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For NBC, a big
payout for taking risks


Up 18 percent in 18-49s in the first two weeks

Oct 4, 2006

At first glance, ABC is the big surprise network after two weeks in the new season, having held onto No. 1 in adults 18-49 without the annual fall boost it typically got from "Monday Night Football," which has moved to ESPN.

But the real surprise this season is NBC.

Coming off two straight fourth-place finishes, the network is up 18 percent in adult 18-49 viewers, averaging a 3.9 rating and 11 share for the first two weeks, compared with a 3.3/9 last year, and tying it with CBS for second behind ABC’s 4.2/12. Indeed, NBC is the only network showing gains in the demo.

NBC is also up 19 percent in adults 18-34, from a 2.7/8 to a 3.2/10, and 15 percent in 25-54s, from a 3.9/9 to a 4.5/11.

It's done so by taking more chances with its new shows after several seasons where it took few if any chances.

The only two NBC shows that returned for a second season, "My Name is Earl" and "Deal or No Deal," were risk-takers, one a single-camera comedy shot like an independent film and the other a game show debuting five years after the game show boom ended.

Among this season's new shows, "Sunday Night Football," facing already strong competition from ABC, CBS and Fox, is well ahead of last year’s average for ABC’s "Monday Night Football." And NBC has doubled its Sunday night average from last year, from a 2.8 to a 5.6.

NBC paid a huge amount for those rights, at the risk that the network would do only modestly better on Sunday night while losing money, as ABC had done for years with "MNF."

NBC's new dramas are among the most creative new shows of any network.

"Heroes," a drama about a group of people who find out they have special powers, sounds more suited for NBC sister network Sci Fi, but it has found a surprisingly broad audience on Monday night.

In the show’s first two outings at 9 p.m., it has bettered last year’s timeslot average by 43 percent, averaging a 5.7.

Even "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the highly anticipated Aaron Sorkin drama, though stumbling, is still doing better than all of NBC’s new dramas last year. Though it's lost nearly a third of its 18-49 audience since its debut, the show's 4.3 average is more than a point higher than "Surface," "E-Ring" or "Inconceivable" managed in 2005, and all were canceled.

Even Wednesday’s "Kidnapped," NBC’s only struggling new show, is ahead of "Inconceivable" and "E-Ring’s" first two weeks.

Things could get even better.

NBC still has three new shows joining the schedule, with "Friday Night Lights" premiering last night, "Twenty Good Years" tonight and "30 Rock" next week. "Friday" and "Rock" have gotten good buzz, which means NBC’s schedule could get a further lift over the next few weeks.

If they too do well in the ratings, NBC could well finish fourth quarter in second place behind ABC, an achievement on any terms but especially so against so many forecasts that it would again hold down third place ahead of Fox.

Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended Oct. 1

Among adults 18-49, ABC was first with an average rating of 4.0 and a share of 11, with CBS in second at 3.9/11, NBC a close third with 3.7/11, Fox in fourth with 2.6/11 and Univision filling out the top five at 1.7/6. The CW had 1.5/4, Telemundo at 0.4/1, Telefutura at 0.3/1 and Azteca at 0.1/0.

Among adults 18-34, ABC led with 3.4 and a share of 11, NBC followed with 3.1/10 and CBS was in third with 2.7/9. Fox had 2.5/8 and Univision came in fifth with 1.8/6, followed by the CW at 1.6/5, Telemundo and Telefutura tied at 0.4/1 and Azteca bringing up the rear with 0.1/0.

Among adults 25-54, CBS remained strong with an average rating of 5.0, followed by ABC at 4.7, NBC at 4.4, and Fox at 2.7. Univision came in at 1.6, followed by the CW at 1.4, Telemundo at 0.4, Telefutura at 0.3 and Azteca at 0.1.

Top five (18-49s): 1. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 9.5; 2. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” 8.6; 3. CBS’s “CSI” 8.0; 4. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 6.7; 5. NBC’s “ER” 6.1

Top five (total viewers): 1. CBS’s “CSI” 23.77 million; 2. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 23.48 million; 3. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” 21.42 million; 4. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” 17.91 million; 5. CBS’s “CSI:Miami” 17.79 million.

