Overnights
Returning ABC Wednesday shows dip
By Toni Fitzgerald
Oct 2, 2008 - 11:44:05 AM

A long writers’ strike-induced layoff continues to hurt the second-year dramas returning with their first episodes in nearly 10 months. Earlier this week, NBC’s “Chuck” and “Life” returned to unimpressive ratings.

And last night the season debuts of ABC’s trio of sophomore shows saw ratings dip from last year’s premieres as well as, for two of them, their most recent episodes in December.

“Private Practice,” one of last year’s top new programs, averaged a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, down 16 percent from its most recent original in December, which averaged a 3.8, and placing third in its 9 p.m. timeslot. The “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff was way down from last year’s series premiere, which pulled a 5.1.

At 8 p.m., the surreal comedy “Pushing Daisies” finished fourth in its slot and averaged a mere 2.0 rating, a series low and off 20 percent from its most recent original in December (2.4). It was also less than half the show’s 4.2 premiere a year ago.

“Dirty Sexy Money” may have fared the best for ABC. Though it slid 1.1 from last year’s premiere, its 2.5 rating was up over its most recent outing in December, which averaged a 2.3.

ABC did manage to place second on the night, barely ahead of CBS, and the network points out it did well among women and adults 18-34. But the big dips on a night ABC won consistently last fall are certainly concerning. All three shows had been sliding when they went off the air, which led many media buyers to question why ABC had left the night intact.

Elsewhere last night, CBS’s 8 p.m. comedies continued to struggle, with “The New Adventures of Christine” and “Gary Unmarried” both down slightly from last week’s low debuts.

And Fox’s “’Til Death” drew low ratings at 9 p.m. despite a solid lead-in from “Bones.” The show, airing back-to-back episodes because lead-out “Do Not Disturb” was canceled, managed just a 1.7 average.

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. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
 
CBS led the night among 18-49s with a 3.3 average overnight rating and a 9 share. ABC was second at 2.6/7, NBC third at 2.5/7, Fox fourth at 2.4/6, Univision fifth at 1.6/4 and CW sixth at 1.4/4.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 3.1 for “Bones,” followed by NBC with a 2.4 for “Knight Rider,” down just 0.1 from last week. CBS was third with a 2.1 for “Christine” (2.0) and “Gary” (2.2), ABC fourth with a 2.0 for “Daisies,” CW fifth with a 1.8 for “America’s Next Top Model” and Univision sixth with a 1.6 for “Cuidado con el Angel.”
 
CBS took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.8 for “Criminal Minds,” with NBC second with a 3.3 for the season finale of “America’s Got Talent.” ABC was third with a 3.2 for “Practice,” Univision fourth with a 1.9 for “Fuego en la Sangre,” Fox fifth with a 1.7 for an hour of “Death” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for a repeat of “90210.”
 
At 10 p.m. CBS was first again with a 4.1 for “CSI: NY,” while ABC moved to second with a 2.5 for “Money.” NBC was third with a 1.9 for “Lipstick Jungle” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
 
CBS also finished first for the night among households with a 7.9 average overnight rating and a 13 share. NBC was second at 5.4/9, ABC third at 4.8/8, Fox fourth at 4.4/7, Univision fifth at 2.1/3 and CW sixth at 2.0/3.