New and returning shows turn in hefty ratings
By Toni Fitzgerald Sep 23, 2009
The new season has only barely begun, but after years of ratings declines for broadcast, the Big Five networks are off to a strong start to the season.
Several new shows had record debuts, a handful of returning shows have seen ratings rise over last year, and the NFL seems on the brink of its best season in years. Even the long-dogging Emmys saw viewership rise.
While it hardly means an end to years of broadcast erosion, the strong results may mean this season, unlike the past few years, viewers are eagerly anticipating the new shows. Perhaps we’ll even see a few new hits.
Premiering new shows before the official start to the season brought strong results for a trio of first-year programs. Fox’s “Glee” had the network’s top debut for a fall scripted series in three years, averaging a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating and growing on its lead-in.
The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” set a viewership record for its premiere, while NBC’s “The Jay Leno Show” drew 18.4 million total viewers for its debut, the network’s best audience in the 10 p.m. Monday timeslot in more than a year.
But it wasn’t just the new shows that performed well. So did a few veterans.
Fox’s sixth-year drama “House” was up 14 percent over last year for Monday’s premiere, despite expanding from one to two hours.
CBS’s third-year “The Big Bang Theory” set a series high with a 4.6 rating Monday at 9:30 p.m., up 28 percent from last year.
And NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” has had a huge opening two weeks. Sunday’s game averaged a 9.8 18-49 rating and 24.8 million total viewers, the latter marking the best delivery for any primetime game in 12 years. The first two weeks of “SNF” have seen double-digit increases over last season.
But the most telling indicator of broadcast’s somewhat revived fortunes was Sunday’s Emmy telecast.
The ceremony has been falling for years, and while this year’s ceremony hardly revived to its pre-2005 levels, the show did see its first year-to-year increase in four years and bettered last year’s 12.3 million, nearly a record low, by 8 percent, or nearly 1 million viewers.
During the ceremony, host Neil Patrick Harris and presenters such as Tina Fey lobbed jabs at broadcast TV’s sinking numbers, marking perhaps the first time on record that the Academy acknowledged broadcast’s limitations
Maybe all it took was for broadcast to get in on the joke to reverse the trend.
***
In broadcast ratings for the week ended Sept. 20:
Among adults 18-49, NBC was first with a 3.7 average rating and an 11 share, followed by CBS at 2.4/7, Fox third at 2.0/6, Univision and ABC at 1.4/4, CW at 0.9/3, MyNetworkTV at 0.5/1, Telemundo and 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” 9.8; 2. NBC’s “The Jay Leno Show-Monday” 5.3; 3. NBC’s “Football Night in America Part 3” 4.9; 4. CBS’s “Emmy Awards” 4.2; 5. NBC’s “The Office” 4.1.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. NBC’s “Sunday night Football” 24.82 million; 2. NBC’s “The Jay Leno Show-Monday” 18.42 million; 3. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent-Wednesday” 15.79 million; 4. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent-Monday” 13.90 million; 5. CBS’s “Emmy Awards” 13.47 million.
Top five time-shifted English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, by Live+7 playback, week ended Aug. 30): 1. Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” 1.65 million (up 32 percent); 2. CBS’s “Big Brother-Thursday” 1.30 million (up 34 percent); 3. CBS’s “Big Brother-Tuesday” 1.19 million (up 32 percent); 4. CBS’s “Big Brother-Sunday” 1.14 million (up 32 percent); 5. ABC’s “Wipeout” 0.85 million (up 23 percent).
Show on the rise: “Sunday Night Football,” NBC, Sunday 8:30 p.m. Sunday’s game between the Giants and Cowboys averaged 24.8 million total viewers, the most in NBC’s “SNF” history and also the most-watched NFL primetime regular season game in 12 years. The game posted a 9.8 rating among 18-49s, up 14 percent from an 8.6 the previous week.
Show on the decline: “So You Think You Can Dance,” Fox, Wednesday 8 p.m. The dance competition slipped 11 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from a 2.7 rating to a 2.4.
WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 20
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
NBC
7.3
8330
12
4.0
11630
11
3.7
4830
11
CBS
5.3
6120
9
2.8
8270
8
2.4
3140
7
FOX
3.3
3780
6
1.8
5310
5
2.0
2620
6
ABC
2.9
3310
5
1.5
4420
4
1.4
1820
4
UNI
1.8
2050
3
1.2
3490
3
1.4
1840
4
CW
1.3
1520
2
0.7
1930
2
0.9
1160
3
MNT
1.0
1110
2
0.5
1480
1
0.5
620
1
ION
0.5
610
1
0.3
790
1
0.2
290
1
TEL
0.4
510
1
0.3
900
1
0.4
550
1
TF
0.4
510
1
0.3
880
1
0.4
520
1
AZA
0.1
120
0
0.1
170
0
0.1
110
0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 145 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research
SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 20
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
6.1
6960
10
3.3
9610
9
2.4
3220
7
FOX
4.7
5350
8
2.7
7780
7
2.8
3740
8
ABC
4.5
5200
8
2.5
7120
7
2.2
2950
6
NBC
4.3
4940
7
2.4
6880
6
2.3
2990
7
UNI
1.9
2130
3
1.3
3680
3
1.5
1920
4
CW
1.1
1240
2
0.6
1610
1
0.7
890
2
MNT
1.0
1120
2
0.5
1570
1
0.5
680
2
TEL
0.6
660
1
0.4
1150
1
0.5
670
1
ION
0.4
490
1
0.2
630
1
0.2
210
0
TF
0.4
420
1
0.3
730
1
0.3
420
1
AZA
0.1
120
0
0.1
180
0
0.1
110
0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 145 million homes
Note: Season-to-date estimates are a weighted average of pre-TSV and Live+SD data.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 20
#
PROGRAMS
Net
HOUSEHOLDS
PERSONS 2+
Rtg%
Shr
(000)
#
Rtg%
(000)
1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
15.1
25
17340
1
8.5
24817
2
JAY LENO SHOW-MON
NBC
11.5
19
13186
3
6.3
18418
2
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
11.5
19
13250
2
6.5
18910
4
CBS NFL NATL POST GAME
CBS
9.7
18
11091
5
5.3
15515
5
AMERICAGOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
9.5
16
10951
4
5.4
15788
6
EMMY AWARDS(S)
CBS
8.7
14
10015
7
4.6
13471
7
AMERICAGOT TALENT 9/14(S)
NBC
8.5
13
9749
6
4.8
13902
7
JAY LENO SHOW-WED
NBC
8.5
15
9785
7
4.6
13363
9
60 MINUTES
CBS
8.4
14
9698
10
4.5
13122
10
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
8.3
14
9513
7
4.6
13362
11
NCIS
CBS
8.0
13
9150
11
4.3
12435
12
JAY LENO SHOW-TUE
NBC
7.1
12
8201
13
3.8
11085
13
SURVIVOR:
SAMOA - SPECIAL(S)
CBS
6.8
11
7813
12
4.0
11664
14
BONES
FOX
6.3
11
7212
14
3.5
10363
15
BIGGEST LOSER 8
NBC
6.2
10
7108
15
3.4
9900
15
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
6.2
11
7128
16
3.1
9069
17
CSI
CBS
5.7
9
6596
17
3.0
8800
17
JAY LENO SHOW-THU
NBC
5.7
10
6522
17
3.0
8823
19
CSI: NY
CBS
5.2
9
6021
20
2.7
7756
20
DATELINE FRI
NBC
5.1
10
5851
25
2.5
7380
21
JAY LENO SHOW-FRI
NBC
5.0
9
5773
24
2.6
7599
22
BIG BROTHER 11-TUE
CBS
4.8
8
5490
20
2.7
7780
22
OFFICE
NBC
4.8
8
5572
19
2.8
8211
24
COMMUNITY
NBC
4.7
8
5411
20
2.7
7887
25
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
4.6
7
5304
27
2.3
6724
25
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 2
NBC
4.6
8
5235
26
2.4
7091
25
FRINGE
FOX
4.6
8
5332
20
2.7
7817
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49
Week Ending September 20
Rank
Program
Net
Rtg%
(000)
1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
9.8
12946
2
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
7.2
9472
3
JAY LENO SHOW-MON
NBC
5.3
6931
4
CBS NFL NATL POST GAME
CBS
5.2
6870
5
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
4.9
6492
6
EMMY AWARDS(S)
CBS
4.2
5577
7
OFFICE
NBC
4.1
5408
8
BIGGEST LOSER 8
NBC
3.8
5060
8
COMMUNITY
NBC
3.8
4958
10
SURVIVOR:
SAMOA - SPECIAL(S)
CBS
3.6
4766
11
AMERICAGOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
3.5
4556
11
JAY LENO SHOW-WED
NBC
3.5
4590
13
