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Television

Less sizzle and pop
on New Year's eve


Rating were down or flat for the broadcast networks

Jan 4, 2007

Perhaps the unseasonably warm temperatures drew holiday revelers outdoors Sunday night. Or maybe there were better things to watch. Or maybe Americans are simply tired of staring at other Americans standing around pretending to have a good time.

Whatever the reason, the broadcast networks’ New Year’s Eve specials didn’t have such a bang-up showing.

Fox and ABC were down compared with last year while NBC was merely flat. Between the three of them, ratings declined 5 percent in metered market households compared with last year, from an 18.1 rating to a 17.2. Final ratings were not available at press time.

Fox fell the most, averaging a 3.2 household rating, 14 percent off from last year’s 3.7, according to Nielsen ratings from NBC.

ABC’s long-dominant “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” averaged a 9.1 rating, 4 percent off last year’s 9.5.

And “NBC’s New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly” averaged a 4.9, exactly even to last year. But that’s somewhat of a disappointment, as Daly had a huge lead-in from “Sunday Night Football” just before the show started at 11:30 p.m. Last year’s program had nowhere near the cushion.

Last year all three networks were up over the previous year.

One factor behind the dip may be increased competition.

Cable networks like MTV, CNN, Disney and Fox News have all added countdown specials, and other networks scored better-than-average late-night ratings counter-programming with marathons of viewer faves, as TBS did with “Seinfeld.”

Another likely factor: the rise of local First Night community-oriented programs, an alcohol-free entertainment evening now in 107 cities, and a record number of revelers at New Year’s Eve hotspots like Times Square. There may have simply been fewer people at home to watch television.

Too, morbid as it may be to point out, the Dick Clark factor had to play a part. Last year, ABC got a boost when people tuned in to see how the longtime host was faring after his much-publicized stroke. This year, less was said of Clark's health, so the curiosity factor simply wasn't there.

Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended Dec. 31:

Among adults 18-49, NBC tied Fox for the lead with a 2.5 rating and 8 share, followed by ABC at 2.2/6, CBS at 2.1/6, Univision at 1.4/4, CW at 0.8/2, Telemundo and Telefutura tied at 0.3/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0.

Among adults 18-34, Fox and NBC tied at 2.0/7, followed by ABC and Univision tied at 1.6/6, CBS at 1.4./5, CW at 0.8/3, Telemundo at 0.4/1, Telefutura at 0.3/1 and Azteca at 0.0/0.

Among adults 25-54, NBC was the leader with a 3.0 rating, followed by CBS and Fox tied at 2.8, ABC at 2.6, Univision at 1.4, Telefutura and Telemundo at 0.3, and Azteca at 0.0.

Top five (18-49s): 1. NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” 5.3; 2. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 4.7; 3. NBC’s “1 vs. 100” 4.1; 4. CBS’s “CSI” 4.0; 5. Fox’s “House” 3.5

Top five (total viewers): 1. NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” 16.43 million; 2. CBS’s “CSI” 14.03 million; 3. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 13.45 million; 4. CBS’s “NCIS” 11.92 million; 5. NBC’s “1 vs. 100” 11.81 million

Bottom five (18-49s): Tie-82. NBC’s “Football Nt America Pt 2” and CW’s “Smallville” 0.9; Tie-84. ABC’s “Ugly Betty” and CW’s “Reba” 0.8; Tie-86. CW’s “Gilmore Girls” and “Girlfriends X-Mas” 0.7; Tie-88. CW’s “All of Us X-Mas” and “Veronica Mars” and “One Tree Hill” and “Reba” and NBC’s “Top Chef” 0.6; Tie-94. CW’s “Keith Barry Extraordinary” and “7th Heaven” and “Everybody Hates Chris X-Mas” and “The Game X-Mas” 0.5

Bottom five (total viewers): 93. CW’s “One Tree Hill” 1.44 million; 94. CW’s “The Game X-Mas” 1.40 million; 95. CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris X-Mas” 1.38 million; 96. CW’s “Veronica Mars” 1.29 million; 97. CW’s “Keith Barry Extraordinary” 1.09 million

Show on the rise: “Sunday Night Football” NBC, Sunday 8 p.m. The new night of football on NBC averaged 17.5 million viewers this season, rocketing the network’s Sunday lineup up 119 percent from its average for the same period last year. It was also up more than a million over the final season of “Monday Night Football” on ABC last year.

