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For 'Lopez Tonight,' into the mainstream
By Tom Conroy
Nov 18, 2009 - 1:17:21 AM
With so much change in late-night television, this would seem to be an ideal time to launch a new show to challenge Conan O'Brien on NBC and David Letterman on CBS, and that's clearly what TBS had in mind when it launched “Lopez Tonight," hosted by stand-up comic and former sitcom star George Lopez.
And in his first week, Lopez proved that a show with a non-Caucasian host could in fact draw a significant audience.
An average of 1.61 million viewers watched the show’s first four episodes on TBS last week, according to Nielsen. Monday’s premiere, which was also shown simultaneously on TNT and TruTV, attracted a total of 3.2 million viewers.
The show drew an average of 1.03 million 18-49-year-old viewers on TBS, beating the season-to-date averages of such talk shows as “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” according to TBS.
Perhaps most important, the audience was up by 53 percent from TBS’s averages in its timeslot in the preceding four weeks (not counting baseball playoffs).
A large portion of that audience was minority. Fully 33 percent of the viewers were Hispanic, and 24 percent were African American. (There is some overlap between the groups, as Nielsen measures them.) And the week’s highest-rated episode aired on Wednesday, when it followed the black-oriented sitcom “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns.”
The challenges Lopez now faces are in holding that heavily ethnic audience and at the same time making significant inroads among non-minority viewers.
If recent talk-show history is any indication, Lopez’s viewership is likely to drop. Ratings of NBC’s “Jay Leno Show” have plunged since its premiere week. And another high-profile minority talk show, BET’s “Mo’Nique Show,” dropped from an average of 1.7 million viewers in its first two airings in early October to an average of 632,000 two weeks ago.
“Lopez Tonight” may have an advantage. Unlike “Mo’Nique,” which tends to book African American guests, its guests are truly multicultural. The premiere episode featured Eva Longoria, Kobe Bryant, Carlos Santana and Ellen DeGeneres. Next week’s invitees include Charlie Sheen and Ted Danson.
While Lopez plays up his Hispanic heritage, he’s clearly out to create an inclusive, mainstream talk show.
And the show is debuting at a time when, now that Jay Leno has moved to primetime, no one in the post-11 p.m. hours is really aiming at the mainstream.
Lopez’s Everyhombre persona stands in marked contrast to David Letterman’s neurotic grouch and Conan O’Brien’s neurotic dweeb. His motto seems to be “Let’s party,” while his two paler competitors often seem to be saying, “Let’s see what can go wrong in an interesting way.”
It could well prove the right formula. There are still plenty of viewers who prefer to be entertained by people who seem to be having a good time themselves.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Nov. 15:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, TNT, FX.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, Fox News Channel, TBS, Nick at Nite.
Top movie (18-49s): USA’s “National Treasure” (Saturday, 5:35 p.m.) 1.28 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Steelers/Broncos” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 16.00 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Steelers/Broncos” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); ESPN’s “SportsCenter” (Monday, 11:41 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Spike TV’s “UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera,” Saturday 8 p.m. The taped event averaged 994,000 males 18-34, the top program of the day in that demo on either broadcast or cable.
