After months of lagging in last place with "The Jay Leno Show," NBC is suddenly competitive weeknights at 10 p.m.
The network's new post-Olympics schedule performed decently in its first week, showing big gains over "Leno's" average at 10 p.m., though those gains must be maintained in the coming weeks to label the overhaul a success.
On three of five nights last week, NBC finished first or tied for first at 10 p.m., including victories for new shows "Parenthood" and "The Marriage Ref," which received the bulk of the network's Olympic promos.
"Parenthood" averaged a 3.1 last Tuesday at 10, finishing 15 percent ahead of CBS's first-year hit "The Good Wife," which placed second.
While rival networks were quick to snipe that a 3.1 is nothing to celebrate for a show that got that much promotion, it's about double the rating "Leno" was averaging at the end of his run, and it's also a solid number for a show that airs at 10 p.m. Only three other 10 p.m. shows last week scored better ratings.
One of those shows was "Ref," which averaged a 3.4 after debuting with a 4.8 four nights earlier, right behind the Olympic closing ceremony.
It was NBC's best rating in the 10 p.m. Thursday slot since the "ER" series finale almost a year ago, and it gave NBC a win over some solid competition, CBS's "The Mentalist" and ABC's "Private Practice."
"Dateline NBC" also tied for first at 10 on Friday with a 1.7. The cheap-to-produce show will help NBC hold down costs, the professed reason for Leno's 10 p.m. show, over the coming weeks, airing Fridays from 9 to 11.
Certainly NBC benefited from the highly rated promo time on the Olympics and all the media coverage of Leno's 10 p.m. cancellation. But it also cobbled together a pretty decent schedule on short notice, which is why most of the shows did well.
"Parenthood" is the best-reviewed show of the midseason, "Ref" flows well out of NBC's 8 to 10 comedy lineup, and "Dateline" targets an older audience who tends to watch television on Fridays.
Oddly, the one show that produced disappointing results at 10 last week was "Law & Order," the Dick Wolf drama in its 20th year. It moved from Fridays to Mondays, but it did not receive as much promotion as the new shows.
"L&O" managed just a 2.0 for a special two-hour episode, and this past Monday's episode fared even worse, posting a mere 1.5. If the show's numbers continue to be so anemic, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" may be the only "L&O" show left on NBC next season.
***
In broadcast ratings for the week ended March 7:
Among adults 18-49, Fox was first with a 4.1 average rating and an 11 share, followed by ABC at 3.8/11, CBS at 2.6/7, NBC at 2.1/6, Univision at 1.5/4, CW at 0.5/1, Telemundo and Telefutura at 0.4/1, Ion at 0.3/1 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. ABC’s “Academy Awards” 13.3; 2. Fox’s “American Idol-Tuesday” 8.6; 3. Fox’s “American Idol-Wednesday” 8.5; 4. ABC’s “Oscars Red Carpet” 6.9; 5. Fox’s “American Idol-Thursday” 6.5.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. ABC’s “Academy Awards” 41.7 million; 2. ABC’s “Oscars Red Carpet” 25.33 million; 3. Fox’s “American Idol – Wednesday” 23.56 million; 4. Fox’s “American Idol – Tuesday” 23.53 million; 5. CBS’s “NCIS” 19.62 million.
Show on the rise: “The Office” NBC, Thursday 9 p.m. The hour-long Jim and Pam baby episode averaged a 4.7 rating among viewers 18-49, good for No. 1 in its time period and the first time it’s ever finished ahead of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Show on the decline: “Private Practice” ABC, Thursday 10 p.m. The series posted a 2.7 rating among 18-49s, down 13 percent from a 3.1 for its last episode against non-Olympic competition on Feb. 11.
WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending March 7
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
ABC
7.4
8480
12
4.1
12090
11
3.8
5010
11
FOX
6.5
7460
11
3.9
11260
10
4.1
5340
11
CBS
6.4
7360
11
3.6
10370
9
2.6
3430
7
NBC
4.1
4740
7
2.2
6420
6
2.1
2750
6
UNI
1.9
2190
3
1.3
3780
3
1.5
1940
4
CW
0.8
910
1
0.4
1170
1
0.5
660
1
ION
0.6
720
1
0.3
940
1
0.3
340
1
TEL
0.5
560
1
0.3
950
1
0.4
580
1
TF
0.5
530
1
0.3
930
1
0.4
530
1
AZA
0.1
140
0
0.1
220
0
0.1
120
0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 149 million homes
Source: Nielsen
SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending March 7
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
7.4
8450
12
4.2
12120
10
3.3
4310
9
FOX
5.9
6760
9
3.5
10100
9
3.7
4910
10
NBC
5.5
6370
9
3.1
9120
8
2.9
3880
8
ABC
5.5
6270
9
3.0
8700
8
2.7
3590
7
UNI
1.8
2080
3
1.2
3550
3
1.4
1800
4
CW
1.3
1490
2
0.7
1980
2
0.9
1210
2
ION
0.7
770
1
0.4
1030
1
0.3
400
1
TEL
0.5
610
1
0.4
1040
1
0.5
630
1
TF
0.5
540
1
0.3
980
1
0.4
560
1
AZA
0.1
140
0
0.1
210
0
0.1
120
0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 149 million homes
Note: Season-to-date estimates are a weighted average of pre-TSV and Live+SD data.
