He earned the nickname 'Square Root of All Evil'
By Toni Fitzgerald Aug 12, 2009
Of all the qualities that distinguish reality TV shows from scripted series, right up there is their wonderful ability to spring to life over some incident or personality clash that suddenly has diehard fans and even casual viewers buzzing.
It works even for shows that have been on for years.
And the most sure-fire buzz-builder is what you might call the reality show rat, a personality so arrogant, so obnoxious, so loathsome that folks tune in just for the pleasure of despising him or her. Early on there was “Survivor’s” Richard Hatch and then came “The Apprentice’s” Omarosa.
Now there's Ronnie on “Big Brother,” or was.
The video game geek and all-around back-stabber was evicted last Thursday after spinning lie after lie, but not before causing an upsurge in rating that's continued after his exit.
“Brother,” which airs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, hit a season-high 2.6 adults 18-49 rating on Sunday, up 18 percent over the previous week’s 2.2 rating.
The Sunday episode also hit season highs in adults 18-34 (2.1), 25-54 (3.0) and total viewers (7.15 million), the show’s best numbers for any night of the week so far this year.
Last week's two earlier episodes were also up compared to the previous week among 18-49s, averaging a 2.4 and 2.3, respectively, both also season highs.
The bumps came after a slow start to the season for the 11th-year show, which had been averaging a 2.0 on Sunday and Tuesday and a 2.2 on Thursday.
And if there had been no Ronnie those ratings would have held.
Ronnie earned the ire of viewers for his manipulative style. He formed alliances and broke them, told lies to work things to his advantage, and trashed former teammate Michele during his exit speech on Thursday, calling her the “worst human being I have ever had the misfortune of meeting.”
This season “Brother” shook things up by putting the housemates into high school-like cliques such as jocks and brains, and early on Ronnie and Michele were lumped together as brains.
But the clash was inevitable. Ronnie claimed that Michele had begun saying mean things about his family, leading to his outburst following his ousting. Others in the house pointed out that Ronnie had treated Michelle poorly and could not be trusted.
Viewers who hadn’t watched the show in some time tuned back in after hearing the buzz about Ronnie online.
“I haven’t watched BB in years, but had to watch the episode where Ronnie left the house,” says one poster on People.com. “It made my summer to see him leave the show!”
Ronnie will leave a dubious legacy. During his four-week stint, he earned one of the geekiest nicknames in all of reality television from online posters, who dubbed him the “Square Root of All Evil.”
***
In broadcast ratings for the week ended Aug. 9:
Among adults 18-49, Fox was first with a 2.0 average rating and a 7 share, followed by NBC at 1.7/6, CBS at 1.5/5, Univision at 1.2/4, ABC at 1.1/4, MyNetworkTV at 0.5/2, CW, Telefutura and Telemundo at 0.4/1, Ion at 0.2/1 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Among adults 18-34, Fox was first with a 1.8 average rating and a 7 share, followed by Univision at 1.3/5, NBC at 1.2/5, CBS at 1.0/4, ABC at 0.8/3, Telemundo at 0.5/2, MyNetworkTV at 0.4/2, Telefutura and CW at 0.4/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0.
Among adults 25-54, CBS, NBC and Fox all tied for first with a 2.1 average rating and a 6 share, followed by ABC at 1.3/4, Univision at 1.2/3, MyNetworkTV at 0.5/2, CW, Telemundo and Telefutura at 0.4/1, and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent-Tuesday” 3.6; 2. Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday” 3.5; 3. Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” 3.2; Tie-4. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent–Wednesday” and “NFL Preseason” 2.9.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent-Tuesday” 12.96 million; 2. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent-Wednesday” 10.67 million; 3. CBS’s “NCIS” 9.89 million; 4. Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance-Thursday” 9.57 million; 5. CBS’s “60 Minutes” 9.50 million.
Top five time-shifted English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, by Live+7 playback, week ended July 19): 1. Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance-Wednesday” 1.64 million (up 39 percent); 2. Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance - Thursday” 1.39 million (up 35 percent); 3. CBS’s “Big Brother-Sunday” 1.20 million (up 43 percent); 4. CBS’s “Big Brother-Thursday” 1.14 million (up 39 percent); 5. ABC’s “The Bachelorette” 1.06 million (up 28 percent).
Show on the rise: “Big Brother-Tuesday,” CBS, Tuesday 9 p.m. The Tuesday edition posted a 2.4 rating among viewers 18-49, up 14 percent from the previous week’s 2.1.
Show on the decline: “Dating in the Dark,” ABC, Monday 10 p.m. With no “Bachelorette” lead-in, the new dating show slipped 33 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from a 2.4 to a 1.6.
WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 9
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
4.1
4660
7
2.1
6150
6
1.5
2040
5
NBC
3.8
4340
7
2.0
5930
6
1.7
2210
6
FOX
3.2
3720
6
1.8
5290
5
2.0
2620
7
ABC
2.2
2540
4
1.2
3480
4
1.1
1430
4
UNI
1.6
1800
3
1.0
2970
3
1.2
1570
4
MNT
0.9
1030
2
0.5
1430
1
0.5
600
2
CW
0.7
770
1
0.3
970
1
0.4
510
1
ION
0.4
510
1
0.2
660
1
0.2
220
1
TEL
0.4
500
1
0.3
870
1
0.4
520
1
TF
0.4
500
1
0.3
830
1
0.4
470
1
AZA
0.1
140
0
0.1
210
0
0.1
120
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 August 9
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
6.3
7230
11
3.5
10010
9
2.5
3350
7
FOX
4.9
5600
8
2.8
8160
7
3.0
3910
9
ABC
4.8
5460
8
2.6
7480
7
2.4
3120
7
NBC
4.3
4870
7
2.3
6810
6
2.3
3010
7
UNI
1.9
2150
3
1.3
3730
3
1.5
1950
4
CW
1.1
1250
2
0.6
1640
1
0.7
910
2
MNT
1.0
1130
2
0.5
1580
1
0.5
690
2
TEL
0.6
670
1
0.4
1160
1
0.5
670
1
ION
0.4
490
1
0.2
630
1
0.2
210
0
TF
0.4
410
1
0.2
700
1
0.3
410
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 August 9
#
PROGRAMS
Net
HOUSEHOLDS
PERSONS 2+
Rtg%
Shr
(000)
#
Rtg%
(000)
1
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE
NBC
7.8
13
8916
1
4.5
12957
2
NCIS
CBS
6.5
12
7496
3
3.4
9889
3
AMERICAGOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
6.3
11
7183
2
3.7
10668
4
60 MINUTES
CBS
6.1
12
7040
4
3.3
9496
4
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
6.1
10
7037
4
3.3
9460
6
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU
FOX
5.7
10
6560
4
3.3
9566
7
CSI: NY
CBS
5.6
10
6371
8
2.8
7986
8
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
5.4
9
6184
7
2.9
8394
9
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
5.3
9
6044
10
2.7
7915
9
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
5.3
10
6012
13
2.6
7670
11
DATELINE NBC-MON
NBC
4.9
9
5568
15
2.4
7061
11
NBC NFL PRE-SEASON 8/9(S)
NBC
4.9
9
5667
10
2.7
7920
13
CSI
CBS
4.8
8
5464
15
2.4
7066
13
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED
FOX
4.8
9
5508
10
2.7
7784
15
AMERICAGOT TALENT-TUE 8P
NBC
4.4
8
5082
15
2.4
6914
15
MILLIONAIRE-8/9(S)
ABC
4.4
8
5032
15
2.4
7000
15
WIPEOUT
ABC
4.4
8
4994
8
2.8
8020
18
BIG BROTHER 11-SUN
CBS
4.2
8
4834
14
2.5
7146
18
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
4.2
7
4820
22
2.1
6191
20
BIG BROTHER 11-THU
CBS
4.1
8
4649
20
2.2
6437
21
BIG BROTHER 11-TUE
CBS
4.0
7
4544
20
2.2
6397
21
HELL'S KITCHEN
FOX
4.0
7
4526
19
2.3
6739
23
COLD CASE
CBS
3.8
7
4403
23
2.0
5806
23
DATELINE FRI
NBC
3.8
7
4361
26
1.9
5557
23
DATELINE SUN-7PM
NBC
3.8
7
4359
23
2.0
5799
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49
Week Ending August 9
Rank
Program
Net
Rtg%
(000)
1
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE
NBC
3.6
4689
2
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU
FOX
3.5
4555
3
HELL'S KITCHEN
FOX
3.2
4253
4
AMERICAGOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
2.9
3762
4
NBC NFL PRE-SEASON 8/9(S)
NBC
2.9
3805
6
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED
FOX
2.8
3654
6
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
2.8
3675
6
WIPEOUT
ABC
2.8
3677
9
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
2.7
3613
10
BIG BROTHER 11-SUN
CBS
2.6
3380
11
BIG BROTHER 11-TUE
CBS
2.4
3114
12
BIG BROTHER 11-THU
CBS
2.3
2973
13
FAMILY GUY
FOX
2.2
2882
14
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
2.0
2685
14
DATELINE NBC-MON
NBC
2.0
2598
14
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE THU
UNI
2.0
2622
14
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE TUE
UNI
2.0
2687
18
AMERICAN DAD
FOX
1.9
2512
18
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE MON
UNI
1.9
2560
18
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
CBS
1.9
2488
21
AMERICAGOT TALENT-TUE 8P
NBC
1.8
2310
21
MORE TO LOVE
FOX
1.8
2321
21
NCIS
CBS
1.8
2371
21
SIMPSONS-SUN 8:30P
FOX
1.8
2389
25
AMW:
AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
FOX
1.7
2246
25
COPS 2
FOX
1.7
2303
25
CSI: NY
CBS
1.7
2272
25
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE FRI
UNI
1.7
2284
25
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE WED
UNI
1.7
2286
25
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
1.7
2253
Source: Nielsen Media Research
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED) Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 2
