Media Life Magazine

The first edition of NBC’s fully revamped Sunday drew disappointing numbers last week, the week ended Jan. 14, airing against very tough competition. Should ratings fail to perk up in following weeks, the network will have to make changes or risk losing all the gains spurred by “Sunday Night Football” through the fall

No one expected the new Sunday night to come close to equaling the 4.9 adults 18-49 rating NBC averaged with “SNF.” But even with those lowered expectations, the most recent Sunday was bad. NBC averaged a 2.5 rating, a full 2 points behind No. 3 ABC, and didn’t have a show above a 3.0 rating.

That came against unusually tough competition with the season premiere of Fox’s “24,” and the competition won’t lighten for the next few weeks, either, with the AFC Championship game and Super Bowl upcoming on CBS, as well as new episodes of ABC’s hit lineup and Fox’s strong cartoon comedies.

What hurt NBC perhaps even more than “24,” which usually airs Monday, was a lineup without a strong anchor that put too much faith in former hits.

“The Apprentice” and “Crossing Jordan,” both now in their sixth seasons, posted series-low numbers. “Apprentice,” which airs at 9 p.m. opposite ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” averaged a 2.8 in adults 18-49, down 32 percent from the 4.1 it averaged in its premiere the week before.

At 10 p.m., “Jordan’s” season premiere averaged a 2.2, last in its timeslot and down 41 percent from last year’s 3.7 season debut.

NBC likely misjudged “Apprentice’s” staying power. The network thought that by scheduling only one run of the show this year and adding some twists to the game “Apprentice” could at least hold last year’s 4.0 average. But without a strong lead-in, like it had with “Deal or No Deal” last year, “Apprentice” wilted.

Meanwhile, NBC decided to delay “Jordan’s” premiere till midseason after seeing success with the same ploy a few years ago. Now, however, the show faces stronger competition from ABC and CBS in the timeslot, and viewers may have been angry that NBC waited eight months to resolve May’s cliffhanger, prompting them to move on.

Top five (18-49s): 1. “Tostitos BCS Natl Champ” (Fox) 10.6; 2. “Fox NFC Playoff-Sat” (Fox) 10.5; 3. “Grey's Anatomy-Thu” 9pm (ABC) 9.3; 4. “House” (Fox) 7.2; 5. “Desperate Housewives” (ABC) 6.8

Top five (total viewers): 1. “Tostitos BCS Natl Champ” (Fox) 28.8 million; 2. “Fox NFC Playoff-Sat” (Fox) 27.44 million; 3. “Grey's Anatomy-Thu” 9pm (ABC) 23.03 million; 4. “House” (Fox) 17.78 million; 5. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 17.47 million

Bottom five (18-49s): 99. “All Of Us” (CW) 0.8, “Girlfriends” (CW) 0.8; 101. “Beauty And The Geek-Enc” (CW) 0.7, “The Game” (CW) 0.7; 103. “Veronica Mars” (CW) 0.6

Bottom five (total viewers): 99. “All Of Us” (CW) 2.11 million; 100. “Girlfriends” (CW) 1.8 million; 101. “Beauty And The Geek-Enc” (CW) 1.72 million; 102. “The Game” (CW) 1.53 million; 103. “Veronica Mars” (CW) 1.48 million

Show on the rise: “La Fea Mas Bella” Univision, Monday – Friday 8 p.m. The telenovela had the best week among total viewers for any 8 p.m. Univision show since “Rubi” in February 2005.

Show on the decline: “Desperate Housewives,” ABC, Sunday 9 p.m. The hit show posted its lowest rating of the season, a 6.8 in 18-49s, against the premiere of Fox’s “24.”

