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Television
Fox finishes first for the season, again
By Toni Fitzgerald
May 23, 2007, 01:43

In a year when the combined adults 18-49 rating for the Big Four networks slipped 6 percent compared with last year, the network that slipped the least will once again finish first.

Fox will win its third consecutive season among 18-49s tonight when the regular season ends, and it has done it in dominating fashion. At a 4.0 rating and 11 share, the network’s 0.3 advantage over second-place CBS (3.7/10) is the biggest margin of victory for any network in five years, since NBC in the 2001-2002 season, according to Nielsen data.

Yet even Fox slipped compared with last year, down 2 percent from a 4.1/11. The 4.0 was the lowest average rating to win a season in at least eight years.

Second-place CBS was down 3 percent compared with last year, to a 3.8/10. Third-place ABC slid the most, 13 percent, from a 4.0/11 to a 3.5/9, and NBC is down 6 percent, from a 3.3/9 to a 3.1/8.

Those numbers include sports ratings, such as the World Series, Bowl Championship Series and Super Bowl, which was on ABC last year and CBS this year. Without sports, ABC is down just 5 percent, while CBS is down 8 percent; Fox and NBC’s declines are about the same.

Fox’s victory came once again because of one main reason, “American Idol.” Though the show’s ratings declined compared with last year over its final two months, even a diluted “Idol” is still by far the highest-rated show on television.

The show’s Wednesday edition averaged a 12.3 rating and its Tuesday edition averaged a 12.1, down a combined 3 percent from last year.

But oddly, “Idol” was even more dominant this year than last, as many other shows’ season averages slipped by higher percentages.

Last year, the No. 3 show behind both “Idols,” “Desperate Housewives,” averaged a 9.1, 28 percent behind “Idol.” This year the No. 3 show behind “Idol,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” averaged an 8.1, 34 percent behind “Idol.”

Still, as decisive as Fox’s victory was, it still has a lot of concerns come next year. “24” will end the year down 9 percent from last year, with declines even more steep in recent weeks. “Prison Break,” another action drama, also saw declines, and the network’s Sunday night average fell 14 percent compared with the previous year.

If those problems carry into next season, and “Idol’s” ratings continue to slide, Fox could have a hard time maintaining No. 1.

Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended May 20:
 
Among adults 18-49, Fox led with a 3.9 average rating and a 12 share, followed by ABC at 3.6/11, CBS at 2.8/8, NBC at 2.4/7, Univision at 1.7/5, CW at 1.3/4, Telemundo at 0.5/1, MyNetworkTV at 0.4/1, Telefutura at 0.3/1 and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Among adults 18-34, Fox led with a 3.6 average rating and a 12 share, followed by ABC at 2.8/9, CBS, NBC and Univision at 1.9/6, CW at 1.5/5, Telemundo at 0.5/2, MyNetworkTV at 0.4/1, Telefutura at 0.3/1 and Azteca and Ion at 0.1/0.
 
Among adults 25-54, Fox and ABC tied for first, each with a 4.2 average rating and an 11 share, with CBS at 3.5/9, NBC at 2.7/7, Univision at 1.7/5, CW at 1.2/3, MyNetworkTV at 0.5/1, Telemundo at 0.4/1, Telefutura at 0.3/1, Ion at 0.2/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Top five (18-49s): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 10.8; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 9.4; 3. Fox’s “House” 9.2; 4. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 9.1; 5. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” 7.2.
 
Top five (total viewers): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 28.05 million; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 24.23 million; 3. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 22.57 million; 4. Fox’s “House” 21.19 million; 5. CBS’s “CSI” 20.45 million.
 
Bottom five (18-49s): Tie-86. CW’s “Veronica Mars” and NBC’s “Dateline Saturday” 0.9; Tie-88. CW’s “Gimore Girls” and “America’s Next Top Model-Encore” 0.6; 90. CW’s “7th Heaven-Encore” 0.4.
 
