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Sweeps race for
No. 2: ABC or CBS?

The two are tied behind Fox, averaging 2.7/8

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Nov 12, 2009

With Fox still way out ahead in the November sweeps thanks to the World Series, the more interesting question may be who will finish second, ABC or CBS.

Through Monday, the most recent data available from Nielsen, Fox holds a commanding lead. The network is averaging a 4.3 adults 18-49 rating and 12 share, up 79 percent over last year.

ABC and CBS are tied for second at 2.7/8. ABC is down 18 percent from last year and CBS is down 7 percent.

NBC is in fourth place with a 2.3/6, off 23 percent from last year, while the CW is in fifth at 1.2/3, up 20 percent from last year.

CBS seems poised to move ahead of ABC, with this week's three-episode "CSI" crossover guaranteed to goose ratings.

But ABC has more sweeps stunts planned than its rival, including last night's "Country Music Awards," which should more than double the network's usual Wednesday average, and the season finale of "Dancing with the Stars" in two weeks.

For ABC to edge CBS, its new show "V" will have to stabilize in the ratings. The show dipped nearly 30 percent from last week's debut in its second outing earlier this week.

And hits like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" will have to put up slightly better numbers. Both have hovered near series lows in recent weeks, albeit against strong competition from Fox's World Series and NBC's "Sunday Night Football."

NBC seems likely to finish third, mostly because "SNF" was preempted the first week of sweeps due to the World Series. The NFL always schedules an off week during the Series to avoid competing for viewers.

But last year the Series aired entirely in October, and so NBC did not take the hit from "SNF's" absence during sweeps.

The network could have its biggest "SNF" game of the season this weekend, when the undefeated Indianapolis Colts face the New England Patriots, in a rematch of a game that drew nearly 34 million viewers two years ago.

The CW lags well behind the other broadcasters, but it's one of only two networks seeing gains compared to last year. Part of that is due to the network dropping programming this year on Sunday nights, which had been a major drain on its ratings.

Louisa Ada Seltzer is a staff writer for Media Life.	© 2010 Media Life Magazine

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