medialifemagazine.com
In '5th Grader,' Fox joins the big boys
By Diego Vasquez
Mar 8, 2007, 01:00
A lot has been written about Fox’s new hit show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?,” which became the network’s most-watched debut ever last week and held the biggest proportion of “American Idol’s” adults 18-49 lead-in ever.
But perhaps the most remarkable thing about the new show, which airs tonight at 9 p.m. after a one-week layoff, is that it did something that has long seemed impossible, bettering “Idol’s” lead-in numbers in a demographic.
“Smarter” outdrew “Idol” last week in teens 12-17 on both Tuesday and Thursday. It shot from a 7.9 for “Idol” to an 8.8 on Tuesday, growth of 11 percent, and from a 7.2 to an 8.5 on Thursday, a growth of 18 percent.
“Smarter” held two of the top three spots on broadcast last week among teens, and it faces little competition tonight, with CBS and ABC in reruns and NBC’s sitcom lineup skewing much older.
All this is important because next week “Smarter” will be leading off Thursday nights at 8 p.m. with no “Idol” support, as that show shrinks back to its usual Tuesday-Wednesday schedule. “Smarter” will face CBS’s men’s NCAA tournament coverage as well as ABC’s “Ugly Betty” on a night where Fox has struggled for years.
“Smarter’s” high initial ratings and growth in the teen demographics suggest viewers will still seek it out even when “Idol’s” not airing ahead of it. If so, that will make already hotly contested Thursday night, where ABC, CBS and NBC are all competitive, even tighter.
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A look at this week’s top TV draws |
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THURSDAY, MARCH 8 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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7 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
"College Basketball" (S) |
Tonight the ACC tournament kicks off. |
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8 p.m. |
Fox |
"American Idol" (R) |
Two males and two females are eliminated, revealing this year's 12 finalists. |
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9 p.m. |
NBC |
"Scrubs" (C) |
Mean old Dr. Cox tells Carla her jokes just aren't that funny. |
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9 p.m. |
Fox |
"Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" (G) |
Will Fox's new game continue to deliver? Does that make Jeff Foxworthy the new Howie Mandel? |
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9 p.m. |
History Channel |
"Last Stand of the 300" (N) |
A look at a 480 B.C. battle in which 300 Spartans held off a slew of Persians. |
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10 p.m. |
MTV |
"Juvies" (R) |
Season finale. A 15-year-old is stuck in the middle of a custody battle. |
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10 p.m. |
National Geographic Channel |
"Man-Made" (N) |
Series premiere. First episode looks at all that goes into making a seemingly simple tin can. |
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FRIDAY, MARCH 9 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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7 a.m. |
NBC |
"Today" (N) |
Authors Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir guest. |
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7 p.m. |
ESPN |
"College Basketball" (S) |
The first of two Big East tournament semifinals. |
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8 p.m. |
CW |
"Friday Night Smackdown" (S) |
Can WWE continue helping its network grow? |
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9 p.m. |
CBS |
"Close to Home" (D) |
Preach much? Annabeth and Conlon argue over the death penalty. |
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9 p.m. |
NBC |
"Las Vegas" (D) |
Season finale. Danny tries to help a friend from being sent back to Iraq. |
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10 p.m. |
CBS |
"Numb3rs" (D) |
A stats-geek friend of Charlie's is scared she'll be the next to be murdered. |
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SATURDAY, MARCH 10 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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11:30 a.m. |
CBS |
"College Basketball" (S) |
Championship game from the Conference USA men's basketball tournament. |
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3 p.m. |
ABC |
"NASCAR Racing" (S) |
The Busch Series Sam's Town 300, live from Las Vegas. |
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6 p.m. |
CBS |
"College Basketball" (S) |
Final game of the Pac-10 basketball tournament, live from Los Angeles. |
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8 p.m. |
Fox |
"Cops" (R) |
Cops in Boise, of all places, find a lost boy just lying in the road. |
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9 p.m. |
ESPN |
"College Basketball" (S) |
Title game of the Big East men's basketball tournament from Madison Square Garden. |
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10 p.m. |
HBO |
"Boxing" (S) |
Wladimir Klitschko defends his heavyweight title against Ray Austin. |
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SUNDAY, MARCH 11 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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1 p.m. |
CBS |
"College Basketball" (S) |
SEC conference tournament title game from Atlanta. |
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1 p.m. |
ESPN |
"College Basketball" (S) |
ACC conference title game, live from Tampa. |
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3:30 p.m. |
CBS |
"College Basketball" (S) |
Championship game of the Big Ten Conference tournament, from United Center in Chicago. |
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3:30 p.m. |
ABC |
"NBA Basketball" (S) |
Not into college ball? Then check out either Orlando-Houston or Denver-Sacramento. |
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6 p.m. |
CBS |
"NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show" (S) |
After all the talk, the field of 65 is finally unveiled. |
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8 p.m. |
Fox |
"The Simpsons" (C) |
Grandpa Simpson and Selma have a romance. Eww. |
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10 p.m. |
CBS |
"Without a Trace" (D) |
A female U.S. senator from New York (sound like anyone you know?) disappears, and her former chief of staff is investigated. |
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A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show. |
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