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ABC’s “The Wayne Brady Show” slipped a little last night from its debut one week ago, dropping 16 percent in its preliminary household rating and 25 percent in its adult 18-49 rating. But the variety program still won the 8:30 p.m. timeslot among adults 18-49 and tied CBS’s “60 Minutes II” in households. ABC won the first three half-hours of the night among adults 18-49 with “My Wife and Kids,” “Wayne Brady” and “Drew Carey,” but NBC carried the demographic for the night, winning the last three half-hours with “The West Wing” and “Law and Order.” NBC also won the night in households. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Wednesday night were: NBC 6.3/11 and 3.2, CBS 5.5/10 and 2.0, ABC 5.3/10 and 3.0, and Fox 3.5/6 and 2.4. On Tuesday, unscripted series led the way for all the Big Three networks, as ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” won at 8 p.m., CBS’s “Big Brother 2” won at 9 p.m., and NBC’s “Dateline” won at 10 p.m. Fox’s lackluster reality series, “Murder in Small Town X,” finished a distant fourth in the 9 p.m. hour. ABC won the night in households, and ABC and NBC tied for a win among adults 18-49. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and adult 18-49 rating for Tuesday night: ABC 6.7/12 and 2.9, NBC 5.3/9 and 2.9, CBS 5.2/9 and 2.6, and Fox 3.6/6 and 2.5.
'Big Bro 2' finale pitted against 'Friends' premiere
Well, it’s one way to guarantee that "Big Brother" won’t have a third incarnation. CBS has scheduled the series finale of "Big Brother 2" for 8 p.m. on Sept. 20, or for the same time and date as the season premiere of NBC’s "Friends." Last year’s Friday night finale of the reality series garnered 11 million viewers and scored a 7.2/14 household rating and share and a 4.7 rating among adults 18-49. That’s about the same household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating as last week’s repeat episode of "Friends." To be fair, last year’s "Big Brother" faced off against the Olympics, but last week’s "Friends" was an un-hyped rerun in the middle of August. If it’s any consolation, "Big Brother" won’t be alone in battling NBC’s Must-See TV debut. CBS’s "CSI" and the rookie drama "The Agency" will also bow that same night.
'Miss America Pageant' adopting 'Survivor' tactics
You know you've made an impact on popular culture when the staid "Miss America Pageant" adopts your approach. This year the 81-year-old pageant, which airs Sept. 22 on ABC, will incorporate elements of ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and CBS's "Survivor" in choosing the winning contestant. The contestants who don't make the top-10 will now vote for their favorite finalist, much as losing "Survivor" contestants help pick that show's winner. These votes won't be worth as much, though, as their votes will be added to the judges' scores. The last five finalists will be asked questions on current events, American history and U.S. government. To avoid the possibility of no one winning, a wrong final answer will not disqualify the contestant, only deduct from her final score. Pageant officials are hoping the added reality components will reverse the annual show's sliding viewership numbers.
MTV: Um, no, 'Jackass' is still on, really
While Johnny Knoxville has made it clear he's outta there, MTV isn't ready to throw "Jackass" on the dustheap of dead TV shows. The network insists not all hope is lost. "There's still ongoing discussion about new episodes of 'Jackass' with the original players as they are," an MTV spokeswoman tells the Hollywood Reporter. Knoxville, real name P.J. Clapp, told the Knoxville News-Sentinel last Friday that he wanted to end "Jackass" while it was still fresh and audiences weren't completely desensitized to the antics. But he is only one of three producers for the show, which also includes Spike Jonze, a director of skateboarding and music videos, as well as the feature film "Being John Malkovich"; and Jeff Tremaine, a former editor of skateboarding magazine Big Brother. Any decision on the future of the show will likely flow from those two. All three are also partners in their own production company. MTV will continue to rerun all 24 episodes, after some editing for content. "The most objectionable things will be taken out," Knoxville says of the edits. "All the funny things will be gone." Knoxville still intends to film specials of "Jackass" in the future.
NAACP revives network boycott threats
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is threatening to boycott the broadcast networks for what it terms a lack of minority representation on TV programs and in decision-making roles. Each of the major networks agreed in 1999 to increase the number of minorities both in front of and behind the camera. But the NAACP says the networks are moving too slowly in making improvements. The group is also threatening to boycott advertisers who support the networks. And the NAACP may single out one of the networks for what is being called a massive boycott. Most of the networks have acknowledged that more needs to be done to improve diversity at the networks. But most have also pointed to an increased number of minority roles on their shows. NBC, for example, reportedly has increased the number of minorities by 12 percent while the number has gone up 40 percent on ABC.
August 16, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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