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households Week Ending Jan. 14
Network	Households			People 2+			Adults 18-49
Network	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr
FOX	9.1	10180	14	5.4	15270	13	5.8	7570	15
CBS	8.3	9200	13	4.5	12840	11	3.9	5120	10
ABC	5.7	6380	9	3.1	8740	8	3.1	4080	8
NBC	5.5	6120	9	3.0	8440	7	2.9	3750	7
UNI	2.1	2310	3	1.4	3890	3	1.6	2130	4
CW	1.9	2120	3	1.0	2870	2	1.2	1510	3
PAX	0.5	590	1	0.3	790	1	0.2	220	0
TEL	0.5	570	1	0.3	840	1	0.4	510	1
TF	0.4	400	1	0.2	620	1	0.3	400	1
AZA	0.1	80	0	0.0	120	0	0.0	60	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 Jan. 14
Network	Households			People 2+			Adults 18-49
Network	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr
CBS	7.9	8770	13	4.3	12310	11	3.7	4770	10
ABC	6.6	7370	11	3.6	10280	9	3.6	4700	10
NBC	6.4	7120	10	3.5	9940	9	3.6	4670	10
FOX	5.4	6010	9	3.0	8510	8	3.2	4140	9
CW	2.1	2360	3	1.2	3270	3	1.3	1760	4
UNI	1.9	2120	3	1.2	3440	3	1.5	1940	4
TEL	0.5	570	1	0.3	830	1	0.4	500	1
PAX	0.4	480	1	0.2	630	1	0.1	170	0
TF	0.4	410	1	0.2	620	1	0.3	400	1
AZA	0.1	90	0	0.0	140	0	0.1	90	0
* Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 114 million homes Source: Nielsen Media Research

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Ranked on Households Week Ending Jan. 14
#	PROGRAMS	Net	HOUSEHOLDS			PERSONS 2+
#	PROGRAMS	Net	Rtg%	Shr	(000)	#	Rtg%	(000)
1	TOSTITOS BCS NATL CHAMP(S)	FOX	17.4	27	19378	1	10.2	28795
2	FOX NFC PLAYOFF-SAT(S)	FOX	16.3	27	18116	2	9.7	27440
3	AFC DIV-PLF-POST-GAME-SU(S)	CBS	15.0	23	16670	3	8.7	24640
4	GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM	ABC	14.7	22	16326	4	8.1	23032
5	60 MINUTES	CBS	11.2	16	12488	6	6.2	17466
6	CSI: MIAMI	CBS	10.7	17	11875	8	5.6	16011
7	DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES	ABC	10.6	15	11797	7	5.9	16757
8	HOUSE	FOX	10.4	16	11535	5	6.3	17781
9	LAW AND ORDER:SVU	NBC	9.7	16	10855	11	5.1	14405
10	TWO AND A HALF MEN	CBS	9.6	14	10668	10	5.2	14776
11	COLD CASE	CBS	9.3	14	10416	11	5.1	14528
12	UGLY BETTY	ABC	9.0	14	10042	14	4.8	13487
13	DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON	NBC	8.9	13	9932	13	5.0	14064
14	24 PRVW SP-1/14 8P(S)	FOX	8.8	13	9764	8	5.6	15794
15	WITHOUT A TRACE	CBS	8.6	15	9619	15	4.7	13392
16	BROTHERS & SISTERS	ABC	8.2	13	9176	17	4.3	12320
17	E.R.	NBC	8.1	13	8997	17	4.3	12185
17	LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT	NBC	8.1	12	9007	20	4.2	11781
19	NCIS	CBS	8.0	12	8965	16	4.5	12844
19	OLD CHRISTINE	CBS	8.0	12	8919	17	4.3	12079
21	CSI	CBS	7.9	12	8787	20	4.2	12028
22	PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS(S)	CBS	7.6	12	8461	23	4.0	11329
23	NUMB3RS	CBS	7.4	13	8279	22	4.1	11577
24	CRIMINAL MINDS	CBS	7.2	11	8046	24	3.8	10845
25	CLOSE TO HOME	CBS	6.8	11	7565	27	3.7	10375
25	DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED	NBC	6.8	10	7554	27	3.7	10419
25	SHARK	CBS	6.8	11	7598	30	3.6	10203
Source: Nielsen Media Research