Bottom five (total viewers): 86. CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris” 2.34 million; 87. CW’s “Veronica Mars” 2.10 million; 88. CW’s “Gilmore Girls” 1.44 million; 89. CW’s “America’s Next Top Model - Encore” 1.43 million; 90. CW’s “7th Heaven-Encore” 1.18 million.
 
Show on the rise: “The Simpsons,” Fox, Sunday 8 p.m. The show’s 400th episode, which was also its season finale, posted a 4.5 rating among viewers 18-49 and averaged 9.9 million total viewers, the highest in both demos since Jan. 7.
 
Shows on the decline: “Friday Night Smackdown,” CW, Friday 8 p.m. In a week when the CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” and “Gilmore Girls” saw solid jumps, “Smackdown” did not. The wrestle-fest averaged a 1.4 among viewers 18-49 last week, off 13 percent from a 1.6 the previous week.
 

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending May 20

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

ABC

7.0

7800

12

3.8

10760

10

3.6

4720

11

CBS

6.8

7590

12

3.7

10360

10

2.8

3710

8

FOX

6.1

6770

10

3.6

10080

10

3.9

5140

12

NBC

4.7

5220

8

2.5

7020

7

2.4

3130

7

UNI

2.1

2330

4

1.4

3920

4

1.7

2260

5

CW

2.0

2230

3

1.1

3090

3

1.3

1700

4

MNT

0.8

920

1

0.4

1170

1

0.4

530

1

TEL

0.6

690

1

0.4

1090

1

0.5

610

1

ION

0.4

450

1

0.2

600

1

0.1

160

0

TF

0.3

380

1

0.2

610

1

0.3

400

1

AZA

0.1

90

0

0.0

130

0

0.1

80

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 May 20

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

CBS

7.9

8790

13

4.4

12470

11

3.7

4850

10

ABC

6.4

7110

10

3.5

9880

9

3.5

4550

9

FOX

6.3

7010

10

3.6

10300

9

4.0

5230

11

NBC

5.8

6420

9

3.1

8890

8

3.1

4050

8

CW

2.1

2330

3

1.1

3220

3

1.3

1730

3

UNI

2.0

2200

3

1.3

3630

3

1.6

2050

4

MNT

0.6

670

1

0.3

830

1

0.3

400

1

TEL

0.5

580

1

0.3

860

1

0.4

510

1

ION

0.4

480

1

0.2

640

1

0.1

170

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 May 20

#

PROGRAMS

Net

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

#

Rtg%

(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

16.5

25

18392

1

9.9

28054

2

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

14.5

23

16180

3

8.0

22572

3

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

14.1

23

15738

2

8.5

24234

4

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

13.0

21

14437

6

6.9

19582

5

CSI

CBS

12.6

20

14064

5

7.2

20447

6

HOUSE

FOX

12.4

19

13864

4

7.5

21188

7

DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU

ABC

12.1

18

13430

8

6.5

18444

8

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

12.0

19

13380

7

6.6

18821

9

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

10.9

18

12148

9

5.9

16630

10

BOB BARKER: 50 YEARS(S)

CBS

9.3

16

10411

10

5.1

14332

11

CSI 10PM-SPECIAL(S)

CBS

8.9

15

9960

13

4.7

13332

11

PRICE IS RIGHT-MILLN 5/16(S)

CBS

8.9

15

9915

11

4.9

13986

13

KING OF QUEENS

CBS

8.8

13

9852

12

4.8

13609

14

CSI: NY

CBS

8.6

14

9546

15

4.6

13072

15

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

8.5

14

9524

16

4.5

12754

16

BROTHERS & SISTERS

ABC

8.4

14

9356

18

4.3

12307

17

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

8.3

13

9295

13

4.7

13208

18

EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.

