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Stunner: No. 1
sitcom is an axed show


How bad have things gotten for network comedies?

May 2, 2007

It’s been a terrible year for sitcoms. Nearly every new offering has flopped, and even older, established hits are seeing ratings declines.

Thus it’s no small irony that the hottest sitcom on television right now is also one that’s already been canceled.

CBS’s “King of Queens” recently returned to the schedule after a two-month hiatus, and in all four outings it has tied or bettered lead-in “Two and a Half Men’s” adults 18-49 rating, making it the No. 1 sitcom on TV the last two weeks. (Note: This does not include Fox's cartoon comedies or ABC's hour-long laughers, which are not traditional sitcoms.)

Last week, the week ended April 29, “Queens” bettered its 4.0 “Men” lead-in by 5 percent, averaging a 4.2, despite airing opposite the NBC hit “Heroes” in its 9:30 p.m. Monday timeslot.

The nine-year-old show tied a season high two nights ago with a 4.6 rating, equaling “Men” and bettering the most recent episode of the No. 3 sitcom on broadcast, NBC’s “The Office,” by 0.5. “Queens’” season-to-date Monday 4.5 average is up 36 percent over its 3.3 average last year, when it aired on Wednesday night without a strong lead-in.

Of course to put the dire state of the sitcom in perspective, three years ago there were nine sitcoms that averaged a 4.5 or better. This year there are just two, “Men” and “Rules of Engagement,” the first-year show that “Queens” replaced in early April.

And when CBS canceled “Queens” earlier this year, it seemed like a smart move. The show was a surprise midseason pickup last spring. Many media buyers though it would be axed, as CBS surely couldn’t justify star Kevin James’ $500,000-per-episode salary for a sitcom that had lost a third of its audience over the past two years. By comparison, “Men’s” Charlie Sheen makes $350,000 per episode.

But with a weak comedy development slate, CBS opted to bring the show back, making it clear that this would be “Queens’” last season. The series finale will air May 14.

The show has a simple concept: Regular slob Doug (James) and knock-out wife Carrie (Leah Remini) get into traditional sitcom hijinks each week. It’s much like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” with a family focus and a stand-up comedian starring.

CBS will still face problems without “Queens” on Mondays, however. While “Men” and “Rules” should remain in the 9 p.m. hour, second-year sitcoms “How I Met Your Mother” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine” have both struggled at 8 p.m. And they’re not the only ones.

NBC’s “My Name is Earl” and ABC’s “George Lopez” and “According to Jim” have all declined this season, while a number of first-year sitcoms have already been yanked, including ABC’s “Big Day,” NBC’s “Twenty Good Years” and Fox’s “Happy Hour.”

Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended April 29:
 
Among adults 18-49, Fox led with a 4.5 average rating and a 13 share, followed by ABC at 3.3/10, CBS at 2.9/9, NBC at 2.1/6, Univision at 1.6/5, CW at 1.3/4, Telemundo at 0.4/1, MyNetworkTV at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1, Ion at 0.2/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Among adults 18-34, Fox led with a 4.0 average rating and an 13 share, followed by ABC at 2.7/9, CBS at 1.9/6, Univision at 1.7/6, NBC at 1.7/5, CW at 1.4/5, Telemundo at 0.4/1, Telefutura and MyNetworkTV at 0.3/1, and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Among adults 25-54, Fox led with a 4.8 average rating and an 13 share, followed by CBS at 3.8/10, ABC at 3.7/10, NBC at 2.5/6, Univision at 1.5/4, CW at 1.1/3, Telemundo 0.4/1, MyNetworkTV at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1, Ion at 0.2/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Top five (18-49s): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 10.2; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 10.0; Tie-3. Fox’s “House,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 8.4; 5. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” 6.8.
 
Top five (total viewers): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 26.93 million; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 26.55 million; 3. Fox’s “House” 20.81 million; 4. CBS’s “CSI” 20.20 million; 5. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 20.08 million.
 
Bottom five (18-49s): Tie-94. CW’s “Girlfriends,” “All of Us” and “7th Heaven” 1.1; 97. NBC’s “Dateline-Saturday” 0.9; 98. CW’s “America’s Next Top Model-Encore” 0.7; 99. CW’s “7th Heaven-Encore” 0.4.
 
