Takes the second week of the new season
By Toni Fitzgerald Oct 7, 2009
There was a surprise leader in the second full week of the TV season: Fox.
The network, which has long struggled during fourth quarter, scored its earliest-ever weekly win in a television season.
It reflects both the increasing strength of Fox's fall schedule and the long trend of declining ratings for the networks overall. Just a few years ago, Fox's winning adults 18-49 average rating of 3.1 and 9 share would have placed fourth rather than first for the week.
Last week, the week ended Oct. 4, Fox was just barely ahead of the competition. CBS and ABC tied for second with a 2.9/8, followed by NBC with a 2.7/8, Univision at 1.5/4 and the CW at 1.1/3, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day-DVR-viewing data.
Fox's winning margin came from football overrun. The network's coverage of the Dallas Cowboys-Denver Broncos game ran a half hour into primetime Sunday, averaging an 8.4; without it, Fox would have finished 0.1 behind ABC and CBS.
Still, the network is way up over last year, when it averaged a fourth-place 2.5/7 in week two of the season. And it ends a long string of dreadful fourth quarter starts for Fox, which usually ends the quarter in fourth place, then rides "American Idol's" strong first-quarter performance to first.
This year, two strong new shows and some solid veterans have helped the network improve. It's not without problems -- its Friday night lineup is performing terribly -- but on four of seven nights, Fox is up compared to the previous year.
"House" is off to a strong start, showing gains over last season and lifting lead-out "Lie to Me" to decent if not spectacular numbers. Mondays are up 150 percent over last year.
The network's Wednesday lineup of "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Glee" is up 26 percent over last year, when "Bones" and sitcoms aired.
"Bones" has moved to Thursday, where it has helped Fox to a 39 percent gain on the night, despite the fact that lead-out "Fringe" is down from last year, when it aired behind "House."
And Sundays are also up, with the new "The Cleveland Show" increasing on former timeslot occupant "King of the Hill" by 57 percent.
That has helped Fox become the only Big Five network up over last year thus far this season, rising 11 percent. The other four are down, CBS and ABC a modest 3 and 6 percent, respectively, and NBC and the CW a steeper 13 and 17 percent, respectively.
***
In broadcast ratings for the week ended Oct. 4:
Among adults 18-49, Fox was first with a 3.1 average rating and a 9 share, followed by ABC and CBS at 2.9/8, NBC at 2.7/8,Univision at 1.5/4, CW at 1.1/3, 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” 7.4; 2. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 6.1; 3. Fox’s “House” 5.8; 4. CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” 5.3; 5. Fox’s “Family Guy” 5.1.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. CBS’s “NCIS” 21.37 million; 2. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 18.42 million; 3. CBS’s “NCIS: Los Angeles” 17.40 million; 4. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” 17.03 million; 5. CBS’s “CSI” 15.94 million.
Top five time-shifted English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, by Live+7 playback, week ended Sept. 13): 1. Fox’s “Glee” 1.4 increase (up 33 percent); 2. Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance-Wednesday” 1.2 increase (up 35 percent); 3. Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” 1.1 increase (up 27 percent); 4. CBS’s “Big Brother-Thursday” 1.0 increase (up 36 percent); 5. CW’s “Vampire Diaries” 0.9 increase (up 36 percent).
Show on the rise: “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, Monday 9:30 p.m. The comedy posted a 5.3 among viewers 18-49, up nearly 13 percent versus the previous week’s 4.7.
Show on the decline: “Ghost Whisperer,” CBS, Friday 8 p.m. The drama slipped 26 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from a 2.3 rating to a 1.7.
WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 4
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
7.2
8220
12
3.9
11320
10
2.9
3780
8
ABC
6.2
7090
10
3.3
9640
9
2.9
3790
8
NBC
4.9
5650
8
2.7
7790
7
2.7
3570
8
FOX
4.5
5200
7
2.6
7610
7
3.1
4040
9
UNI
2.0
2250
3
1.3
3810
3
1.5
1970
4
CW
1.5
1710
2
0.8
2240
2
1.1
1390
3
TEL
0.5
610
1
0.4
1070
1
0.5
650
1
ION
0.4
510
1
0.2
650
1
0.2
250
1
TF
0.4
490
1
0.3
830
1
0.4
500
1
AZA
0.1
130
0
0.1
190
0
0.1
110
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 4
#
PROGRAMS
Net
HOUSEHOLDS
PERSONS 2+
Rtg%
Shr
(000)
#
Rtg%
(000)
1
NCIS
CBS
12.9
21
14811
1
7.3
21371
2
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
11.1
17
12724
4
5.8
17032
3
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
11.0
18
12621
2
6.3
18416
4
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
10.6
16
12199
3
6.0
17399
5
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
10.1
17
11564
6
5.4
15750
6
CSI
CBS
9.9
16
11397
5
5.5
15938
6
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
9.9
16
11396
6
5.4
15689
8
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
9.2
14
10606
9
5.0
14641
9
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
9.1
15
10421
12
4.8
13956
9
GOOD WIFE, THE
CBS
9.1
16
10456
13
4.7
13690
11
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
8.9
14
10196
11
4.9
14240
12
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
8.7
14
9954
8
5.1
14835
13
60 MINUTES
CBS
8.6
15
9930
15
4.6
13408
13
CSI: NY
CBS
8.6
15
9851
16
4.5
13156
13
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
8.6
13
9893
16
4.5
13023
16
HOUSE
FOX
8.5
13
9805
9
5.0
14714
17
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
8.3
12
9557
13
4.7
13855
18
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
8.0
12
9143
16
4.5
13269
19
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
7.6
13
8699
20
4.0
11580
20
OT, THE
FOX
7.2
13
8303
19
4.1
12005
21
EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM ED-8P
ABC
7.1
11
8131
20
4.0
11626
22
SURVIVOR:
SAMOA
CBS
6.9
11
7977
20
4.0
11537
23
FLASHFORWARD
ABC
6.7
11
7703
23
3.7
10730
24
BROTHERS & SISTERS
ABC
6.5
11
7457
29
3.3
9646
25
COLD CASE
CBS
6.4
11
7343
25
3.4
10053
25
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
6.4
11
7391
23
3.7
10698
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49
Week Ending October 4
Rank
Program
Net
Rtg%
(000)
1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
7.4
9799
2
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
6.1
8014
3
HOUSE
FOX
5.8
7619
4
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
5.5
7185
5
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
5.3
6916
6
FAMILY GUY
FOX
5.1
6668
7
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
5.0
6516
8
OT, THE
FOX
4.9
6446
9
NCIS
CBS
4.8
6277
9
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
4.8
6329
11
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
4.6
6058
12
CLEVELAND
FOX
4.4
5744
12
SIMPSONS
FOX
4.4
5812
14
CSI
CBS
4.1
5421
14
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
4.1
5459
14
FOOTBALL NT
AMERICA PT 3
NBC
4.1
5355
14
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
4.1
5415
18
OFFICE
NBC
3.9
5069
19
COUGARTOWN
ABC
3.8
4984
19
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
3.8
4946
19
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
3.8
5046
19
MODERN FAMILY
ABC
3.8
5064
23
BIGGEST LOSER 8
NBC
3.7
4837
23
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
3.7
4842
23
FLASHFORWARD
ABC
3.7
4839
23
SURVIVOR:
SAMOA
CBS
3.7
4908
Source: Nielsen Media Research
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED) Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 27
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+ (000)
1
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE M-F
UNI
24.6
5664
2
EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR M-F
UNI
17.5
3808
2
EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR MON
UNI
17.5
3982
4
DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA WE
UNI
16.7
3423
5
CRISTINA MON
UNI
15.6
3348
5
AQUI Y AHORA TUE
UNI
15.6
3390
7
GANCHO AL CORAZON M-F
UNI
13.3
2852
8
ROSA DE GUADALUPE THU-FRI
UNI
12.8
2831
9
VIVA EL SUENO SUN
UNI
11.2
2436
10
SABADO GIGANTE SAT
UNI
10.9
2260
11
QUIEN TIENE RAZON? EE SUN
UNI
9.6
1886
12
BETTY LA FEA M-F
TF
7.1
1577
13
FAMILIA P. LUCHE SAT
UNI
6.3
1356
14
HORA PICO SUN
UNI
6.2
1472
15
MAS SABE EL DIABLO M-F
TEL
4.9
1137
16
VICTORINOS M-F
TEL
4.7
1084
17
FAMOSOS EN LA MIRA 2009(S)-09/27/2009
TF
4.2
888
18
NINOS RICOS M-F
TEL
3.8
815
19
CINE DE LAS ESTREL SUN 2
TF
3.5
742
20
TIJERA, LA-ED ESP 09/21(S)-09/21/2009
TF
3.4
628
21
12 CORAZONES M-F
TEL
3.3
720
22
VEREDICTO FINAL M-F
TF
3.1
586
22
CINE DE LAS ESTREL SAT
TF
3.1
672
22
CONCACAF L.D.C. WED 2
TF
3.1
616
25
CINE MILLONARIO
TEL
2.9
613
Source: Nielsen Media Research
HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 27
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+(000)
1
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
5.6
1058
2
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
5.4
1029
3
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
4.8
965
3
NCIS
CBS
4.8
947
5
FAMILY GUY
FOX
4.7
983
6
CLEVELAND
FOX
4.5
943
7
HOUSE
FOX
4.4
924
7
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
4.4
894
9
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)-09/23/2009
ABC
4.3
798
9
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
4.3
810
Source: Nielsen Media Research
AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 27
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+(000)
1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
13.7
2541
2
60 MINUTES
CBS
10.9
1894
3
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
10.2
1882
4
CLEVELAND
FOX
10.1
2296
5
FAMILY GUY
FOX
10.1
2286
6
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
10.1
1809
7
CSI: NY
CBS
10.1
1841
8
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
9.9
1714
9
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
9.9
1838
10
GOOD WIFE, THE
CBS
9.8
1749
* 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
