Overnights
   
Homepage



ABC's 'Middle'
climbs without 'Hank'


First-year sitcom averages a 2.4 in 18-49s, up 26 percent

Nov 19, 2009

The cancellation of the short-lived Kelsey Grammer sitcom "Hank" turned out to be a double win for ABC last night.

A rerun of "Modern Family" performed much better than "Hank's" final episode in the Wednesday 8 p.m. slot, and the original "The Middle" that followed soared compared to its most recent outing without the dumpy lead-in dragging it down.

"Middle" averaged a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating at 8:30 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, its second-best rating ever and up 26 percent over its Nov. 4 episode. (ABC aired the "CMA Awards" in the timeslot last week.)

That's not a spectacular rating, but in a timeslot that lacks a standout show on the Big Four, it was enough to finish second, just 0.1 behind winner "Gary Unmarried" on CBS.

Undoubtedly "Middle" got a boost from airing behind the "Family" rerun, which averaged a 1.9 rating, up 46 percent from the 1.3 that "Hank's" final episode averaged two weeks ago.

ABC has already given a full-season order to "Middle," as well as its other two new sitcoms on the night, "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town," both of which also rose compared to their Nov. 4 outings.

Also last night, the season finale of the CW's "America's Next Top Model" averaged a season-high 3.2 among women 18-34, the network's target audience, though that was well down from a 4.3 for last fall's season 11 ender. "Model" won the timeslot in the demo.

CBS's "CSI: NY" was the night's top show among total viewers, averaging 13.7 million at 10 p.m.

***

CBS was first for the night among 18-49s with a 3.1 average overnight rating and a 9 share. Fox was second at 2.7/7, ABC third at 2.6/7, NBC fourth at 2.0/6, Univision fifth at 1.5/4 and CW sixth at 1.3/3.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 2.4 for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (2.2) and “Gary Unmarried” (2.5), followed by ABC with a 2.2 for a repeat of “Family” (1.9) and a new “Middle” (2.4). Fox was third with a 2.1 for “So You Think You Can Dance,” NBC fourth with a 2.0 for “Mercy” (up 18 percent from last week), CW fifth with a 1.7 for “Model” and Univision sixth with a 1.4 for “El Nombre del Amor.”

CBS was first again at 9 p.m. with a 3.7 for “Criminal Minds,” while ABC remained second with a 3.4 for an original “Family” (3.7) and “Cougar Town” (3.2). Fox was third with a 3.2 for “Glee,” NBC fourth with a 2.6 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Univision fifth with a 1.9 for “Sortilegio” and CW sixth with a 0.8 for a “Top Model” clip show.

At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 3.2 for “CSI: NY,” with ABC second with a 2.3 for “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts.” NBC was third with a 1.4 for “The Jay Leno Show” and Univision fourth with a 1.2 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”

CBS also led the night among households with a 7.3 average overnight rating and a 12 share. NBC was second at 4.7/8, ABC third at 4.6/8, Fox fourth at 3.9/6, Univision fifth at 2.0/3 and CW sixth at 1.8/3.



Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




Latest headlines
Your client cutting up on the ice
Weak return for ABC's 'FlashForward'
Leno wins week two by smaller margin
Words and ideas: New York Magazine
'Life,' visually stunning as life itself
Message right under your feet: Go NFL!
It's official: Amanpour joins ABC News
Rachel, what do I do about this woman?

Jerry Buhlmann rises to CEO at Aegis Group
Sandy Kolkey becomes president at Draftfcb New York
Lane Soelberg and Christine Bensen join Moxie Interactive
Icaro Doria becomes group creative director at Goodby

Paula Abdul's new gig falls through
Jeff Zeleny, Matt Bai and Jim Rutenberg shift roles at NYT
Tony Sherman becomes director of product operations at LogicLab
Beau Bridges joins NBC's 'The Rockford Files'



© 2010 Media Life Privacy Statement