Bottom five (total viewers): 95. CW’s “The Game” 2.55 million; 96. CW’s “Girlfriends” 2.34 million; 97. CW’s “All of Us” 2.32 million; 98. CW’s “America’s Next Top Model - Encore” 1.44 million; 99. CW’s “7th Heaven-Encore” 1.23 million.
 
Show on the rise: “Dateline,” NBC, Sunday 7 p.m. “Dateline’s” two-hour “Man behind the Mask” episode about John F. Regan posted a 1.7 among 18-49s, the highest rating in the demo in four weeks, and 7.7 million total viewers, the newsmagazine’s top Sunday night audience of the season.
 
Show on the decline: “America’s Next Top Model” CW, Wednesday 8 p.m. With Fox going with a two-hour “American Idol” results show last week—starting an hour earlier than usual—it was “Top Model” that suffered. Tyra Banks’ show posted a 1.8 rating among 18-49s, off 31 percent versus a 2.6 the previous week.

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 29

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

CBS

7.0

7800

12

3.8

10820

11

2.9

3830

9

FOX

6.9

7700

12

4.0

11460

11

4.5

5820

13

ABC

6.3

7040

11

3.4

9590

9

3.3

4340

10

NBC

4.4

4960

8

2.4

6680

6

2.1

2810

6

CW

2.1

2300

3

1.1

3100

3

1.3

1660

4

UNI

2.0

2240

3

1.3

3630

4

1.6

2080

5

TEL

0.5

600

1

0.3

920

1

0.4

520

1

ION

0.4

400

1

0.2

540

1

0.2

200

0

TF

0.3

320

0

0.2

520

1

0.2

330

1

AZA

0.1

100

0

0.0

140

0

0.1

90

0

* Each rating point is equivalent to 1.114 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 29

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

CBS

7.9

8850

13

4.4

12570

11

3.8

4910

10

ABC

6.3

7040

10

3.5

9800

9

3.5

4530

9

FOX

6.3

7000

10

3.6

10290

9

4.0

5220

11

NBC

5.8

6510

10

3.2

9030

8

3.2

4120

9

CW

2.1

2330

3

1.1

3210

3

1.3

1730

3

UNI

2.0

2200

3

1.3

3620

3

1.6

2040

4

TEL

0.5

580

1

0.3

850

1

0.4

510

1

ION

0.4

480

1

0.2

640

1

0.1

180

0

TF

0.4

400

1

0.2

620

1

0.3

390

1

AZA

0.1

110

0

0.1

150

0

0.1

90

0

* Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 114 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research 

 

