on). Week-to-week, the timeslot was up by 2.98 million or 110% among viewers, 116% among households and 82% among adults 18-49.
    • Last week’s numbers (fast nationals – NASCAR in Primetime):
      • Households – 1.9/3
      • Viewers – 2.70M
      • Adults 18-49 – 1.1/3

The CW finished in fifth place for the evening with a 2.8/5 household rating/share and 4.40 million viewers, but managed to sneak by ABC to take fourth place among adults 18-49 with a 2.1/6 rating/share .

  • Last Week:
    • Households – 1.7/3 [#5]
    • Viewers – 2.25M [#5]
    • Adults 18-49 – 1.0/3 [#5]
  • 8:00 p.m.: The CW finally saw programming ratings that could be proud of with the ninth season/cycle premiere of America’s Next Top Model (3.2/5 HH rating/share, 5.15M viewers, 2.5/8 A18-49 rating/share). The program performed mostly identical to the prior two season openers (Note: I’ve included comparisons below for both the eighth season and the ninth season because of the different television seasons the program airs in). There were some slight losses when compared against those two seasons, but they were indeed very slight and it’s really nothing to be worried about.
    • Season premiere comparison (Season 8 – February 28, 2007 – 8:00-10:00 p.m.):
      • Households – 3.4/5 to 3.2/5
      • Viewers – 5.36M to 5.15M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.5/6 to 2.5/8
    • Season premiere comparison (Season 7 – September 20, 2006 – 8:00-10:00 p.m.):
      • Households – 3.3/5 to 3.2/5
      • Viewers – 5.26M to 5.15M
      • Adults 18-49 – 2.6/7 to 2.5/8
  • 9:00 p.m.: On the other hand, the series premiere of what could certainly be considered The CW’s most important new show of the season, Gossip Girl (2.4/4 HH rating/share, 3.65M viewers, 1.7/4 A18-49 rating/share) failed to get off to a good start. Retention levels were so-so at 75% among households, 71% among viewers and 68% among adults 18-49. I’d said in the past that I wasn’t a fan of The CW’s programming move with this series. If the series is truly as important to the network as they’ve suggested, than why not treat it as such? Why hinder its performance (and tie its audience) to that of the America’s Top Model viewership? I’m of the opinion that they should have used the series to open a new night, not try to use ‘Model’ to launch it (which so far the network has no success at doing). Regardless, let’s get back to the ratings. As you can see from the numbers below, compared to the comparable night last year, Gossip Girls was up in only one category (+210,000 or 6% among households) and even among viewers and adults 18-49. Sure The CW will be touting the shows great performance in the networks key women demographics, but the truth of the matter is this is not a good start to the show and really, it should have premiered with something in the neighborhood of 4.5-5 million. Having said all that, the show has potential (I thought it was pretty good) and there is still plenty of time to turn things around in regards to its ratings.
    • Timeslot comparison (One Tree Hill – 4th season premiere – September 27, 2006):
      • Households – 2.4/3 to 2.4/4
      • Viewers – 3.44M to 3.65M
      • Adults 18-49 – 1.7/5 to 1.7/4
GO TO WEEKLY RATINGS PAGE

Note: Network average numbers from the week prior are based on fast national data. Comparison’s from the week prior (or episode-to-episode, etc.) on specific shows are based on final national data. Ratings for the current day are based on fast nationals. (Expect all three scenarios to be the case at all times, unless otherwise noted). The final rating for first-run episodes that aired this evening will be reported the following week. So for example, the final rating for tonights episode of “Power of 10″ will be reported in next weeks report for Wednesday, September 26, 2007.

Also keep in mind that because these are fast national ratings, numbers may increase or decrease when the final nationals are released.

Source: Fast/Final National Ratings Data from Nielsen Media Research and PIFeedback

 

Comments»

1. matt - September 21, 2007 2:27 pm

yay! 2 of the shows im most interested in seeing this season premieres to good numbers kid nation and Gossip Girl (well the CW’s numbers will be accepted by them since their small network!) and Kristen Bell yay veronica mars has a part in the new show

2. Russ T.C. - September 21, 2007 2:39 pm

I’ve gotta say, matt, I got a blast out of hearing Kristen’s voice during the episode of Gossip Girl.

I haven’t seen Kid Nation yet, but I’ll give it a watch soon. Overall numbers are solid, but not great. If it remains at this level, everything should be fine. But if it slides further down, there may be some problems.

Gossip Girl on the other hand I did see. I thought it was pretty good and intend to continue watching. The problem in terms of that shows ratings is that it fell below the comparable timeslot occupant last season, One Tree Hill. I have the fast nationals above, here is the same comparison, but with the finals instead:

Households – 2.4/3 to 2.3/4
Viewers – 3.44M to 3.50M
Adults 18-49 – 1.7/5 to 1.6/4

You’d expect such a hyped show to perform better in its series premiere, but The CW is saying that they are a-okay with its performance, given it did very well in the networks key demo’s that it goes after.


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