Bottom five (18-49s): Tie-94. CBS’s “The Class” and Fox’s “Justice Special” 1.0; Tie-96. CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris” and CW’s “All of Us” 0.9; Tie-98. CW’s “Runaway-Monday” and CW’s “Runaway-Tuesday” 0.7

Bottom five (total viewers): 95. CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris” 2.44 million; 96. CW’s “America’s Next Top Model-Encore” 2.43 million; 97. CW’s “All of Us” 2.30 million; 98. CW’s “Runaway-Monday” 2.18 million; 99. CW’s “Runaway-Tuesday” 1.65 million

Show on the rise: “Ugly Betty,” ABC, Thursday, 8 p.m. “Betty” is proving that the telenovela concept can translate across languages when handled by talented writers and producers like Selma Hayek. It’s the most-watched new show of this season.

Show on the decline: “Six Degrees,” ABC, Thursday, 10 p.m. The ensemble drama fell 12 places in the rankings in total viewers to 36th with 10.15 million tuning in, a marked decrease from last week’s 12.15 million, losing more than half its “Grey’s Anatomy” lead-in. Among 18-49s, the program was down from a 5.4 rating to a 4.1.

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Oct. 1

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

ABC

8.0

8930

13

4.3

12280

11

4.4

5750

12

CBS

8.3

9260

14

4.6

13020

12

3.9

5080

11

NBC

7.1

7930

12

3.9

11050

10

4.0

5180

11

FOX

4.7

5290

8

2.7

7520

7

3.1

3990

8

CW

1.9

2090

3

1.0

2820

3

1.2

1570

3

PAX

0.4

490

1

0.2

630

1

0.1

190

0

UNI

2.0

2190

3

1.2

3520

3

1.6

2030

4

TEL

0.6

660

1

0.3

940

1

0.4

560

1

TF

0.3

380

1

0.2

560

1

0.3

360

1

AZA

0.1

130

0

0.1

210

0

0.1

140

0

* Each rating point is equivalent to 1.114 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research

  

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Oct. 1

#

PROGRAMS

Net

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

#

Rtg%

(000)

1

GREY'S ANATOMY

ABC

15.0

22

16660

2

8.3

23478

2

CSI

CBS

14.3

21

15907

1

8.4

23769

3

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

13.3

20

14798

3

7.6

21420

4

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

11.8

18

13193

4

6.3

17914

5

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

11.6

19

12947

4

6.3

17786

6

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

10.8

17

12021

8

5.8

16544

6

NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC

10.8

17

12069

6

6.0

16940

6

UGLY BETTY

ABC

10.8

17

12032

8

5.8

16318

9

DANCING W/STARS RESULTS

ABC

10.6

17

11759

11

5.6

15813

10

CSI: NY

CBS

10.4

17

11588

10

5.7

16211

11

60 MINUTES

CBS

10.0

16

11193

13

5.3

15128

12

TWO AND A HALF MEN

CBS

9.9

15

11043

12

5.4

15279

13

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

9.8

16

10881

16

5.1

14407

14

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

9.7

18

10766

16

5.1

14507

15

SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS

CBS

9.6

15

10730

7

5.9

16845

16

E.R.

NBC

9.5

16

10628

16

5.1

14361

17

COLD CASE

CBS

9.4

14

10431

16

5.1

14435

17

SHARK

CBS

9.4

16

10506

14

5.2

14641

19

20/20 SP EDITION

ABC

8.9

15

9915

23

4.8

13489

19

BROTHERS & SISTERS

ABC

8.9

15

9890

24

4.7

13463

19

NCIS

CBS

8.9

14

9936

21

5.0

14118

22

EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.

ABC

8.8

14

9810

14

5.2

14843

22

HOUSE

FOX

8.8

14

9776

16

5.1

14521

24

HEROES

NBC

8.6

13

9631

21

5.0

14095

25

OLD CHRISTINE

CBS

8.3

12

9236

26

4.3

12193

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Oct. 1

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

GREY'S ANATOMY

ABC

9.5

12438

2

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

8.6

11265

3

CSI

CBS

8.0

10452

4

NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC

6.7

8685

5

HOUSE

FOX

6.1

8011

5

E.R.

