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Younger viewers

A very plush life:
'La Familia P. Luche'


And quite the hot series among kids 2 to 11

Jul 14, 2006

The dopey dads on TV sitcoms often seem like cartoon characters, with their exaggerated pratfalls, elaborate scheming and beer bellies. But on Telefutura’s “La Familia P. Luche,” the live-action Spanish-language sitcom starring Mexican comedian Eugenio Derbez, the scenery around this dad is also like a cartoon.

Derbez, his TV wife and their three kids live in a world made of plush, everything from their cars to their clothes. That adds an extra layer of laughs to the otherwise traditional sitcom, and it’s become quite popular among young Telefutura viewers.

Last week, the week ended July 9, “Luche” was the network’s only program to average above a 0.1 rating among viewers 2-11, according to Nielsen data analyzed by Univision. The show, which airs Monday through Saturday at 10 p.m., peaked with a 0.5 average on Wednesday, just 0.1 behind Univision in that timeslot.

Thursday and Friday’s episodes, which both averaged a 0.4, tied for third place in their slots ahead of ABC and NBC, respectively. In fact, the Thursday edition of “Luche” is Telefutura’s most-watched show among kids this summer, and the 28th-best showing for any program in the channel’s four-year history.

Interestingly, the show doesn’t do nearly as well among older viewers. It averaged only a 0.2 among 25-54s last week, indicating that its wacky humor plays better among children than adults.

“Luche” originally premiered on Telefutura’s sister network, Univision, in November of 2003 and aired on Saturdays as a lead-in to “Sabado Gigante.” Reruns migrated over to Telefutura this year.

Derbez is a well-known name in Mexico. The son of actress Silvia Derbez, he made his TV debut at 12 and is famous for his passion for Formula 1 auto racing. He owns and races several of those cars.

Two seasons of “Luche,” which is a Televisa production, have already been filmed. Derbez is currently mulling whether to return for a third, according to speculation in Mexico.

He might be well-advised to do so. Because of its interesting visuals, with the plush playing into lots of puns, “Luche” and Derbez have also garnered an English-speaking audience.

“I was watching a Spanish television show call La Familia P.Luche, they are like the Flintstones, but like current, they have all this furry stuff and clothes, live action,” says a poster on the Cool-teens.com forums. “I love Spanish TV!”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in younger viewer ratings for the week ended July 9:

Among kids 2-11, Fox led with a 1.0 average rating, followed by Univision at 0.9, ABC at 0.8, CBS, UPN and NBC at 0.7, the WB at 0.4, Telemundo at 0.2 and Telefutura at 0.1.

Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 1.5, followed by UPN at 1.2, ABC, NBC and Univision at 0.8, CBS at 0.7, the WB at 0.6, Telemundo at 0.2 and Telefutura at 0.1.

On basic cable for the week ended July 2:

Top five shows among 2-11s: 1. “Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon, Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.); 2. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Tuesday, 5 p.m.); 3. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Monday, 1:30 p.m.); 4. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Wednesday, 5 p.m.); 5. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Monday, 2 p.m.)

Top five shows among 6-11s: 1. “Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon, Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.); 2. “Ned Declassified” (Nickelodeon, Monday, 6 p.m.); 3. “Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon (Monday, 5:30 p.m.); 4. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Tuesday, 5 p.m.); 5. “Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon, Thursday, 5 p.m.)

Top five shows among 12-17s: 1. “BET Awards” (BET, Tuesday, 8 p.m.); 2. “Family Guy” (Adult Swim, Tuesday, 11:30 p.m.); 3. “Family Guy” (Adult Swim, Wednesday, 11:30 p.m.); 4. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Monday, 2:30 p.m.); 5. “Family Guy” (Adult Swim, Monday, 11:30 p.m.)

Top five shows among 12-24s: 1. “BET Awards” (BET, Tuesday, 8 p.m.); 2. “Family Guy” (Adult Swim, Tuesday, 11:30 p.m.); 3. “Real World/Road Rules: Fresh Meat” (MTV, Monday, 10 p.m.); 4. “WWE Entertainment” (USA, Monday, 10 p.m.); 5. “Family Guy” (Adult Swim, Monday, 11:30 p.m.)

Note: The combined cable and broadcast charts for the week ended July 9 were delayed by the July 4 holiday. Below are cable charts for younger viewers for the week ended July 2. The regular charts will return next week.

