Fox has highest-rated
week in two years
Other shorts: CBS to women's groups: Sorry, ad is running
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 27, 2010
Fox has highest-rated week in two years
A dash of record-setting football combined with two shots of "American Idol" was a recipe for the best week for any broadcast network in two years. Fox averaged a huge 8.8 adults 18-49 rating and 23 share for the week ended Jan. 24, the best for any network since the 2007-'08 season. In fact, Fox beat the combined total of ABC, CBS, NBC and the CW by 26 percent. CBS ranked a distant second at 2.4/6. The network got a huge boost from the NFC championship game on Sunday night, which averaged a 21.3 rating, the best for any non-Super Bowl show in 12 years, as well as "Idol," the top non-sports show of the week, averaging a 10.0 for two airings. The network also got a season-high 3.5 for "Bones," which has benefitted from the absence of original competition on CBS in the 8 p.m. Thursday hour.
CBS to women's groups: Sorry, ad is running
Attention advocacy groups: Your ads are now welcome on CBS, including the biggest television event of the year. The network, under fire from women's groups protesting an ad funded by Focus on the Family running in next month's Super Bowl, defended itself yesterday, saying that the ad merely reflects new CBS policies on advocacy ads that have been evolving over the past few years. The ad in question is expected to have an anti-abortion message, reflecting the story of Pam Tebow, mother of college football star Tim, and her decision not to have an abortion despite her doctors' urging. The groups, led by the Women's Media Center, accuse CBS of fostering divisiveness via the year's biggest sporting event, which is expected to draw more than 95 million viewers. Of course, as CBS seemed to suggest in its statements yesterday, those women's groups could always place a counter ad. There are still a few for sale at the relatively low price of $2.5 million to $2.8 million, down from $3 million last year.
Coming soon: Juicy, a celeb title for black women
During this brutal time for magazines, many have predicted a shakeout in the bloated celebrity magazine category. Instead, it's getting bigger. Juicy is a new celebrity and lifestyle publication targeted at black women being launched by Harris Publications. Harris, which publishes hip-hop magazine XXL, calls Juicy "the first celebrity and lifestyle magazine for African-American women to sit on national newsstands alongside People, US Weekly, In Touch, Life & Style and OK, though Sister to Sister, the 21-year-old monthly focused on black entertainment, might object to that characterization. Juicy features Rihanna on its initial cover, and promises coverage of hip-hop singers, "Real Housewives of Atlanta" stars and the latest hairstyles and hair products, plus celebrity beauty tips. Harris announced the launch last week, and since then there's been a bit of snark on the XXL site. "The latest gossip and hair????? National Magazine for black Women??? progression fail," notes one poster. Writes another, "Should’ve took that $ and made XXL better." The premiere issue hits newsstands in May, and juicymagonline.com will go up soon. Juicy targets women 18-34 and has a cover price of $4.99. It's aiming for an initial distribution of 150,000.
Programming notes: CBS wants more 'Mother'
It’s been a good week for “How I Met Your Mother” creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. First CBS ordered the pair’s comedy pilot “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and now the network has also renewed “Mother” for a sixth season. The move was not surprising. After surviving as a bubble show during its first two years, “Mother's” popularity soared after the writers' strike ended. This season the show has averaged 8.9 million total viewers and a 3.6 rating among viewers 18-49 in its Monday 8 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen. Elsewhere at CBS, the network has picked up two more cycles of “Survivor” to run during the 2010-‘11 season, as well as another season of “The Amazing Race.” That brings “Survivor’s” total to 22 seasons, with “Race” assured of airing through season 17. Meanwhile, in other programming, NBC will now end “The Jay Leno Show” on Feb. 9, two days earlier than originally planned. The network will instead air a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in the 10 p.m. slot on Feb. 10 and a pair of “The Office” reruns on Feb. 11. History Channel has ordered the series “Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy,” in which the comedian will examine different lifestyles, hobbies and jobs around the U.S. The show will premiere sometime this year. And Hispanic public TV network V-me on Feb. 1 will premiere “Carrier,” a 10-hour documentary series that follows the USS Nimitz during a 2005 deployment. The series first aired on PBS.
The word: RedZone is roaming to mobile phones
Football fans next season will be able to watch the NFL wherever their cell phone gets service, according to the Wall Street Journal. The league plans to roll out a mobile version of its popular cable RedZone channel, which telecasts every touchdown from every game by cutting into games when a team is about to score. It’s good news for football fans who can’t plant themselves on the couch for hours every Sunday, but potentially bad news for local stations and the league’s broadcast partners; they have already voiced concerns that the RedZone cable channel could contribute to ratings erosion for Sunday games. But that certainly wasn’t the case this season, as NFL games averaged 16.6 million total viewers, up 14 percent from last season. That trend has continued into the playoffs, with each elimination game this season grabbing more viewers than the same games last season. In fact, Sunday’s NFC Championship game between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings averaged 57.9 million total viewers, making the most-watched non-Super Bowl primetime broadcast since the series finale of NBC’s “Seinfeld” in 1998.
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