The overwhelming majority of non-primetime programs receive little digital video recorder playback, and in many cases virtually none. After all, who wants to watch the nightly news three days after it aired?
Soaps, of course, get a good deal of playback, as they're rarely topical and of a serialized nature. But there are two other notable exceptions: NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and ABC’s “The View.”
Though these programs air at inconvenient hours, late-night and daytime, they rate highly on our national pop culture meter, their topics of chatter often prompting discussions at work or on internet message boards and getting major play in celebrity gossip magazines.
That becomes all the clearer in new data on DVR playback.
Over five weeknights in late September, "SNL” saw an 11 percent boost in its adults 18-34 rating with seven-day DVR viewership included, according to a Magna Global analysis of Nielsen data, rising from a 1.7 to a 1.9 to rank first among all broadcast late-night shows.
The show jumped 18 percent among men 18-34, the biggest jump for any late-night show in any demo, from a 1.4 to a 1.7 for the five-day period from Sept. 24 to Oct. 28. And it ranked No. 1 in seven-day DVR viewership for late-night shows across all seven demographics examined by Magna.
"The View” has seen similar bumps. Among 25-54s, it ranked No. 1 over the same period, with a 15 percent boost in seven-day DVR playback, going from a 1.3 to a 1.5.
Among women 18-34, an audience that has been abandoning daytime TV for years, “View” got an 18 percent bump from DVR playback, going from a 0.9 rating to a 1.1 and ranking third overall in daytime. It ranked in the top three for DVR playback in daytime for four demographics.
Just why is not hard to understand. “SNL” and “View” are the type of shows that DVRs were built for. Both earn a lot more buzz than their modest ratings warrant, with “View” dominating tabloid and even non-tab headlines over the past year because of friction between ex-host Rosie O’Donnell and others on the show.
“Saturday Night Live’s” sharp political humor is essential viewing during election years, when people often talk more about the show’s candidate impersonators than real-life candidates.
At the same time, though, both shows are in rather inconvenient timeslots. “View” airs at 11 a.m. weekdays, when most people are at work, and “SNL” airs at 11:30 p.m., when folks are either already asleep or near dozing off.
DVRs, obviously, allow for time-shifting these programs to more convenient timeslots.
Meanwhile, in other dayparts for the week ended Nov. 4, NBC’s “Meet the Press” once again finished first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 3.38 million tuning in and tied for first among viewers 25-54 with a 0.9 rating. ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers with 3.02 million and tied for first among 25-54s with a 0.9, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.78 million viewers and a 0.8 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” was fourth in viewers with 1.35 million and among 25-54s with a 0.6.
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” finished first for the week, averaging 4.8 million total viewers and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. “The Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS had 4.0 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in the demo, with ABC’s “Nightline” bringing in 3.5 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 rating. In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.0 million total viewers and a 0.8 in 18-49s, with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaging 2.0 million viewers and a 0.7, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” at 1.9 million viewers and a 0.6, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” bringing in 1.1 million viewers and a 0.4 among 18-49s.
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 5.2 million total viewers and a 4.1 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 5.0 million viewers and a 3.9/14. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.6 million total viewers and a 2.1/8.
CBS had the largest full daytime audience, averaging 3.93 million viewers, and tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating. ABC had the second-largest audience, averaging 2.84 million viewers, and tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating. NBC had a full daytime audience of 2.34 million and was third among women 18-49 with a 1.2 rating.
In evening network news for the week ended Nov. 11, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first among total viewers, averaging 9.23 million, and tied for first among 25-54s with a 2.3 average rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second in viewers, averaging 9.18 million, and tied for first among 25-54s with a 2.3, while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third for the week with 6.79 million total viewers and a 1.7 25-54 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending November 4, 2007
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
NBC |
2.5 |
6 |
0.9 |
3.384 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
ABC |
2.3 |
6 |
0.9 |
3.019 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
2.1 |
5 |
0.8 |
2.775 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
1.1 |
3 |
0.6 |
1.346 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending November 4, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
4.8 |
1.5 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman |
CBS |
4.0 |
1.2 |
|
Nightline |
ABC |
3.5 |
1.0 |
|
Late Night with Conan O’Brien |
NBC |
2.0 |
0.8 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live |
ABC |
2.0 |
0.7 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
1.9 |
0.6 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly |
NBC |
1.1 |
0.4 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending November 4, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
4.1 |
15 |
5.2 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
3.9 |
14 |
5.0 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
2.1 |
8 |
2.6 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending November 4, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.93 |
1.3 |
|
ABC |
2.84 |
1.3 |
|
NBC |
2.34 |
1.2 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending November 11, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
2.3 |
9.229 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
2.3 |
9.177 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
1.7 |
6.786 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending November 4, 2007
|
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON
|
ESP
|
9.6
|
10842
|
|
2
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
7.9
|
8922
|
|
3
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
6.6
|
7417
|
|
4
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
5.8
|
6509
|
|
5
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
4.9
|
5548
|
|
6
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.8
|
5402
|
|
7
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.7
|
5263
|
|
8
|
CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.3
|
4845
|
|
8
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
4.3
|
4816
|
|
10
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
4.2
|
4730
|
|
11
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
3.9
|
4423
|
|
11
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.9
|
4398
|
|
13
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.7
|
4138
|
|
14
|
INSIDE EDITION
|
CTD
|
3.4
|
3854
|
|
15
|
CENTURY 19
|
2/T
|
3.2
|
3599
|
|
16
|
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY
|
DAD
|
3.1
|
3552
|
|
17
|
FRIENDS (AT)
|
WB
|
2.9
|
3286
|
|
17
|
MILLIONAIRE (AT)
|
DAD
|
2.9
|
3261
|
|
19
|
KING OF QUEENS-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.8
|
3200
|
|
19
|
KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.8
|
3153
|
|
19
|
JUDGE JOE BROWN (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.8
|
3148
|
|
22
|
GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)
|
WB
|
2.7
|
3054
|
|
22
|
BUENA VISTA
VI
|
DAD
|
2.7
|
3032
|
|
24
|
EVBDY LVS RAYMOND-WKD-SYN
|
CTD
|
2.6
|
2927
|
|
25
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT WKD
|
CTD
|
2.5
|
2853
|
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
