Ratings have fallen in just about every demographic this year, in part due to the debilitating writers’ strike and resulting slew of reruns and replacement shows on broadcast.
But the tumble has been steepest among teenage girls.
Season to date, the average rating for the six broadcast networks among girls 12-17 is 8.1, off 15 percent from a 9.5 at this time last year. That’s a greater percentage decline than any of the major adult and adult women demographics, which are down 8 to 13 percent.
And it’s higher than for boys 12-17, where broadcast ratings have held up pretty well compared with other demos, slipping 3 percent from an 8.8 to an 8.5.
The young-skewing CW, which was tied for second among female teens last year, has declined the most of the Big Five, off 30 percent from a 2.0 to a 1.4, according to Nielsen data analyzed by Fox. It’s now in third place, behind Super Bowl carrier Fox, even to last year at 2.4, and ABC, down 15 percent from last year from a 2.0 to a 1.7.
CBS is off 20 percent, from a 1.5 to a 1.2, with some of that because it did not carry the Super Bowl this year. NBC has fallen 21 percent, from a 1.4 to a 1.1, and MyNetworkTV has slipped 33 percent, from a 0.3 to a 0.2.
Certainly a good portion of the girls’ decline is because of the strike, but there are also other factors. Ratings for several networks were already down by double-digit percentages by mid-January, when the effects of the writers’ strike began to be felt.
One reason is that teens aren’t always watching TV shows on their television screens. A study released earlier this week by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing found that while 83 percent of teens still watch TV on television, many, 44 percent, also view it on desktop computers.
Some 24 percent watch TV on their laptops, 15 percent on a portable media player like the iPod, and 8 percent watch via cell phone.
Forty-four percent say they’ve viewed sitcoms on these devices, while 36 percent have watched dramas this way. Notably, one of the top TV shows in the iTunes store is “Gossip Girl,” which has a high concentration of female teen viewers.
The strike also shifted the schedules of several networks, bumping off “24,” which does well among teens, and pushing teen hits like “Lost” and “One Tree Hill” to midseason, skewing comparisons to last year.
But strike-induced reruns were an issue, too. The CW’s “Girl,” for example, averaged a 3.9 rating in girls 12-17 for originals, which ran out in January. Repeat episodes averaged a mere 1.0.
***
Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending April 6:
Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 2.1 rating and 8 share, followed by CBS at 1.4/5, CW and ABC at 1.1/4, Univision at 0.9/3, NBC at 0.7/3, Telemundo at 0.2/1, Telefutura at 0.1/0 and Azteca at 0.0/0.
Among kids 2-11, Fox was first with a 1.6/6, followed by Univision at 1.4/6, ABC at 1.1/4, CBS at 1.0/4, NBC at 0.6/3, CW at 0.6/2, Telemundo at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.1/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Mon. 4 p.m.); 2. Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Mon. 4:30 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon's "Dora The Explorer" (Mon. 10:30 a.m.); 4. Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Fri. 3:30 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon's "Wonder Pets" (Sat. 10 a.m.)
The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Sun. 8:30 p.m.); 2. Nickelodeon's "iCarly" (Sat. 8 p.m.); 3. Disney's "Hannah Montana" (Thu. 9 p.m.); 4. Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Sun. 8 p.m.); 5. Disney's "Suite Life of Zack & Cody" (Fri. 8:30 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Sun. 8:30 p.m.); 2. Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Sun. 8 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon's "iCarly" (Sat. 8 p.m.); 4. Fox's "American Idol" (Tue. 8 p.m.); 5. Disney's "Hannah Montana" (Thu. 9 p.m.)
|
TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 2-5
Week Ended April 6 |
|
|
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
SPONGEBOB-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
6.6
|
1062
|
|
2
|
SPONGEBOB-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
6.3
|
1004
|
|
3
|
DORA THE EXPLORER-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
6.2
|
996
|
|
4
|
SPONGEBOB-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
6.2
|
989
|
|
5
|
WONDER PETS-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
6.2
|
985
|
|
6
|
GO, DIEGO, GO!-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
6.1
|
978
|
|
7
|
DORA THE EXPLORER-04/04/2008
|
NICK
|
5.9
|
950
|
|
8
|
DORA THE EXPLORER-04/03/2008
|
NICK
|
5.9
|
947
|
|
9
|
SPONGEBOB-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
5.9
|
938
|
|
10
|
NI HAO KAI-LAN-03/31/2008
|
NICK
|
5.7
|
917
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
|
|
TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 6-11
Week Ended April 6 |
|
|
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-04/06/2008
|
DSNY
|
8.1
|
1979
|
|
2
|
ICARLY-04/05/2008
|
NICK
|
7.2
|
1741
|
|
3
|
S HANNAH MONTANA-04/03/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.7
|
1621
|
|
4
|
S WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLAC-04/06/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.6
|
1612
|
|
5
|
S SUITE LIFE OF ZACK&CODY-04/04/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.6
|
1601
|
|
6
|
SPONGEBOB-04/05/2008
|
NICK
|
6.4
|
1548
|
|
7
|
S SUITE LIFE OF ZACK&CODY-04/03/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.2
|
1511
|
|
8
|
SPONGEBOB-04/05/2008
|
NICK
|
6
|
1452
|
|
9
|
SPONGEBOB-04/05/2008
|
NICK
|
5.6
|
1354
|
|
10
|
FAIRLY ODD PARENTS-04/05/2008
|
NICK
|
5.5
|
1345
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
|
|
TOP 10 PROGRAMS – CABLE
Kids 9-14
Week Ended April 6 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-04/06/2008
|
DSNY
|
8.1
|
1983
|
|
2
|
S WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLAC-04/06/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.7
|
1634
|
|
3
|
ICARLY-04/05/2008
|
NICK
|
6.6
|
1609
|
|
4
|
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY-04/01/2008
|
FOX
|
6
|
1469
|
|
5
|
S HANNAH MONTANA-04/03/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.8
|
1423
|
|
6
|
S SUITE LIFE OF ZACK&CODY-04/03/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.2
|
1260
|
|
7
|
S SUITE LIFE OF ZACK&CODY-04/04/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.2
|
1259
|
|
8
|
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY-04/02/2008
|
FOX
|
4.7
|
1153
|
|
9
|
S WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLAC-04/06/2008
|
DSNY
|
4.7
|
1145
|
|
10
|
DRAKE & JOSH-04/01/2008
|
NICK
|
4.6
|
1131
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
|