NBC

6.1

8022

7

SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS

CBS

5.9

7686

7

HEROES

NBC

5.9

7713

9

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

5.8

7610

10

EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED

ABC

5.7

7477

11

BROTHERS & SISTERS

ABC

5.3

6868

12

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

5.2

6794

12

CSI: NY

CBS

5.2

6787

12

20/20 SP EDITION

ABC

5.2

6729

15

UGLY BETTY

ABC

5.0

6475

15

LAW AND ORDER: SVU

NBC

5.0

6480

17

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

4.9

6344

18

TWO AND A HALF MEN

CBS

4.8

6310

19

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

4.4

5683

20

SHARK

CBS

4.2

5436

20

STUDIO 60

NBC

4.2

5527

22

DANCING W/STARS RESULTS

ABC

4.1

5326

22

SIX DEGREES

ABC

4.1

5363

24

AMAZING RACE

CBS

4.0

5183

25

COLD CASE

CBS

3.9

5150

Source: Nielsen Media Research

  

SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Sept. 17

#

 PROGRAMS

Syndicator

Households

US Rtg%

(000)

1

ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON

ESP

8.4

9368

2

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

KIN

7.3

8164

3

ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON 2

ESP

7

7810

4

OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT)

KIN

5.6

6269

4

JEOPARDY

KIN

5.6

6240

6

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)

C/P

5.1

5641

7

EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN (AT)

KIN

4.9

5507

8

SEINFELD (AT)

SPT

4.6

5148

8

DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)

KIN

4.6

5119

10

JUDGE JUDY (AT)

C/P

4.4

4950

11

CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)

KIN

4.2

4714

11

SEINFELD-WKND (AT)

SPT

4.2

4689

13

FRIENDS (AT)

WB

3.6

4048

14

INSIDE EDITION

KIN

3.4

3803

15

THAT 70S SHOW-MF-SYN (AT)

2/T

3.1

3495

15

EVBDY LVS RAYMOND-WKD-SYN

KIN

3.1

3459

17

MILLIONAIRE (AT)

BV

3

3370

18

JUDGE JOE BROWN (AT)

C/P

2.8

3075

19

PEOPLE'S COURT (AT)

WB

2.7

2958

19

INSIDER (AT)

C/P

2.7

2956

21

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (AT)

NBU

2.6

2923

21

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT WKD

C/P

2.6

2901

23

KING OF THE HILL-SYN(AT)

2/T

2.5

2777

24

JUDGE MATHIS (AT)

WB

2.3

2563

25

EXTRA (AT)

WB

2.2

2501

* Note: The chart for the week ended Sept. 3 was delayed.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED)
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Oct. 1

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+ (000)

1

BARRERA DE AMOR M-F

UNI

21.6

4429

2

FEA MAS BELLA M-F

UNI

20.9

4185

3

AQUI Y AHORA-THU

UNI

16.9

2969

4

VER PARA CREER-TUE

UNI

15.4

3062

5

HERIDAS DE AMOR M-F

UNI

14.7

2756

6

DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE

UNI

13.9

2555

7

CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI

UNI

13.8

2667

8

CRISTINA-MON

UNI

13.5

2701

9

SABADO GIGANTE-SAT

UNI

12.7

2220

10

CANTANDO POR SUENOIII SUN

UNI

10.7

2018

11

HORA PICO-SUN

UNI

10.1

1808

12

CASOS FAMILIA ED ESP SAT

UNI

9.8

1716

13

FUTBOL LIGA MEX SAT

TF

9.4

1884

14

TIERRA DE PASIONES M-F

TEL

8.1

1448

15

VIUDA DE BLANCO M-F

TEL

6.9

1203

16

DECISIONES M-F

TEL

5.9

1016

17

AMORES M-F

TEL

5.2

960

18

CINEMUNDO PREMIER

TEL

5.1

1074

19

FAMOSOS FUERA CNTRL 10/1(S)-10/01/2006

TF

4.2

774

20

CINE LAS ESTREL2 SAT

TF

3.8

734

20

CINE LAS ESTREL1 SUN

TF

3.8

627

22

QUINCEANERA

TEL

3.3

670

23

CINEMUNDO DEL SABADO

TEL

3.1

629

24

CINE LAS ESTREL1 M-THU

TF

3.0

508

25

ASI ES LA VIDA M-F

TF

2.9

551

* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 11.63 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Oct. 1

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+(000)

1

GREY'S ANATOMY

ABC

7.8

1228

2

UGLY BETTY

ABC

7.2

1257

3

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

6.9

1123

4

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ABC

6.0

1118

5

20/20 SP EDITION

ABC

5.6

884

6

CSI

CBS

5.2

899

7

DANCING W/STARS RESULTS

ABC

4.9

716

7

EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.