Source: Nielsen
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Ranked on Households
Week Ending March 7
#
PROGRAMS
Net
HOUSEHOLDS
PERSONS 2+
Rtg%
Shr
(000)
#
Rtg%
(000)
1
ACADEMY AWARDS(S)
ABC
23.3
37
26794
1
14.3
41699
2
OSCAR'S RED CARPET 2010(S)
ABC
15.2
24
17483
2
8.7
25327
3
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY
FOX
13.4
21
15427
3
8.1
23560
4
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY
FOX
13.1
20
15066
3
8.1
23526
5
NCIS
CBS
11.8
18
13606
5
6.7
19622
6
AMERICAN IDOL THU SP-3/4(S)
FOX
11.2
18
12866
5
6.7
19424
7
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
10.1
15
11565
7
5.8
16864
8
BACHELOR, THE
ABC
9.6
15
11041
10
5.2
15152
9
BARBARA WALTERS SP-3/7(S)
ABC
9.4
16
10855
11
5.1
14988
9
CSI
CBS
9.4
15
10783
9
5.3
15590
9
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
9.4
17
10816
11
5.1
14868
12
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS
9.2
14
10550
11
5.1
14838
12
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
9.2
14
10602
8
5.4
15733
14
BACHELOR:AFTER FINAL ROSE(S)
ABC
8.9
15
10208
14
4.8
13912
15
GOOD WIFE, THE
CBS
8.5
15
9777
15
4.6
13319
16
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
8.1
13
9251
16
4.5
13000
17
CSI: NY
CBS
7.8
14
8955
18
4.2
12348
18
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
7.7
12
8838
19
4.1
11829
18
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
7.7
13
8812
19
4.1
12066
20
SURVIVOR: HEROES-VILLAINS
CBS
7.2
12
8311
17
4.4
12716
21
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
6.3
10
7189
21
3.6
10370
22
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
CBS
5.9
9
6731
22
3.3
9725
23
LOST
ABC
5.6
9
6458
23
3.2
9286
24
LAW & ORDER:SVU-WED 9PM
NBC
5.3
9
6125
26
2.8
8138
25
OFFICE
NBC
5.2
8
6013
24
3.1
9021
25
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
5.2
9
5949
35
2.6
7572
Source: Nielsen
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49
Week Ending March 7
Rank
Program
Net
Rtg%
(000)
1
ACADEMY AWARDS(S)
ABC
13.3
17475
2
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY
FOX
8.6
11310
3
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY
FOX
8.5
11196
4
OSCAR'S RED CARPET 2010(S)
ABC
6.9
9050
5
AMERICAN IDOL THU SP-3/4(S)
FOX
6.5
8551
6
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
5.9
7827
7
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
5.7
7507
8
BACHELOR, THE
ABC
5.3
6967
8
BACHELOR:AFTER FINAL ROSE(S)
ABC
5.3
6939
10
OFFICE
NBC
4.7
6133
11
LOST
ABC
4.1
5396
12
GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
4.0
5272
12
NCIS
CBS
4.0
5325
14
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
3.9
5134
15
SURVIVOR: HEROES-VILLAINS
CBS
3.8
5054
16
CSI
CBS
3.7
4877
17
BARBARA WALTERS SP-3/7(S)
ABC
3.6
4673
18
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
3.4
4537
18
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
3.4
4492
18
MARRIAGE REF
NBC
3.4
4539
18
MODERN FAMILY
ABC
3.4
4523
18
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
CBS
3.4
4513
23
KITCHEN NIGHTMRS-3/4 9P(S)
FOX
3.3
4278
24
BIGGEST LOSER 9
NBC
3.2
4151
24
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
3.2
4208
Source: Nielsen
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED) Ranked on Households
Week Ending February 28
#
PROGRAMS
Net
Rtg
P2+ (000)
1
EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR M-F
UNI
19.2
4106
2
CRISTINA MON
UNI
18.8
3909
3
HASTA DINERO SEPARE M-F
UNI
18.3
4349
4
SELENA VIVE! 2/28(S)-02/28/2010
UNI
16.5
3538
5
DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA WE
UNI
16.4
3031
6
CORAZON SALVAJE M-F
UNI
16.2
3538
7
MUJERES ASESINAS 2 THU
UNI
15.4
3297
8
AQUI Y AHORA TUE
UNI
14.5
2822
9
SABADO GIGANTE SAT
UNI
12.5
2655
10
SELENA HIST LEYENDA 2/28(S)-02/28/2010
UNI
11.3
2361
11
RUMBO AL MUNDIAL
TEL
9.6
2239
12
HERMANOS Y DETECTIVES SAT
UNI
9.2
2039
13
DOBLE SELENA GRN FNL 2/25(S)-02/25/2010
TF
8.7
1863
14
CAPO, EL M-F
TF
6.3
1399
15
CLON M-F
TEL
5.7
1185
16
JUNTO AL TRI(S)-02/24/2010
TEL
5.5
1196
17
PERRO AMOR M-F
TEL
5.2
1126
18
CINE DE LAS ESTRELLAS M-F
TF
4.8
1055
18
ANTESALA 2/24(S)-02/24/2010
TEL
4.8
1068
18
VECINOS M-F
TF
4.8
1082
21
FUTBOL ESTELAR
TEL
4.7
1045
21
CINE DE LAS ESTREL SUN 2
TF
4.7
1213
23
SN TTS NO HAY PARAISO T
TEL
3.5
789
24
CINE MILLONARIO 2/28(S)-02/28/2010
TEL
3.4
765
25
12 CORAZONES M-F
TEL
3.1
644
Source: Nielsen
HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING Ranked on Households
Week Ending February 28