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49 Week Ending Jan. 14
Rank	Program	Net	Rtg%	(000)
1	TOSTITOS BCS NATL CHAMP(S)	FOX	10.6	13797
2	FOX NFC PLAYOFF-SAT(S)	FOX	10.5	13650
3	GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM	ABC	9.3	12199
4	AFC DIV-PLF-POST-GAME-SU(S)	CBS	8.7	11385
5	HOUSE	FOX	7.2	9423
6	DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES	ABC	6.8	8862
7	24 PRVW SP-1/14 8P(S)	FOX	6.1	7946
8	CSI: MIAMI	CBS	5.2	6746
9	E.R.	NBC	5.1	6614
10	LAW AND ORDER:SVU	NBC	5.0	6474
10	OFFICE	NBC	5.0	6470
12	60 MINUTES	CBS	4.9	6355
13	BROTHERS & SISTERS	ABC	4.8	6214
14	TWO AND A HALF MEN	CBS	4.7	6198
15	MY NAME IS EARL	NBC	4.6	6069
16	UGLY BETTY	ABC	4.4	5755
17	OLD CHRISTINE	CBS	4.1	5324
18	EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.	ABC	4.0	5243
18	WITHOUT A TRACE	CBS	4.0	5174
20	COLD CASE	CBS	3.9	5055
20	DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON	NBC	3.9	5155
20	SCRUBS	NBC	3.9	5134
23	HOUSE SP-1/9 8P(S)	FOX	3.7	4869
24	CSI	CBS	3.5	4542
24	DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED	NBC	3.5	4521
24	PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS(S)	CBS	3.5	4615
Source: Nielsen Media Research

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED) Ranked on Households Week Ending Jan. 14
#	PROGRAMS	Net	NHTI	P2+ (000)
1	FEA MAS BELLA M-F	UNI	24.4	5563
2	HERIDAS DE AMOR M-F	UNI	19.3	4076
3	MUNDO DE FIERAS M-F	UNI	17.6	3640
4	BAILANDO BODA SUENOS SUN	UNI	14.9	3328
5	CRISTINA-MON	UNI	14.5	2859
6	DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE	UNI	13.7	2536
7	AQUI Y AHORA-THU	UNI	13.0	2323
8	CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI	UNI	12.9	2583
9	HORA PICO-SUN	UNI	12.5	2711
10	SABADO GIGANTE-SAT	UNI	11.8	2531
11	LO Q NO VIO P. FURIA 1/9(S)-01/09/2007	UNI	11.0	2195
12	CASOS FAMILIA ED ESP SAT	UNI	9.4	1938
13	VIUDA DE BLANCO M-F	TEL	7.2	1172
14	MARINA M-F	TEL	7.1	1234
15	CINE LAS ESTREL1 SUN	TF	6.2	1335
16	CINE LAS ESTREL2 SUN	TF	4.7	1116
17	CINEMUNDO DEL SABADO	TEL	4.3	821
17	AMOR MIO M-F	TEL	4.3	883
19	DECISIONES M-F	TEL	4.2	796
19	CINE LAS ESTREL1 SAT	TF	4.2	884
21	CINEMUNDO PREMIER	TEL	4.1	740
22	VAS O NO VAS	TEL	3.7	715
22	CINEMUNDO PREMIER II	TEL	3.7	665
24	CINE LAS ESTREL1 M-THU	TF	3.6	689
25	ASI ES LA VIDA M-F	TF	3.2	601
* 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 Jan. 14
#	PROGRAMS	Net	NHTI	P2+(000)
1	GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM	ABC	7.3	1138
2	AFC DIV-PLF-POST-GAME-SU(S)-01/14/2007	CBS	6.7	1104
3	FOX NFC PLAYOFF-SAT(S)-01/13/2007	FOX	6.5	1184
4	DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES	ABC	5.7	1097
5	TOSTITOS BCS NATL CHAMP(S)-01/08/2007	FOX	5.3	869
6	UGLY BETTY	ABC	5.1	788
7	FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN	CW	4.9	969
8	EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED.	ABC	4.8	966
9	TWO AND A HALF MEN	CBS	4.3	748
10	LAW AND ORDER:SVU	NBC	3.9	739
* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 11.63 million Hispanic TV homes. Source: Nielsen Media Research