TOP 20 PROGRAMS - BASIC CABLE TV
Adults 12-24
Week Ended July 2, 2006

 

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

BET AWARDS SHOW

BET

5.5

      2,138

2

RW/RR FRESH MEAT

MTV

3.7

      1,575

2

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

3.7

      1,569

4

WWE ENTERTAINMENT

USA

3.3

      1,423

5

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

3.1

      1,338

6

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

2.9

      1,252

7

HILLS, THE

MTV

2.7

      1,143

8

ROBOT CHICKEN

ADSM

2.6

      1,123

8

WWE ENTERTAINMENT

USA

2.6

      1,104

8

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

2.6

      1,090

11

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

2.4

      1,038

11

PIMP MY RIDE

MTV

2.4

      1,030

11

ROBOT CHICKEN

ADSM

2.4

      1,025

11

MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEEN

MTV

2.4

      1,023

11

SPONGEBOB

NICK

2.4

      1,022

11

REAL WORLD XVII

MTV

2.4

      1,009

17

BLACK CARPET LOUNGE

BET

2.3

         905

18

FAMILY GUY

TBSC

2.1

         918

18

SPONGEBOB

NICK

2.1

         906

18

SPONGEBOB

NICK

2.1

         897

Source: MTV Networks, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 20 PROGRAMS - BASIC CABLE TV
Teens 12-17
Week Ended July 2, 2006

 

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

BET AWARDS SHOW

BET

6.8

1,264

2

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

4.5

930

3

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

4.1

838

4

SPONGEBOB

NICK

4.0

822

5

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

3.7

763

6

WWE ENTERTAINMENT

USA

3.7

760

7

ROBOT CHICKEN

ADSM

3.6

746

8

RW/RR FRESH MEAT

MTV

3.6

737

9

S J NEUTRON WINLSE KABOOM

NICK

3.5

717

10

SPONGEBOB

NICK

3.4

713

11

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

3.4

703

12

ROBOT CHICKEN

ADSM

3.3

674

13

SPONGEBOB

NICK

3.2

666

14

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

3.2

653

15

SPONGEBOB

NICK

3.1

650

16

FAMILY GUY

ADSM

3.0

621

17

WWE ENTERTAINMENT

USA

2.9

612

18

NED DECLASSIFIED

NICK

2.9

607

19

PIMP MY RIDE

MTV

2.9

600

20

SB06 PRESENTS MADE

MTV

2.9

595

Source: MTV Networks, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 20 PROGRAMS - BASIC CABLE TV
Kids 6-11
Week Ended July 2, 2006

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

7.1

      1,428

2

NED DECLASSIFIED

NICK

6.5

      1,311

3

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

6.4

      1,300

4

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.3

      1,279

4

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

6.3

      1,270

6

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.1

      1,242

6

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

6.1

      1,242

6

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.1

      1,226

9

NED DECLASSIFIED

NICK

5.9

      1,197

10

S J NEUTRON WINLSE KABOOM

NICK

5.8

      1,183

10

RUGRATS IN PARIS

NICK

5.8

      1,180

10

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.8

      1,175

13

FAIRLY ODD PARENTS

NICK

5.7

      1,149

14

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.6

      1,142

14

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.6

      1,137

14

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.6

      1,134

17

JIMMY NEUTRON

NICK

5.5

      1,117

18

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.4

      1,101

18

JIMMY NEUTRON

NICK

5.4

      1,101

18

FAIRLY ODD PARENTS

NICK

5.4

      1,100

Source: MTV Networks, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 20 PROGRAMS - BASIC CABLE TV
Kids 2-11
Week Ended July 2, 2006

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

6.6

      2,170

2

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.4

      2,087

3

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.2

      2,032

4

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.1

      2,004

4

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.1

      1,996

6

SPONGEBOB

NICK

6.0

      1,963

7

FAIRLY ODD PARENTS

NICK

5.9

      1,932

8

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.8

      1,920

8

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

5.8

      1,915

8

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.8

      1,907

8

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

5.8

      1,891

8

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.8

      1,892

13

DRAKE & JOSH

NICK

5.7

      1,887

13

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.7

      1,868

13

JIMMY NEUTRON

NICK

5.7

      1,857

16

FAIRLY ODD PARENTS

NICK

5.5

      1,811

17

SPONGEBOB

NICK

5.4

      1,790

17

NED DECLASSIFIED

NICK

5.4

      1,772

17

FAIRLY ODD PARENTS

NICK

5.4

      1,760

20

S J NEUTRON WINLSE KABOOM

NICK

5.3

      1,746

Source: MTV Networks, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

 



Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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