Four of the top 10 shows of the week are sitcoms
By Toni Fitzgerald Oct 14, 2009
It's too early to declare that comedy is back, but the long-declining genre is definitely showing signs of a revival this fall.
Four new comedies have already received full-season orders this year, compared to zero at the same point last year. And four of the top 10 shows for the week ended Oct. 11 were comedies, compared to none the same week last year.
What's perhaps most notable is that no single network is leading the revival. All of the Big Four have had success with new or returning comedies this year.
CBS's strong numbers are perhaps the least surprising, simply because it has carried the largest number of comedies, six, over recent years.
Its third-year show "The Big Bang Theory" is showing bigger year-to-year gains than any other returning scripted program, averaging a 4.7 adults 18-49 rating to rank No. 5 on broadcast last week, four spots ahead of its lead-in, "Two and a Half Men." That's according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day-DVR-playback numbers.
If its ratings hold steady, "Bang" will likely replace "Men" as the No. 1 comedy in that demo this season.
Fox, which has long struggled to develop live-action sitcoms, has also had comedic success. "The Cleveland Show" ranks as the No. 1 new program this year. Despite losing audience each week, it's delivering huge gains over last year's 8:30 p.m. Sunday timeslot occupant, "King of the Hill," and it tied for 10th last week on broadcast with a 3.9 rating.
Season to date, Fox's animated Sunday comedy lineup is up 30 percent over last year.
The network has already given a full-season order to "Glee," a nontraditional one-hour comedy that airs Wednesdays. The show is winning its 9 p.m. slot among adults 18-34 and was the first new show to get picked up.
NBC had the No. 1 comedy on broadcast last week, "The Office," which averaged a season-high 4.8 rating for the much-anticipated wedding of Pam and Jim.
The network also had early success with "Community," which had a strong debut three weeks ago behind "Office" but last week plummeted in its new 8 p.m. slot. Still, it could see some DVR uptick. The show's second episode got a solid 25 percent boost from seven-day DVR playback.
ABC's comedy success has been the most surprising, as the network has struggled for years to find a viable scripted comedy that wasn't named "According to Jim."
But already it has given full-season orders to three sitcoms, "The Middle," "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town," the latter two of which ranked in the top 30 on broadcast last week.
***
In broadcast ratings for the week ended Oct. 11:
Among adults 18-49, CBS was first with a 3.3 average rating and a 9 share, followed by NBC and Fox at 2.6/7, ABC at 2.5/7,Univision at 1.4/4, CW at 1.0/3, Telemundo at 0.5/1, Telefutura at 0.4/1, Ion at 0.2/1 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 6.2; Tie-2. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and Fox’s “House” 5.4; 4. NBC’s “The Office” 4.8; 5. CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” 4.7.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. CBS’s “NCIS” 20.70 million; 2. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” 16.35 million; 3. CBS’s “NCIS: Los Angeles” 16.31 million; 4. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 16.02 million; 5. CBS’s “CSI” 14.9 million.
Top five time-shifted English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, by Live+7 playback, week ended Sept. 20): 1. NBC’s “The Office” 2.2 increase (up 42 percent); 2. Fox’s “Fringe” 1.5 increase (up 38 percent); 3. NBC’s “Community” 1.5 increase (up 33 percent); 4. CBS’s “Survivor” 1.4 increase (up 36 percent); 5. Fox’s “Bones” 1.4 increase (up 36 percent).
Show on the rise: “The Office,” NBC, Thursday 9 p.m. The hour-long wedding episode posted a 4.8 among 18-49s, up 23 percent from the previous week’s 3.9.
Show on the decline: “Hank,” ABC, Wednesday 8 p.m. The comedy slid 24 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from a 2.1 to a 1.6.
WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 11
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
7.6
8690
13
4.2
12190
11
3.3
4370
9
ABC
5.4
6250
9
2.9
8410
8
2.5
3240
7
NBC
4.8
5470
8
2.6
7520
7
2.6
3390
7
FOX
3.9
4490
6
2.2
6540
6
2.6
3470
7
UNI
1.9
2150
3
1.3
3740
3
1.4
1900
4
CW
1.4
1660
2
0.7
2140
2
1.0
1360
3
TEL
0.5
610
1
0.4
1070
1
0.5
660
1
ION
0.5
610
1
0.3
780
1
0.2
310
1
TF
0.4
510
1
0.3
900
1
0.4
530
1
AZA
0.1
150
0
0.1
200
0
0.1
120
0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 149 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 11
#
PROGRAMS
Net
HOUSEHOLDS
PERSONS 2+
Rtg%
Shr
(000)
#
Rtg%
(000)
1
NCIS
CBS
12.6
20
14490
1
7.1
20702
2
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
10.7
16
12256
2
5.6
16350
3
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
10.2
16
11686
2
5.6
16310
4
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
9.7
16
11199
4
5.5
16017
5
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
9.4
16
10785
6
5.0
14704
6
CSI
CBS
9.3
14
10637
5
5.1
14897
7
60 MINUTES
CBS
9.1
15
10405
6
5.0
14537
7
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
9.1
14
10425
8
4.8
14126
9
GOOD WIFE, THE
CBS
8.9
15
10254
10
4.7
13693
10
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
8.8
14
10079
8
4.8
14053
11
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
8.7
14
10046
12
4.6
13433
12
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
8.4
12
9704
12
4.6
13296
13
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
8.3
13
9524
15
4.3
12420
14
CSI: NY
CBS
8.2
14
9453
15
4.3
12426
14
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
8.2
12
9433
12
4.6
13423
16
HOUSE
FOX
7.9
12
9110
10
4.7
13738
17
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
7.8
12
9019
15
4.3
12515
18
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
7.5
12
8624
18
4.2
12317
19
SURVIVOR:
SAMOA
CBS
7.0
11
8013
19
4.0
11694
20
BONES
FOX
6.3
10
7288
22
3.5
10286
21
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
6.2
11
7168
25
3.3
9500
22
AMAZING RACE 15
CBS
6.1
9
7043
20
3.6
10518
22
CASTLE
ABC
6.1
10
7034
26
3.2
9228
22
HOME DEPOT PRIME CLG FTBL(S)
CBS
6.1
11
6974
20
3.6
10496
25
BROTHERS & SISTERS
ABC
6.0
10
6898
29
3.1
8972
25
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
6.0
10
6850
23
3.4
9819
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49
Week Ending October 11
Rank
Program
Net
Rtg%
(000)
1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
6.2
8137
2
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
5.4
7051
2
HOUSE
FOX
5.4
7072
4
OFFICE
NBC
4.8
6268
5
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
4.7
6156
6
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
4.6
5999
6
FAMILY GUY
FOX
4.6
6055
6
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
4.6
6038
9
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
4.4
5829
10
NCIS
CBS
4.3
5719
11
CLEVELAND
FOX
3.9
5107
11
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
3.9
5163
13
BIGGEST LOSER 8
NBC
3.7
4885
13
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
3.7
4888
13
SIMPSONS
FOX
3.7
4855
16
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
3.6
4727
16
HOME DEPOT PRIME CLG FTBL(S)
CBS
3.6
4709
16
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
3.6
4798
16
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
3.6
4785
20
60 MINUTES
CBS
3.5
4604
20
AMERICAN DAD
FOX
3.5
4550
20
CSI
CBS
3.5
4566
20
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
3.5
4574
24
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
3.4
4452
24
MODERN FAMILY
ABC
3.4
4471
24
SURVIVOR:
SAMOA
CBS
3.4
4534
Source: Nielsen Media Research
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED) Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 4
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+ (000)
1
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE M-F
UNI
25.5
5967
2
EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR MON
UNI
18.0
4195
3
EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR M-F
UNI
17.4
3837
4
AQUI Y AHORA TUE
UNI
15.9
3279
5
CRISTINA MON
UNI
15.7
3346
6
DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA WE
UNI
15.3
3210
7
ROSA DE GUADALUPE THU-FRI
UNI
14.2
3176
8
GANCHO AL CORAZON M-F
UNI
12.8
2780
9
VIVA EL SUENO SUN
UNI
12.2
2497
10
QUIEN TIENE RAZON? EE SUN
UNI
11.5
2148
11
SABADO GIGANTE SAT
UNI
11.0
2348
12
RUMBO AL MUNDIAL 9/30(S)-09/30/2009
TEL
10.9
2493
13
FAMILIA P. LUCHE SAT
UNI
8.7
1811
14
MARIA TODOS ANGELES SUN
UNI
8.5
1818
15
BETTY LA FEA M-F
TF
6.8
1484
16
MAS SABE EL DIABLO M-F
TEL
5.1
1115
17
RUMBO PRE-GAME 9/30(S)-09/30/2009
TEL
4.9
1167
17
CINE MILLONARIO
TEL
4.9
1318
19
VECINOS THR
TF
4.6
1032
19
VECINOS FRI
TF
4.6
1117
21
VECINOS TUE
TF
4.5
1023
22
VECINOS MON
TF
4.4
1038
23
VECINOS WED
TF
4.3
950
23
VICTORINOS M-F
TEL
4.3
1013
25
CINE DE LAS ESTREL SUN
TF
3.8
824
Source: Nielsen Media Research
HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 4
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+(000)
1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
5.8
1192
2
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
5.4
1009
3
FAMILY GUY
FOX
5.3
1228
4
CLEVELAND
FOX
4.8
1156
5
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
4.7
925
6
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
4.5
842
7
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
4.4
807
7
OT, THE
FOX
4.4
786
9
SIMPSONS
FOX
4.2
933
10
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
4.1
722
Source: Nielsen Media Research
AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 4
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+(000)
1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
13.6
2573
2
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
11.5
2278
3
OT, THE
FOX
11.4
2387
4
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
10.9
1899
5
NCIS
CBS
10.4
1995
6
CLEVELAND
FOX
10.0
2190
7
GOOD WIFE, THE
CBS
9.9
1797
8
CSI: NY
CBS
9.8
1751
9
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
9.6
1982
10
FAMILY GUY
FOX
9.5
2082
* Ratings based on 13.65 million African American TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 20 NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 4