Show on the decline: N/A (nearly all shows were repeats last week).

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Dec. 31

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

FOX

5.7

6310

11

3.3

9280

10

3.8

4940

12

CBS

5.4

6000

10

2.9

8310

9

1.9

2430

6

ABC

4.1

4560

8

2.5

7080

7

2.1

2720

7

NBC

4.7

5280

8

2.7

7670

7

2.5

3310

7

UNI

1.8

1970

3

1.2

3410

3

1.4

1890

4

CW

1.3

1470

2

0.7

2000

2

0.8

990

2

TEL

0.4

480

1

0.3

770

1

0.3

450

1

PAX

0.4

430

1

0.2

570

1

0.1

130

0

TF

0.3

360

1

0.2

600

1

0.3

390

1

AZA

0.1

60

0

0.0

80

0

0.0

50

0

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

 

SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Dec. 31

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

CBS

8.8

9790

14

4.9

13780

12

3.9

5040

10

ABC

8.0

8960

13

4.6

13140

11

4.8

6300

12

NBC

6.4

7110

10

3.5

9920

9

3.6

4680

10

FOX

6.0

6740

10

3.4

9660

8

3.9

5150

10

CW

2.1

2390

3

1.2

3310

3

1.4

1780

4

UNI

1.9

2100

3

1.2

3390

3

1.5

1930

4

TEL

0.5

570

1

0.3

820

1

0.4

490

1

PAX

0.4

470

1

0.2

610

1

0.1

170

0

TF

0.4

410

1

0.2

620

1

0.3

400

1

AZA

0.1

100

0

0.1

140

0

0.1

100

0

* Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 114 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research 

 

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Dec. 31

#

PROGRAMS

Net

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

#

Rtg%

(000)

1

DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON 12/25(S)

NBC

9.0

17

9973

1

5.8

16429

2

CSI

CBS

8.9

15

9941

2

4.9

14027

3

NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC

7.9

15

8778

3

4.7

13445

4

NCIS

CBS

7.2

12

8040

4

4.2

11923

5

CSI: NY

CBS

6.9

12

7700

7

3.8

10681

6

FOX NFL SUNDAY-PST GN-NAT

FOX

6.8

13

7526

6

3.9

11116

7

1 VS 100 12/25(S)

NBC

6.7

13

7456

4

4.2

11811

8

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

6.5

11

7228

8

3.6

10167

8

SHARK

CBS

6.5

11

7218

11

3.4

9745

10

CRIMINAL MINDS THU SP(S)

CBS

6.4

11

7153

9

3.5

9858

10

KENNEDY CENTER HONORS(S)

CBS

6.4

11

7116

9

3.5

10000

12

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

6.0

10

6654

13

3.2

9147

13

CBS NFL REG POST GUN

CBS

5.7

11

6295

14

3.1

8910

13

COLD CASE 12/31(S)

CBS

5.7

11

6300

14

3.1

8794

13

HOUSE

FOX

5.7

10

6387

12

3.3

9247

16

60 MINUTES 12/31(S)

CBS

5.4

10

5972

19

2.9

8184

16

NUMB3RS

CBS

5.4

10

6002

19

2.9

8213

16

WITHOUT A TRACE 12/31(S)

CBS

5.4

11

5960

17

3.0

8516

19

CLOSE TO HOME

CBS

5.3

9

5901

24

2.8

7871

19

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

5.3

9

5950

24

2.8

8005

21

LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT

NBC

5.2

9

5781

19

2.9

8082

22

DATELINE NBC-TUE

NBC

5.1

9

5699

28

2.7

7537

22

PRIMETIME

ABC

5.1

9

5735

28

2.7

7734

22

TWO AND A HALF MEN-WED SP(S)

CBS

5.1

9

5735

19

2.9

8099

25

KING OF QUEENS

CBS

5.0

8

5520

28

2.7

7723

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Dec. 31

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON 12/25(S)

