Funny what the Celtics winning 40 games already can make you forget.
As the strike ends,
ratings take a slide
Big Five networks sink 22 percent in adults 18-49
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 13, 2008
The long writers’ strike may be over, but its effects are really starting to be felt in primetime, where viewership for the Big Five networks has begun to plunge.
During the second week of February sweeps, all five networks were down compared to the same week last year. And though several new shows are set to premiere in the coming weeks, the slide could well continue until fresh scripted programming comes back in late March and early April.
The Big Five combined for an average 13.7 adults 18-49 rating last week, the week ended Feb. 10, off 22 percent from their combined 17.5 average the same week last year.
CBS, which had only two original scripted series last week, was off the most, slipping 38 percent, from a 4.5 to a 2.8, and the CW fell the second most, 31 percent, from a 1.3 to a 0.9, though 18-49 is not its target demographic.
ABC was off 26 percent, from a 3.8 to a 2.8, with NBC down 17 percent, from a 3.0 to a 2.5. Even Fox, which has won every week since “American Idol” returned last month, slipped 4 percent, from a 4.9 to a 4.7.
The steep declines would seem to contradict the networks’ long-held claim that they could get by with reality shows until the strike ended. While NBC’s “American Gladiators” and Fox’s “Moment of Truth” are hits, despite falling a bit in each outing, there have been other disappointments, even among returning shows.
CBS’s “Survivor” had its second-lowest-rated premiere ever, averaging a 4.8 rating against minimal competition in the Thursday 8 p.m. slot. And the network’s “The New Adventures of Old Christine” slipped 16 percent from last year’s average in its third-season premiere.
Meanwhile, new reality shows like ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” spinoff “Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann” simply haven’t caught on. That show averaged a mere 2.4 in its latest outing, barely half what a typical “Stars” episode pulls.
Viewers have been uninterested in new scripted programming, too. Two “Sex and the City” knockoffs, ABC’s “Cashmere Mafia” and NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle,” pulled fewer total viewers than “Sex” in its heyday. CBS’s “Welcome to the Captain” averaged a 2.6 for its premiere last Monday, only managing to match its lead-in, a rerun of “How I Met Your Mother.”
The coming weeks have a few promising programs.
The CW premieres the new season of its top show, “America’s Next Top Model,” next week, while “Stars” returns next month on ABC. CBS will carry March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament that knocks out regular scripted programming for several weeks.
But there’s also the possibility that ratings will continue their decline. NBC’s “Gladiators” ends its run this weekend, to be replaced by new reality show “My Dad is Better Than Your Dad,” which critics have already dubbed a miss. Fox likely won’t return “24” at all this season, removing one of its top shows.
And ABC will run out of episodes of its top first quarter show, “Lost,” in just five weeks.
Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended Feb. 10:
Among adults 18-49, Fox was first with a 4.7 rating and a 12 share, followed by ABC and CBS at 2.8/7, NBC at 2.5/6, Univision at 1.6/4, CW at 0.9/2, Telemundo at 0.5/1, TeleFutura and MyNetworkTV at 0.4/1 and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Among adults 18-34, Fox led with a 4.3 rating and a 12 share, followed by ABC at 2.2/6, CBS at 2.0/6, NBC at 1.9/5, Univision at 1.8/5, CW at 0.9/3, Telemundo at 0.5/2, Telefutura and MyNetworkTV at 0.4/1 and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Among adults 25-54, Fox was first with a 5.2 rating and a 13 share, followed by CBS at 3.5/8, ABC at 3.3/8, NBC at 2.9/7, Univision at 1.5/4, CW at 0.9/2, MyNetworkTV and Telemundo at 0.5/1, TeleFutura at 0.3/1 and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 11.2; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 10.5; 3. Fox’s “House” 9.0; 4. Fox’s “Moment of Truth” 7.1; Tie-5. ABC’s “Lost” and CBS’s “Grammy Awards” 6.5.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 27.91 million; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 26.28 million; 3. Fox’s “House” 23.16 million; 4. CBS’s “Grammy Awards” 17.17 million; 5. Fox’s “Moment of Truth” 16.62 million.
Top five Live+7 English-language Big Five shows (Households, week ended Jan. 27): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 16.7; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 15.7; 3. Fox’s “Moment of Truth” 13.2; 4. CBS’s “60 Minutes” 9.6; 5. NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” 9.2.
Top five Live+7 English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, week ended Jan. 27): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 12.4; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 11.5; 3. Fox’s “Moment of Truth” 10.5; 4. NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” 5.3; 5. ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” 5.2.
Show on the rise: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” ABC, Saturday 8:30 p.m. The Johnny Depp version of the classic story averaged a 2.4 rating among viewers 18-49, up 26 percent from the 1.9 “War of the Worlds” averaged in the slot the week before.
Show on the decline: “Eli Stone” ABC, Thursday 10 p.m. Up against the low-rated premiere of NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle,” ABC’s midseason drama fell 18 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from a 4.0 to a 3.3.