ABC

4.9

814

9

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

4.6

1041

10

HOUSE

FOX

4.4

851

10

FAMILY GUY

FOX

4.4

1088

* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 11.63 million Hispanic TV homes. ** Numbers for the week ended Oct. 1 were not updated by Nielsen at press time.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Oct. 1

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Rtg

P2+(000)

1

GREY'S ANATOMY

ABC

13.0

2433

2

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

12.2

2140

3

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

12.1

2130

4

UGLY BETTY

ABC

11.8

2109

5

NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC

11.7

2075

6

CSI

CBS

11.5

1998

7

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

11.3

2010

8

CSI: NY

CBS

10.8

2002

9

60 MINUTES

CBS

10.7

1775

10

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

10.2

1802

10

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

10.2

1835

10

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

CW

10.2

1979

* Ratings based on 13.45 million African American TV homes. ** Numbers for the week ended Oct. 1 were not updated by Nielsen at press time.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Sept. 24

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Episode

Households

Persons 2+

US Rtg%

Shr

(000)

(000)

1

FOX NFL SUNDAY-NATIONAL

FOX

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

12.3

25

13727

19313

2

NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC

DENVER AT NEW ENGLAND

10.0

16

11176

15626

3

CBS NFL SINGLE

CBS

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

9.9

22

10997

15240

4

FOX NFL SUNDAY-REGIONAL

FOX

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

6.6

15

7312

10379

5

SAT NIGHT FOOTBALL

ABC

ND AT MICH ST/USC AT ARIZONA

5.6

11

6253

8415

6

ABC COLLEGE FTBL GM-LATE

ABC

PENN ST AT OH ST/IOWA ST AT TX

5.2

12

5783

7699

7

RYDER CUP GOLF-SAT(S)-09/23/2006

NBC

 

3.0

8

3376

4084

8

RYDER CUP GOLF-SUN(S)-09/24/2006

NBC

 

2.7

9

3059

3555

9

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

 

2.4

4

2700

3695

10

HOME DEPOT CLLG FOOTBALL2

CBS

ALABAMA AT ARKANSAS

2.2

5

2498

3312

11

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR-SU

CBS

JEEP KING:MNTN BIKE CHMPS

1.6

3

1773

2156

12

FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL

FOX

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

1.5

4

1673

2029

13

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 9/24(S)-09/24/2006

NBC

WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES

1.1

2

1201

1461

14

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR-SA

CBS

ULTIMATE BLACKJACK TOUR-2

0.7

2

800

870

15

FUTBOL LIGA MEXICANA SUN

UNI

UNAM VS NECAXA

0.6

1

622

818

16

FUTBOL LIGA MEXICAN SUN

TF

AMERICA VS MONTERREY

0.5

1

508

804

17

FLM SAT 2

AZA

MONARCAS VS CRUZ AZUL

0.3

1

328

572

18

FLM SUN 2

AZA

U.A. DE G. VS GUADALAJARA

0.3

1

355

543

19

WWE - RAW

TEL

 

0.3

1

283

351

20

SOLO BOXEO DE MILLER

TF

MARQUEZ/GARCIA-GNZALES/ESPNOZA

0.3

0

301

444

21

FUTBOL LIGA MEX SAT

TF

ATLAS VS TOLUCA

0.3

1

355

509

22

FLM SAT 1

AZA

VERACRUZ VS JAGUARES

0.2

0

194

264

23

BOXEO TELEMUNDO

TEL

GERARDO VERDE VS CARLOS TAMARA

0.2

1

258

295

24

BOXEO AZTECA

AZA

 

0.1

0

88

146

25

FLM SUN 1

AZA

QUERETARO VS ATLANTE

0.1

0

110

<<

26

SABADO DE FUTBOL

TEL

DEN HAAG VS PSV EINDHOVEN

0.1

0

133

178

27

FUTBOL TELEMUNDO

TEL

MILAN VS CHIEVO

0.1

0

67

<<

Source: Nielsen Media Research




Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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