ABC

7.7

13

8529

17

4.4

12573

19

BACHELOR:OFFICER&GENTLEMN

ABC

7.4

12

8274

21

3.8

10641

20

60 MINUTES

CBS

7.3

14

8126

21

3.8

10854

20

LOST

ABC

7.3

12

8185

18

4.3

12322

22

UGLY BETTY

ABC

7.1

12

7908

24

3.7

10504

23

BOSTON LEGAL

ABC

7.0

12

7756

26

3.6

10277

23

HEROES

NBC

7.0

11

7752

20

4.1

11540

25

BONES

FOX

6.8

11

7552

21

3.8

10876

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Adults 18-49
Week Ending May 20

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

10.8

14138

2

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

9.4

12307

3

HOUSE

FOX

9.2

11970

4

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

9.1

11894

5

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

7.2

9361

6

CSI

CBS

6.2

8153

7

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

5.3

6857

7

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

5.3

6951

7

HEROES

NBC

5.3

6923

10

KING OF QUEENS

CBS

5.2

6763

10

LOST

ABC

5.2

6835

12

DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU

ABC

4.8

6257

13

BROTHERS & SISTERS

ABC

4.5

5881

13

EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.

ABC

4.5

5843

13

FAMILY GUY

FOX

4.5

5930

13

SIMPSONS

FOX

4.5

5938

17

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

4.3

5679

18

BACHELOR:OFFICER&GENTLEMN

ABC

4.0

5231

18

CSI: NY

CBS

4.0

5166

20

24

FOX

3.9

5073

20

CSI 10PM-SPECIAL(S)

CBS

3.9

5119

20

OFFICE

NBC

3.9

5078

23

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

3.7

4862

23

LOST: THE ANSWERS(S)

ABC

3.7

4790

25

AMERICAN DAD

FOX

3.6

4762

25

E.R.

NBC

3.6

4747

25

TWO AND A HALF MEN

CBS

3.6

4767

25

UGLY BETTY

ABC

3.6

4685

Source: Nielsen Media Research

  

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED)
Ranked on Households
Week Ending May 20

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+ (000)

1

DESTILANDO AMOR M-F

UNI

22.8

4897

2

FEA MAS BELLA M-F

UNI

21.6

4652

3

BAILANDO BODA SUENOS SUN

UNI

17.0

3549

4

DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE

UNI

16.5

3216

4

NUESTRA BELLEZA TUE

UNI

16.5

3097

6

DUELO DE PASIONES M-F

UNI

16.3

3279

7

CRISTINA-MON

UNI

15.9

3064

8

FUTBOL LIGA MEXICANA SUN

UNI

15.4

3631

9

AQUI Y AHORA-THU

UNI

14.6

2998

10

CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI

UNI

11.5

2328

11

SABADO GIGANTE-SAT

UNI

11.1

2056

12

FUTBOL LIGA MEX THUR

TF

9.4

1869

13

HORA PICO 5/19(S)-05/19/2007

UNI

7.6

1559

14

MARINA M-F

TEL

6.5

1091

15

ZORRO M-F

TEL

6.4

1073

16

CINE MILLONARIO

TEL

6.2

1253

17

DAME CHOCOLATE M-F

TEL

5.7

923

18

ESCLAVA ISAURA M-F

TEL

4.8

815

19

CINE EN FAMILIA

TEL

3.8

576

20

OBJETIVO FAMA SUN

TF

3.6

566

20

CINE LAS ESTREL2 SAT

TF

3.6

692

22

CINE LAS ESTREL1 SAT

TF

3.3

662

23

FLM THU 1

AZA

3.2

614

24

RUMBO A LA FAMA 5/20(S)-05/20/2007

TF

3.0

464

25

CINE NUESTRO

TEL

2.9

565

* 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 May 20

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

7.9

1417

2

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

6.5

1353

3

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

6.3

1074

4

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

5.7

905

5

DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU

ABC

5.4

887

6

HOUSE

FOX

5.1

1038

7

SIMPSONS

FOX

4.9

791

8

FAMILY GUY

FOX

4.8

759

8

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

4.8

928

10

AMERICAN DAD

FOX

4.5

736

* 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 May 13

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Rtg

P2+(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

19.2

3870

2

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

18.1

3634

3

HOUSE

FOX

14.4

2895

4

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

11.7

2141

5

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

11.6

2049

6

CSI: NY

CBS

9.8

1765

7

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

9.6

1681

7

GIRLFRIENDS

CW

9.6

1990

9

DANCING W/THE STARS-MON

ABC

9.4

1720

9

GAME, THE

CW

9.4

1861

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

 