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 29

#

PROGRAMS

Net

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

#

Rtg%

(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

15.7

25

17543

2

9.4

26548

2

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

15.6

25

17349

1

9.5

26930

3

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

12.9

20

14413

4

7.1

20078

4

HOUSE

FOX

12.6

19

13993

3

7.3

20805

5

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

12.5

20

13927

6

6.7

18869

6

CSI

CBS

12.3

19

13676

4

7.1

20202

7

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

11.1

19

12357

8

6.0

17025

8

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

11.0

17

12200

7

6.1

17168

9

DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU

ABC

10.8

16

12018

9

5.8

16563

10

SHARK

CBS

9.2

16

10278

10

5.0

14098

11

NCIS

CBS

9.0

14

10040

10

5.0

14169

11

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

9.0

15

9990

13

4.8

13715

13

KING OF QUEENS

CBS

8.2

12

9115

14

4.5

12628

14

SURVIVOR: FIJI

CBS

8.1

14

9070

12

4.9

13832

15

TWO AND A HALF MEN

CBS

7.9

12

8762

15

4.3

12270

16

COLD CASE

CBS

7.8

12

8711

15

4.3

12140

16

CSI: NY

CBS

7.8

13

8688

19

4.0

11401

18

BROTHERS & SISTERS

ABC

7.7

13

8596

20

3.9

11153

19

LOST

ABC

7.3

12

8148

17

4.2

11860

20

60 MINUTES

CBS

7.2

14

8056

20

3.9

10978

20

HEROES

NBC

7.2

11

7971

17

4.2

11963

22

DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON

NBC

7.1

11

7918

20

3.9

10977

23

UGLY BETTY

ABC

6.8

11

7539

28

3.4

9616

24

NUMB3RS

CBS

6.7

12

7495

25

3.6

10145

25

BACHELOR:OFFICER&GENTLEMN

ABC

6.5

11

7269

33

3.2

9127

25

BOSTON LEGAL

ABC

6.5

11

7192

28

3.4

9536

25

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

6.5

10

7295

28

3.4

9747

25

EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.

ABC

6.5

11

7196

23

3.8

10725

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Adults 18-49
Week Ending April 29

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

10.2

13267

2

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

10.0

13051

3

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

8.4

10984

3

HOUSE

FOX

8.4

10907

5

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

6.8

8840

6

CSI

CBS

5.9

7707

7

HEROES

NBC

5.3

6963

8

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

5.2

6811

9

LOST

ABC

5.0

6502

10

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

4.9

6463

11

SURVIVOR: FIJI

CBS

4.6

6000

12

BROTHERS & SISTERS

ABC

4.3

5593

13

DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU

ABC

4.2

5529

13

KING OF QUEENS

CBS

4.2

5545

15

FAMILY GUY

FOX

4.1

5358

15

OCTOBER ROAD

ABC

4.1

5352

17

EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.

ABC

4.0

5250

17

TWO AND A HALF MEN

CBS

4.0

5205

19

24

FOX

3.9

5071

19

OFFICE

NBC

3.9

5133

19

SIMPSONS-SUN 8:30P

FOX

3.9

5060

22

SHARK

CBS

3.8

5025

23

E.R.

NBC

3.7

4825

24

SIMPSONS

FOX

3.6

4746

25

SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER

FOX

3.5

4598

Source: Nielsen Media Research

  

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED)
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 29

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+ (000)

1

FEA MAS BELLA M-F

UNI

22.0

4682

2

DESTILANDO AMOR M-F

UNI

21.9

4714

3

CRISTINA-MON

UNI

18.1

3668

4

NUESTRA BELLEZA TUE

UNI

16.9

3405

5

DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE

UNI

16.8

3362

6

BAILANDO BODA SUENOS SUN

UNI

16.4

3455

7

DUELO DE PASIONES M-F

UNI

16.1

3199

8

AQUI Y AHORA-THU

UNI

15.7

3013

9

CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI

UNI

15.0

2660

10

SABADO GIGANTE-SAT

UNI

11.0

2234

11

HORA PICO-SUN

UNI

10.1

2018

12

CASOS FAMILIA ED ESP SAT

UNI

7.9

1545

13

PREMIOS BILLBOARD 4/26(S)-04/26/2007

TEL

7.8

1400

14

MARINA M-F

TEL

6.4

1107

15

ALFOMBRA BILLBOARD 4/26(S)-04/26/2007

TEL

6.3

993

16

ZORRO M-F

TEL

6.2

1083

17

DAME CHOCOLATE M-F

TEL

5.2

871

18

CINE NUESTRO

TEL

4.1

847

19

CINE LAS ESTREL2 SUN

TF

3.6

760

20

ASI ES LA VIDA M-F

TF

3.5

662

21

CINE LAS ESTREL2 SAT

TF

3.4

950

21

CINE LAS ESTREL1 M-THU

TF

3.4

632

23

OBJETIVO FAMA SUN

TF

2.9

590

23

SIN VERGUENZA M-F

TEL

2.9

504

25

REVENTON BILLBRD VIP 4/28(S)-04/28/2007

TEL

2.8

441

* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 11.63 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 29

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

6.8

1205

2

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

6.7

1342

3

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

6.2

943

4

FAMILY GUY

FOX

5.4

889

5

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

5.3

841

6

SIMPSONS-SUN 8:30P

FOX

4.9

921

7

DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU

ABC

4.7

708

7

HOUSE

FOX

4.7

788

9

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

4.5

790

10

AMERICAN DAD

FOX

4.4

707

* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 11.63 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 22