Show on the decline: Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” Thursday 10 p.m. The franchise original slipped 35 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from 1.98 million to 1.29 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending November 15 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
2713
|
NICK
|
1830
|
|
2
|
USA
|
2221
|
NAN
*
|
1282
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1723
|
USA
|
1193
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1451
|
ESPN
|
1069
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
1422
|
FOXN
|
1042
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
1352
|
TNT
|
980
|
|
7
|
TOON
|
1114
|
ADSM*
|
932
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
1106
|
TOON
|
864
|
|
9
|
HGTV
|
1001
|
TBSC
|
761
|
|
10
|
FX
|
984
|
AEN
|
667
|
|
11
|
ESP2
|
973
|
FOOD
|
595
|
|
12
|
HIST
|
962
|
HIST
|
589
|
|
13
|
SYFY
|
945
|
HGTV
|
576
|
|
14
|
SPK
|
917
|
TRU
|
575
|
|
15
|
TRU
|
867
|
LIF
|
567
|
|
16
|
DISC
|
835
|
AMC
|
529
|
|
17
|
FOOD
|
834
|
SPK
|
523
|
|
18
|
AMC
|
827
|
FX
|
514
|
|
19
|
TLC
|
780
|
DISC
|
502
|
|
20
|
HALL
|
764
|
HALL
|
473
|
|
21
|
LIF
|
747
|
FAM
|
471
|
|
22
|
FAM
|
723
|
CNN
|
466
|
|
23
|
LMN
|
692
|
TVLD
|
447
|
|
24
|
CMDY
|
679
|
SYFY
|
443
|
|
25
|
BRAV
|
637
|
LMN
|
427
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending November 15 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Steelers vs. Broncos
|
ESPN
|
11358
|
|
2
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
3441
|
|
3
|
Spongebob Truth Or Square
|
NICK
|
3409
|
|
4
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
3219
|
|
5
|
iCarly Movie: Go To Japan
|
NICK
|
3214
|
|
6
|
White Collar
|
USA
|
3174
|
|
7
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3151
|
|
8
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3148
|
|
9
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3145
|
|
10
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
3074
|
|
11
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
3069
|
|
12
|
iCarly Movie: Shelby Marx
|
NICK
|
3051
|
|
13
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2994
|
|
13
|
Monk
|
USA
|
2994
|
|
15
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2923
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2863
|
|
17
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2844
|
|
18
|
True Jackson, VP
|
NICK
|
2827
|
|
19
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2814
|
|
20
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2795
|
|
21
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2793
|
|
22
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2778
|
|
23
|
Fanboy & Chum Chum
|
NICK
|
2774
|
|
24
|
2009 - Bears vs. 49ers
|
NFLN
|
2754
|
|
25
|
Spongebob Truth Or Square
|
NICK
|
2741
|
|
1
|
Steelers vs. Broncos
|
ESPN
|
11358
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending November 15 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
876
|
ADSM*
|
457
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
621
|
ESPN
|
396
|
|
3
|
USA
|
541
|
NICK
|
357
|
|
4
|
SPK
|
439
|
TBSC
|
308
|
|
5
|
FX
|
434
|
NAN
*
|
299
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
415
|
USA
|
275
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
342
|
TNT
|
270
|
|
8
|
MTV
|
333
|
FX
|
222
|
|
9
|
AEN
|
303
|
MTV
|
221
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
302
|
SPK
|
206
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending November 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Steelers vs. Broncos
|
ESPN
|
4028
|
|
2
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
1470
|
|
3
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
1407
|
|
4
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
1390
|
|
5
|
UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera
|
SPK
|
1364
|
|
6
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
1310
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1291
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1246
|
|
9
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1208
|
|
10
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
1197
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending November 15 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1876
|
ESPN
|
749
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1236
|
ADSM*
|
662
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
1135
|
USA
|
632
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
897
|
TNT
|
598
|
|
5
|
FX
|
859
|
NICK
|
592
|
|
6
|
SPK
|
778
|
TBSC
|
576
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
652
|
NAN
*
|
572
|
|
8
|
SYFY
|
639
|
FX
|
419
|
|
9
|
DISC
|
617
|
AEN
|
381
|
|
10
|
TRU
|
573
|
SPK
|
374
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending November 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Steelers vs. Broncos
|
ESPN
|
8609
|
|
2
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2592
|
|
3
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2503
|
|
4
|
2009 - Bears vs. 49ers
|
NFLN
|
2234
|
|
5
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
2211
|
|
6
|
UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera
|
SPK
|
2168
|
|
7
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2154
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1942
|
|
9
|
Postgun
|
NFLN
|
1932
|
|
10
|
Monday Night Countdown
|
ESPN
|
1928
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending November 15 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1892
|
ESPN
|
690
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1287
|
USA
|
660
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
1026
|
TNT
|
606
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
908
|
NAN
*
|
525
|
|
5
|
FX
|
774
|
TBSC
|
510
|
|
6
|
SYFY
|
724
|
NICK
|
472
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
694
|
ADSM*
|
468
|
|
8
|
SPK
|
690
|
AEN
|
404
|
|
9
|
FOXN
|
592
|
TRU
|
371
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
591
|
FX
|
366
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending November 15 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Steelers vs. Broncos
|
ESPN
|
8695
|
|
2
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2319
|
|
3
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2313
|
|
4
|
2009 - Bears vs. 49ers
|
NFLN
|
2227
|
|
5
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
2142
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2142
|
|
7
|
Postgun
|
NFLN
|
1930
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1928
|
|
9
|
Ghost Hunters
|
SYFY
|
1902
|
|
10
|
Project Runway
|
LIF
|
1894
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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