TOP 30 NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending May 13

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Episode

Households

Persons 2+

US Rtg%

Shr

(000)

(000)

1

FOX NASCAR NEXTEL-SUN(S)-05/13/2007

FOX

LIVE FROM DARLINGTON

4.2

12

4673

6920

2

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP-SUN(S)-05/13/2007

NBC

 

3.6

10

4016

5007

3

NBA PLAYOFFS ON ABC-SAT 2(S)-05/12/2007

ABC

PHOENIX AT SAN ANTONIO

3.4

7

3741

4912

4

FOX NASCAR NXTL PRE SAT(S)-05/12/2007

FOX

LIVE FROM DARLINGTON

3.0

7

3307

4674

5

NBA PLAYOFFS ON ABC-SUN 1

ABC

DETROIT AT CHICAGO

2.8

8

3138

3992

6

FOX NASCAR NEXTEL-SUN PCE(S)-05/13/2007

FOX

LIVE FROM DARLINGTON

2.8

9

3127

4435

7

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

 

2.6

5

2951

4557

8

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP-SAT(S)-05/12/2007

NBC

 

2.5

7

2820

3313

9

FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL

FOX

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

2.1

5

2295

2943

10

GMC NBA-SAT 2 PLAYOFFS(S)-05/12/2007

ABC

 

1.8

4

2023

2466

11

NBC POKER SERIES

NBC

 

1.2

4

1391

1631

12

GMC NBA-SUN 1 PLAYOFFS

ABC

 

1.1

3

1190

1430

13

FOX SAT BSBALL-RAIN DELAY(S)-05/12/2007

FOX

LA ANGELS AT TEXAS

1.1

3

1228

1649

14

NBC POKER SERIES 5/13(B)-05/13/2007

NBC

 

1.1

3

1198

1525

15

NCAA WOMEN'S GYMNASTC CHP(S)-05/12/2007

CBS

 

0.9

2

971

1149

16

FUTBOL LIGA MEXICANA SUN

UNI

AMERICA VS ATLAS

0.9

2

957

1703

17

INDY 500 POLE DAY(S)-05/12/2007

ABC

 

0.8

2

859

975

18

POKER AFTER DARK MO-SAT

NBC

 

0.8

4

857

916

19

CBS SPORTS-SPECTACULR-SU2(S)-05/13/2007

CBS

CLLG BSKBL TEN GREAT SHOOTERS

0.7

2

822

869

20

THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL

FOX

 

0.7

2

769

950

21

NBA ACCESS W/AHMAD RASHAD

ABC

 

0.6

2

702

759

22

CBS SPORTS SPECTACLR SU

CBS

INSIDE-ROPES:G LOPEZ AT B HOPE

0.6

2

664

783

23

IFL BATTLEGROUND

MNT

 

0.6

1

643

925

24

FUTBOL LIGA MEX THUR

TF

ATLAS VS AMERICA

0.6

1

665

1122

25

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR-SU

CBS

TOYOTA TEXAS BASS CLASSIC

0.5

1

571

708

26

FUTBOL LIGA MEX SAT

TF

GUADALAJARA VS UNL TIGRES

0.5

1

586

1188

27

REPUBLICA DEPORTIVA SUN

UNI

 

0.5

1

521

724

28

FLM SUN 1

AZA

PACHUCA VS SANTOS

0.4

1

451

731

29

IFL BATTLEGROUND ENCORE

MNT

 

0.4

1

417

518

30

FUTBOL LIGA MEX WED

TF

UNL TIGRES VS GUADALAJARA

0.4

1

447

695

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 



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