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Rtg

P2+(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

19.6

3677

2

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

16.6

3239

3

HOUSE

FOX

13.7

2651

4

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

12.1

2164

5

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

10.7

1832

6

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

10.3

1762

7

AMERICA'S TOP MODEL-2

CW

10.1

1940

8

SHARK

CBS

10.0

1724

9

CSI: NY

CBS

9.9

1938

10

DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU

ABC

9.0

1643

* Ratings based on 13.45 million African American TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 30 NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 22

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Episode

Households

Persons 2+

US Rtg%

Shr

(000)

(000)

1

FOX NASCAR NEXTEL CUP (S)(S)-04/21/2007

FOX

SUBWAY FRESH FIT 500

4.4

9

4894

7018

2

FOX NASCAR NEXTEL (S)-PRE(S)-04/21/2007

FOX

SUBWAY FRESH FIT 500

3.3

7

3703

5218

3

FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL

FOX

NY YANKS AT BOS/STL AT CHI CUB

3.2

8

3581

4727

4

NBA PLAYOFFS ON ABC-SUN 1

ABC

LA LAKERS AT PHOENIX

3.0

8

3314

4295

5

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

 

2.4

4

2660

3785

6

NBA PLAYOFFS ON ABC-SAT 1(S)-04/21/2007

ABC

MIAMI AT CHICAGO

2.2

6

2426

2949

7

HP CLASSIC NEW ORLEANS-SU(S)-04/22/2007

CBS

ZURICH CLASSIC

1.8

5

2053

2475

8

HP CLASSIC NEW ORLEANS-SA(S)-04/21/2007

CBS

ZURICH CLASSIC

1.1

3

1253

1489

9

LIBERTY LEGEND GOLF-SUN(S)-04/22/2007

CBS

CHAMPIONS TOUR

1.0

3

1134

1296

10

GMC NBA-SUN 1 PLAYOFFS

ABC

 

0.9

2

973

1266

11

NBC POKER SERIES

NBC

HEADS-UP-POKER

0.9

3

983

1207

12

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR-SU

CBS

AMP'D SUPERCROSS: DETROIT

0.8

2

912

1139

13

NBC NHL PLAYOFFS-SAT

NBC

CALGARY AT DETROIT

0.8

2

888

1148

14

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 4/22(S)-04/22/2007

NBC

DUEL IN THE POOL

0.8

2

899

1097

15

NBA ACCESS W/AHMAD RASHAD

ABC

 

0.7

2

835

990

16

LIBERTY LEGEND GOLF-SAT(S)-04/21/2007

CBS

CHAMPIONS TOUR

0.7

2

738

799

17

IFL BATTLEGROUND

MNT

 

0.7

1

744

936

18

POKER AFTER DARK MO-SAT

NBC

 

0.7

4

782

874

19

NBC NHL PLAYOFFS-SUN

NBC

NEW JERSEY AT TAMPA BAY

0.7

2

817

1019

20

GMC NBA-SAT 1 PLAYOFFS(S)-04/21/2007

ABC

 

0.6

2

708

735

21

THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL

FOX

 

0.6

2

626

797

22

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 4/21(S)-04/21/2007

NBC

SWIMMING

0.6

2

649

771

23

REPUBLICA DEPORTIVA SUN

UNI

 

0.6

2

682

1020

24

FUTBOL LIGA MEXICANA SUN

UNI

UNAM VS SAN LUIS

0.6

2

630

991

25

FUTBOL LIGA MEX SAT

TF

GUADALAJARA VS VERACRUZ

0.5

1

540

941

26

FUTBOL LIGA MEXICAN SUN

TF

AMERICA VS ATLANTE

0.5

1

513

943

27

IFL BATTLEGROUND ENCORE

MNT

 

0.4

1

494

598

28

WWE - RAW

TEL

 

0.3

1

289

422

29

SOLO BOXEO TECATE FRI

TF

MARES/PRIOLO-OQUENDO/ANDRADE

0.3

0

288

442

30

CONTACTO DPRTVO SUN

TF