JAY LENO SHOW-TUE
NBC
3.4
4476
14
60 MINUTES
CBS
3.3
4332
14
AMERICAGOT TALENT 9/14(S)
NBC
3.3
4316
16
GLEE
FOX
3.2
4152
17
BONES
FOX
3.1
4066
18
FRINGE
FOX
3.0
3916
19
BIG BROTHER 11-TUE
CBS
2.8
3729
20
FAMILY GUY
FOX
2.7
3492
20
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 2
NBC
2.7
3544
20
JAY LENO SHOW-THU
NBC
2.7
3614
23
SIMPSONS-SUN 8:30P
FOX
2.5
3276
24
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE THU
UNI
2.4
3118
24
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE WED
UNI
2.4
3194
24
NCIS
CBS
2.4
3178
24
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED
FOX
2.4
3200
Source: Nielsen Media Research
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED) Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 13
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+ (000)
1
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE M-F
UNI
22.1
5135
2
RUMBO AL MUNDIAL 9/9(S)-09/09/2009
TEL
17.7
4913
3
EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR M-F
UNI
17.0
3777
4
CRISTINA MON
UNI
16.3
3585
5
AQUI Y AHORA TUE
UNI
15.5
3186
6
EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR MON
UNI
14.3
3230
7
ROSA DE GUADALUPE THU-FRI
UNI
13.6
3298
8
DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA WE
UNI
12.3
2468
9
GANCHO AL CORAZON M-F
UNI
11.6
2542
10
SABADO GIGANTE SAT
UNI
11.5
2528
11
VIVA EL SUENO SUN
UNI
10.1
2021
12
REVIVA EL SUENO 09/10(S)-09/10/2009
UNI
9.5
1957
13
QUIEN TIENE RAZON? EE SUN
UNI
9.4
1885
14
BETTY LA FEA M-F
TF
7.4
1652
15
FAMILIA P. LUCHE SAT
UNI
6.8
1390
16
JUNTO AL TRI 9/9(S)-09/09/2009
TEL
6.2
1393
17
HORA PICO SUN
UNI
6.0
1236
18
CELEB EL GRITO 9/13(S)-09/13/2009
TEL
5.8
1300
19
VICTORINOS M-F
TEL
5.0
1270
20
MAS SABE EL DIABLO M-F
TEL
4.6
970
21
FIFA ELIMINATORIA COPA9/9(S)-09/09/2009
TF
4.5
976
22
CELEB EL GRITO II(S)-09/12/2009
TEL
4.3
1000
23
FUTBOL LIGA MEX SAT
TF
4.1
901
24
VIVA MEXICO:EL GRITO 9/13(S)-09/13/2009
TEL
4.0
844
24
NINOS RICOS M-F
TEL
4.0
933
24
CINE LAS ESTRELLAS 09/07(S)-09/07/2009
TF
4.0
925
Source: Nielsen Media Research
HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 13
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+(000)
1
NBC NFL THURSDAY SPECIAL(S)-09/10/2009
NBC
6.8
1226
2
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
6.1
1212
3
NBC NFL THURSDAY PRE-KICK(S)-09/10/2009
NBC
4.5
847
4
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
4.4
886
5
OT, THE
FOX
3.8
674
6
VAMPIRE DIARIES
CW
3.7
684
7
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE
NBC
3.6
642
8
HELL'S KITCHEN
FOX
3.3
756
9
AMERICAGOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
2.8
508
9
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
2.8
600
9
NFL OPENING KICK-OFF SHOW(S)-09/10/2009
NBC
2.8
510
Source: Nielsen Media Research
AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 13
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+(000)
1
NBC NFL THURSDAY SPECIAL
NBC
16.2
3043
2
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
13.9
2715
3
OT, THE
FOX
11.7
2361
4
NBC NFL THURSDAY PRE-KICK
NBC
11.2
2011
5
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
10.2
2084
6
DATELINE FRI
NBC
8.6
1601
7
60 MINUTES
CBS
7.7
1394
8
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
6.9
1409
9
NFL OPENING KICK-OFF SHOW
NBC
6.6
1155
10
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE
NBC
6.5
1209
* Ratings based on 13.65 million African American TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 10 NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS Ranked on Households