NBC

5.3

6898

2

NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC

4.7

6094

3

FOX NFL SUNDAY-PST GN-NAT

FOX

4.6

5969

4

1 VS 100 12/25(S)

NBC

4.1

5389

5

CSI

CBS

4.0

5176

6

HOUSE

FOX

3.6

4683

7

ABC MONDAY MOVIE-WK(S)

ABC

3.2

4124

7

HOUSE 12/26(B)

FOX

3.2

4151

9

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

3.1

4066

10

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

3.0

3870

10

PRIMETIME

ABC

3.0

3877

10

SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK

NBC

3.0

3961

13

CSI: NY

CBS

2.9

3817

14

CBS NFL REG POST GUN

CBS

2.8

3720

14

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

2.8

3655

14

FOX MOVIE SP-12/28 8P(S)

FOX

2.8

3600

14

HOUSE SP-12/26 8P(S)

FOX

2.8

3693

14

NCIS

CBS

2.8

3625

14

NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN EVE '07(S)

ABC

2.8

3607

20

FEA MAS BELLA WED

UNI

2.7

3498

20

MY NAME IS EARL

NBC

2.7

3572

22

20/20-FRI

ABC

2.6

3458

22

FEA MAS BELLA THU

UNI

2.6

3398

22

OFFICE

NBC

2.6

3411

22

SIMPSONS SP-NY EVE 8P(S)

FOX

2.6

3348

Source: Nielsen Media Research

  

SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Dec. 17

#

 PROGRAMS

Syndicator

Households

US Rtg%

(000)

1

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

KIN

8.6

9586

2

ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON

ESP

8.5

9414

3

JEOPARDY

KIN

6.8

7585

4

OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT)

KIN

6

6655

5

EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN (AT)

KIN

5.3

5917

6

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)

C/P

5.2

5817

7

CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)

KIN

5

5599

8

DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)

KIN

4.7

5241

8

JUDGE JUDY (AT)

C/P

4.7

5203

10

SEINFELD (AT)

SPT

4.6

5069

11

SEINFELD-WKND (AT)

SPT

3.9

4379

12

FRIENDS (AT)

WB

3.8

4224

13

WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND

KIN

3.5

3886

13

KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)

SPT

3.5

3873

15

LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY

BV

3.4

3802

15

MILLIONAIRE (AT)

BV

3.4

3792

15

THAT 70S SHOW-MF-SYN (AT)

2/T

3.4

3761

18

NFL REGULAR SEASON GAME 2

NFL

3.3

3728

18

INSIDE EDITION

KIN

3.3

3696

18

EVBDY LVS RAYMOND-WKD-SYN

KIN

3.3

3668

21

JUDGE JOE BROWN (AT)

C/P

3

3320

22

KING OF QUEENS-WKND (AT)

SPT

2.9

3227

23

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT WKD

C/P

2.7

3059

23

WITHOUT A TRACE (AT)

WB

2.7

3050

25

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (AT)

NBU

2.6

2897

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

 

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED)
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Dec. 31

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+ (000)

