When it comes to product placement, cable paces well ahead of broadcast.
During the first three quarters of 2007, the most recent numbers available, the top 10 cable product placement shows had 136,078 occurrences compared to broadcast’s 22,046.
And the cable show that leads them all is “American Chopper,” the Discovery program about a scruffy, often scuffling, father and sons team who build customized motorcycles. The show returns for its fifth season tonight at 9 p.m. with the guys attempting to customize a bike for members of the Army National Guard while Paul Sr. readies to marry his girlfriend, Beth.
“Chopper” had a somewhat astounding 41,657 instances of product placement last year, more than double cable’s No. 2 show, A&E’s “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” at 19,179 instances. “Chopper” was also well ahead of the top broadcast show, “American Idol,” which had 4,349 instances.
The show lends itself to product placement in part because of the vast array of materials needed to customize a bike. Motorcycle products accounted for the top three product placements on the show, including “Chopper’s” own Orange County Choppers Apparel at No. 1. Oakley Sunglasses and Orange County Choppers Motorcycles rank second and third.
“Chopper” continues to be one of Discovery’s most-watched program, though it’s no longer No. 1. The show averaged 2.4 million viewers last season, and last year Discovery said it would begin offering “Chopper” in syndication this fall, along with action-adventure reality show “Deadliest Catch.”
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A look at this week’s top TV draws
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 17
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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8 p.m.
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ABC
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“Ugly Betty” (D)
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Betty’s new perfume has strange side effects.
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8 p.m.
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Discovery
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“MythBusters” (N)
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First of a two-parter that looks at James Bond-like spy myths.
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8 p.m.
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TNT
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“NBA Basketball” (S)
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LeBron and the Cavs take on Timmy and the Spurs in San Antonio.
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9 p.m.
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NBC
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“Celebrity Apprentice” (R)
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Should bounce back some this week as it airs against mostly reruns.
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9 p.m.
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ESPN
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Indiana
travels to Minnesota to take on Tubby Smith’s rejuvenated Golden Gophers.
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10 p.m.
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CBS
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“Without a Trace” (D)
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The crew thinks an antiwar group may have something to do with the disappearance of a veteran.
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10 p.m.
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MTV
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“Run’s House” (R)
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Season finale. JoJo terrorizes his sisters before they move to Los Angeles.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 18
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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NBC
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“Today” (N)
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Actor Sylvester Stallone guests.
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8 p.m.
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CBS
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“Ghost Whisperer” (D)
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Melinda runs into a ghost who blames Jim for his death.
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9 p.m.
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USA
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“Monk” (D)
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Monk tries to find whoever broke into his safe deposit box at the bank.
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10 p.m.
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NBC
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“ Las Vegas” (D)
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Delinda and Danny go to parenting school.
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10 p.m.
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CBS
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“Numb3rs” (D)
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Don believes the serial rapist he’s tracking is a police officer.
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10 p.m.
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USA
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“Psych” (D)
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Henry, Shawn and Gus help look for a man who’s missing from a retirement community.
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 19
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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3:30 p.m.
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ABC
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Maryland
and North Carolina face off in an ACC contest.
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6 p.m.
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ESPN
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Clemson takes on Duke in another ACC matchup.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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“Cops” (R)
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Men without shirts are questioned by the cops.
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9 p.m.
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ESPN
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Kentucky
versus Florida in what should be a good SEC game.
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10 p.m.
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Animal Planet
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“Guinness World Records: Amazing Animals” (N)
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Chris Rose hosts a look at record-setting animals from around the world.
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10 p.m.
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ESPN
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“Tennis” (S)
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Early-round play at the year’s first major, the Australian Open.
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 20
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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12:30 p.m.
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NBC
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“NHL Hockey” (S)
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NBC begins its regular hockey coverage with a game between the Rangers and Bruins.
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3 p.m.
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CBS
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“NFL Football” (S)
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The AFC championship game.
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6:30 p.m.
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Fox
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“NFL Football” (S)
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The NFC championship game.
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8 p.m.
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ABC
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“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (R)
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A widow who runs a non-profit horse-riding operation gets the “Home Edition” treatment.
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9 p.m.
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HBO
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“The Wire” (D)
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Hey, just like real life: Management at the Sun has bad news for employees.
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10 p.m.
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E!
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“Girls Next Door” (R)
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Holly encourages people not to wear fur and poses for a PETA ad.
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10:30 p.m.
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VH1
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“My Fair Brady” (R)
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Season premiere. Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry think about having kids.
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A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.
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