“Six Degrees” bombed earlier this season on Thursdays, and Friday night it returned with a clunk after a four-month hiatus to air its remaining episodes. Though networks are often reluctant to label a show canceled, there’s no doubt this once-promising show will not be back for a second year.
“Degrees” averaged a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights. By comparison, a rerun of “Wife Swap” in the same Friday 9 p.m. timeslot last week averaged a 2.1, 31 percent better than “Degrees” performed.
It placed sixth in its timeslot, behind the CW and even Univision.
ABC once had high hopes for “Degrees.” The drama about New Yorkers with intersecting lives premiered in the highly coveted post-“Grey’s Anatomy” Thursday 10 p.m. slot last fall, but it quickly became apparent that the shows weren’t compatible.
By late October, “Degrees” was still dropping more than half of “Grey’s” lead-in. It had a 4.0 season average when it was yanked during November sweeps.
ABC had not declared the show dead, even though production on it ended months ago, and had promised to air the remaining episodes on low-risk Fridays, where it mostly airs reruns. The fact that a new “Degrees” couldn’t even build on a “Grey’s” rerun at 8 p.m., which averaged a 1.8, seems to confirm that the show is all but officially dead.
There are still several weeks’ worth of unaired episodes yet to air.
Meanwhile, college basketball led CBS to a first-place finish Friday night among English-language broadcast networks as the network averaged a 3.2 rating and a 10 share. NBC was second at 2.1/7, Fox third at 2.0/7, ABC fourth at 1.8/6 and CW fifth at 1.7/6.
Ratings for CBS are approximate as overnights measure timeslot data and not actual program data, and basketball began early and ended late.
CBS led each hour of the night, starting with a 3.0 at 8 p.m. for college basketball. Fox was second that hour with a 2.3 for a repeat of “House,” ABC and NBC tied for third at 1.8, ABC for a repeat of “Grey’s Anatomy” and NBC for “Identity,” and CW fifth with a 1.5 for its first hour of “Friday Night Smackdown.”
At 9 p.m. CBS led again with a 3.6 for basketball, followed by a 2.0 for NBC for the first hour of “Miss USA.” CW moved to third that hour with a 1.8 for the second half of “Smackdown,” with Fox fourth with a 1.7 for “The Wedding Bells” and ABC fifth with a 1.6 for “Degrees.”
CBS led again at 10 p.m. with a 3.1 for basketball, with NBC second with a 2.5 for the second half of “Miss USA” and ABC third with a 2.2 for “20/20.”
Among households, CBS led the night with a 6.2 average rating and an 11 share. NBC was second at 4.7/8, Fox third at 4.3/8, ABC fourth at 4.0/7 and CW fifth at 2.9/5.
As usual, things slowed down on Saturday night as CBS led among 18-49s with a 2.6 average rating and a 9 share. Fox was second at 1.9/7, NBC third at 1.7/6 and ABC fourth at 1.3/5. CBS ratings were again approximate due to live basketball coverage.
At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 2.9 for more coverage of NCAA basketball. Fox was second with a 1.8 for an hour of “Cops,” NBC third with a 1.5 for “Dateline” and ABC fourth with a 0.7 for “Celebrity Debut.”
CBS led again at 9 p.m., this time with a 2.5 rating for the end of its basketball coverage and a half hour of “48 Hours Mystery.” Fox was second with a 2.1 for “America’s Most Wanted,” NBC third with a 1.7 for a repeat of “Law & Order” and ABC fourth with a 1.3 for the first hour of the movie “Coyote Ugly.”
At 10 p.m. CBS led once again, this time with a 2.3 for “48 Hours Mystery.” NBC was second with a 2.0 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and ABC third with a 1.9 for the second half of “Coyote Ugly.”
CBS led the night among households with a 5.5 average rating and a 10 share, followed by NBC at 4.7/9, Fox at 3.7/7 and ABC at 2.5/5.