1

FEA MAS BELLA M-F

UNI

23.1

5291

2

MUNDO DE FIERAS M-F

UNI

16.4

3522

2

HERIDAS DE AMOR M-F

UNI

16.4

3483

4

DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE

UNI

15.6

3323

5

AQUI Y AHORA-THU

UNI

13.3

2616

6

VER PARA CREER-TUE

UNI

13.1

2334

7

SABADO GIGANTE-SAT

UNI

12.7

2704

8

FELIZ 2007 12/31(S)-12/31/2006

UNI

12.1

3011

9

PREMIO LO NUESTRO 0612/25(S)-12/25/2006

UNI

11.5

2283

10

CASOS FAMILIA ED ESP SAT

UNI

10.6

1922

11

CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI

UNI

10.5

2010

12

CRISTINA-MON

UNI

9.8

1437

13

LATIN GRAMMY 06 12/31(S)-12/31/2006

UNI

9.1

2207

14

VIUDA DE BLANCO M-F

TEL

6.9

1254

15

MARINA M-F

TEL

6.7

1216

16

CHRISTMAS FILM V 12/25(S)-12/25/2006

TEL

4.9

1145

17

CINEMUNDO SP 12/29(S)-12/29/2006

TEL

4.8

982

18

CINEMUNDO SP 12/28(S)-12/28/2006

TEL

4.7

933

19

CHRISTMAS FILM IV 12/25(S)-12/25/2006

TEL

4.6

882

19

AMOR MIO M-F

TEL

4.6

840

21

CINE LAS ESTREL1 M-F

TF

3.9

751

22

CINEMUNDO DEL SABADO

TEL

3.8

663

22

CINE LAS ESTREL1 SUN

TF

3.8

753

24

NEW YEAR EVE FILMII 12/31(S)-12/31/2006

TEL

3.6

771

25

CINEMUNDO SP 12/26(S)-12/26/2006

TEL

3.5

659

* 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 Dec. 31

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+(000)

1

GEORGE LOPEZ-9:00PM(S)-12/27/2006

ABC

5.2

834

2

GEORGE LOPEZ-9:30PM(S)-12/27/2006

ABC

5.1

864

3

DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON 12/25(S)-12/25/2006

NBC

4.6

1068

4

PRIMETIME

ABC

4.5

731

5

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

4.1

828

6

GEORGE LOPEZ-8:30PM(S)-12/27/2006

ABC

4.0

732

7

NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC

3.6

615

8

GEORGE LOPEZ-8:00PM(S)-12/27/2006

ABC

3.4

604

9

UGLY BETTY

ABC

3.2

470

10

GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM

ABC

3.1

532

10

1 VS 100 12/25(S)-12/25/2006

NBC

3.1

652

10

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

3.1

584

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

 

AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Dec. 24

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Rtg

P2+(000)

1

CBS NFL NATL POST GUN

CBS

13.8

2536

2

60 MINUTES 12/24

CBS

10.0

1789

3

CSI: NY

CBS

8.9

1604

4

DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON

NBC

8.8

1558

5

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

8.6

1494

6

SHARK

CBS

8.3

1432

7

CSI

CBS

8.0

1400

8

GIRLFRIENDS

CW

7.9

1404

9

CSI: NY TUESDAY SP

CBS

7.6

1264

10

ALL OF US

CW

7.5

1452

10

GAME, THE

CW

7.5

1341

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Dec. 24

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Episode

Households

US Rtg%

Shr

(000)

1

CBS NFL NATIONAL

CBS

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

12.1

29

13532

2

FOX NFL SUNDAY-SINGLE

FOX

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

9.9

23

11014

3

CBS NFL REGIONAL

CBS

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

6.8

16

7540

4

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

 

2.9

5

3222

5

NCAA BASKETBALL-SAT-2

CBS

OHIO STATE AT FLORIDA

2.3

6

2567

6

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 12/23(S)-12/23/2006

NBC

COUNTRY ON ICE

1.4

4

1568

7

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 12/24B(S)-12/24/2006

NBC

SKATING & GYMNASTICS

1.3

3

1450

8

ALI'S DOZEN(S)-12/23/2006

ABC

 

1.2

3

1312

9

NCAA BASKETBALL-SAT-1

CBS

BC AT KAN/MICH AT UCLA

1.2

3

1359

10

WENDY'S 3-CHALLENGE-12/23(S)-12/23/2006

ABC

 

1.1

3

1198

11

WENDY'S 3-CHALLENGE-12/24(S)-12/24/2006

ABC

 

0.9

2

980

12

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR-SA

CBS

ULTIMATE BLACKJACK TOUR-8

0.9

2

993

13

ALI RAP(S)-12/23/2006

ABC

 

0.8

2

887

14

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 12/24A(S)-12/24/2006

NBC

SNOWBOARDING

0.7

2

743

15

EVERY MOMENT COUNTS(S)-12/24/2006

ABC

 

0.6

1

617

16

WWE - RAW

TEL

 

0.3

1

379

17

SOLO BOXEO DE MILLER

TF

HUERTA V RAMIREZ/RIOS V TAPIA

0.3

1

355

18

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMP

AZA

 

0.1

0

151

19

PELEA JULIO CESAR JR(S)-12/24/2006

AZA

 

0.1

0

121

20

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CH SUN

AZA

 

0.1

0

72

Sou2rce: Nielsen Media Research


 



Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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