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For teens, Fox is
playing their number


They're bigger fans of 'Don't Forget the Lyrics'

Aug 3, 2007

In the battle of new karaoke reality shows, it hasn’t been all that close. NBC’s  "Singing Bee” has delivered more total viewers and adults 18-49 than Fox’s “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” often building on its hit lead-in “America’s Got Talent.”

But among one demographic, “Lyrics” has been bettering “Bee,” and that’s teens.

Last week, the week ended July 29, two editions of Fox’s show both topped NBC’s, while bettering its “So You Think You Can Dance” lead-in. Among 18-49s, “Lyrics” still hasn’t managed to do either.

In fact, “Lyrics” was the No. 2 show on broadcast last week in teens, tying Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” and behind only Fox’s “Family Guy.” It averaged a 2.6 rating for its Thursday 8 p.m. edition and a 2.4 for Wednesday’s 9:30 show, according to Nielsen.

“Bee,” which airs Tuesday at 9:30, averaged a still-strong 2.2. It was the only major demographic where “Lyrics” bettered “Bee,” which is averaging a 4.0 in adults 18-49 to “Lyrics’” 3.1.

Both shows test contestants on the lyrics to popular songs. Midway through a tune, they have to fill in the missing words as a live band plays.

Certainly one big reason for the discrepancy between adults’ and teens’ preferences is that teens are simply more apt to watch Fox than NBC, no matter what’s on. Fox is averaging a 2.4 rating in the demo for the regular season and summer, double NBC’s 1.2, according to Nielsen data analyzed by Magna Global USA.

But another reason may be that “Lyrics” is simply more teen-friendly. The approach is a bit simpler. While on “Bee” the contestants compete against one another, on “Lyrics,” they are competing against themselves. They have to decide whether to walk away with the money they’ve already won or keep playing and risk losing it all, much like on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”

That’s the sort of tense decision-making that teens, who have their own dramatic tendencies, love.

Teens may also prefer “Lyrics” because it has a more active online community, a staple for this age group. The “Lyrics” messageboards have more than 800 posts, well ahead of "Bee."

Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending July 29:

Among teens 12-17: Fox was first with a 1.6 rating and 7 share, followed by ABC and the CW at 1.0/4, Univision at 0.9/4, NBC at 0.8/3, CBS at 0.6/3, Telemundo and Telefutura at 0.2/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0.

Among kids 2-11: Fox led with a 1.2/5, followed by Univision at 1.1/5, ABC at 0.8/4, NBC at 0.6/3, the CW and CBS at 0.5/2, Telemundo at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0.

The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. “SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 11 a.m.); 2. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 10:30 a.m.); 3. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Monday 5 p.m.); 4. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Monday 3:30 p.m.); 5. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Sunday 11 a.m.)

The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. “Cory in the House” (Disney, Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 2. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Saturday 8 p.m.); 3. “Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (Disney, Thursday 6:30 p.m.); 4. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, 10:30 a.m.); 5. “Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl” (Disney, Friday 8 p.m.)

The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Saturday 8 p.m.); 2. “Cory in the House” (Disney, Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 3. “High School Musical” (Disney, Thursday 6:30 p.m.); 4. “Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (Disney, Monday 4 p.m.); 5. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Tuesday 5:30 p.m.)

TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 2-5
Week Ended July 29


Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

SPONGEBOB THE MOVIE-07/28/2007

NICK

6.6

1049

2

SPONGEBOB-07/28/2007

NICK

6.6

1043

3

SPONGEBOB-07/23/2007

NICK

6.5

1026

4

SPONGEBOB-07/23/2007

NICK

6.3

999

5

SPONGEBOB-07/29/2007

NICK

6.2

987

6

AVATAR-07/23/2007

NICK

6.2

984

7

BLUES CLUES-07/23/2007

NICK

6.2

983

8

SPONGEBOB-07/28/2007

NICK

6.2

982

9

FAIRLY ODD PARENTS-07/23/2007

NICK

6.2

975

10

SPONGEBOB-07/23/2007

NICK

5.9

932

Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 6-11
Week Ended July 29


Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

CORY IN THE HOUSE-07/29/2007

DSNY

8.6

2093

2

HANNAH MONTANA-07/29/2007

DSNY

8.5

2056

3

SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY-07/26/2007

DSNY

7.7

1870

4

SPONGEBOB-07/28/2007

NICK

7.5

1809

5

ADV OF SHARK BOY & LAVA G-07/27/2007

DSNY

7.4

1797

6

SPONGEBOB THE MOVIE-07/28/2007

NICK

7.3

1768

7

SPONGEBOB-07/23/2007

NICK

6.9

1683

8

DRAKE & JOSH-07/23/2007

NICK

6.9

1675

9

SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY-07/26/2007

DSNY

6.9

1663

10

HANNAH MONTANA-07/26/2007

DSNY

6.8

1645

Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 10 PROGRAMS – CABLE
Kids 9-14
Week Ended July 29

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

HANNAH MONTANA-07/29/2007

DSNY

8.5

2092

2

CORY IN THE HOUSE-07/29/2007

DSNY

8.3

2041

3

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL-07/23/2007

DSNY

7.5

1835

4

SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY-07/26/2007

DSNY

6.5

1604

5

HANNAH MONTANA-07/24/2007

DSNY

6.3

1557

6

SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY-07/29/2007

DSNY

6.2

1527

7

HANNAH MONTANA-07/26/2007

DSNY

6.2

1512

8

HANNAH MONTANA - LN-07/28/2007

DSNY

6.1

1500

9

HANNAH MONTANA - LN-07/27/2007

DSNY

6

1469

10

SHAUN THE SHEEP-07/29/2007

DSNY

5.9

1455

Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

 



Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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