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grabs lead from NBC
Condit tell-nothing with Chung turns the trick
By Kevin Downey
For the entire summer, NBC enjoyed a winning streak in the adult 18-49 demo but last week, presaging perhaps the coming of the new television season, the network was abruptly upset by ABC, which took not just 18-49s but all other major demographics.
A big contributor to ABC's win was Connie Chung’s interview with Congressman Gary Condit.
Condit may have shucked and jived his way through the one-on-one, giving up almost no information about his relationship with missing intern Chandra Levy, but the interview was nonetheless a love kiss for both Chung, her career in need of just such a goose, and ABC.
Airing on ABC’s "Primetime Thursday," the interview was watched by an average of 23.7 million people.
That’s about 10 million more than the second-most-watched show of the week, ABC’s Sunday installment of "Millionaire."
And the Condit interview garnered a 7.5, adult 18-49, rating and bettered "Primetime’s" rating from a week earlier by 142 percent.
That pushed ABC to a hearty first place in the 18-49 demo.
ABC averaged a 3.3 rating to NBC’s 2.8, Fox’s 2.7, and CBS’s 2.6. UPN had a 1.3 to the WB’s 1.1.
But ABC also ended the week a full one-and-one-half rating points ahead of second place CBS in households. It had a 6.9 rating and 12 share to CBS’s 5.4/10, NBC’s 5.1/9, and Fox’s 4.0/7. UPN had a 2.2/4 and the WB had a 1.8/3.
For the week, ABC averaged just under 9.7 million viewers. That was two million more than ABC’s closest competitor and 24 percent better than it did the week earlier.
ABC’s performance was not due solely to "Primetime Thursday," though.
Its coverage of the "Little League World Series" ranked No. 40 in adults 18-49 and did even better in total viewers. The game attracted 8.6 million viewers or an audience comparable in size to NBC’s "Weakest Link."
The game ranked No. 23 in viewers and improved on ABC’s "Wonderful World of Disney" from the week before by about 35 percent.
NFL preseason football also did well on ABC.
In its "Monday Night Football" time slot, ABC’s coverage of Denver vs. Green Bay was No. 9 in adults 18-49, with a 4.4 rating. It improved on ABC’s block of "20/20 Downtown" and a movie by nearly 96 percent.
Perhaps the only sour note for ABC last week was its "Wayne Brady Show" that only three weeks ago looked to be a breakout hit for the network.
Last week, the variety show’s rating was down nearly 19 percent from the week before to No. 30, with a 3.0 rating. And the show’s 18-49 rating has tumbled about 39 percent since its premiere earlier this month.
But each of the networks had its share of troubles. Most were burning off repeats and some rebroadcast poorly rated movies in the weeks winding down to the fall season.
Both CBS and NBC, for example, repeated movies that were among the lowest-rated last week.
CBS’s "The Last Don II" ranked No. 77 with a 1.8 rating. NBC’s "Merlin" did marginally better at No. 66 with a 2.2 rating.
Meanwhile, the summer series that have popped up on the networks were a mixed ratings bag.
"Big Brother 2" on CBS continues to perform well. It was bumped on Thursday for preseason football but barely missed a beat with its temporary move to Wednesday. The show fell only two-tenths of a rating point.
Its Tuesday episode was the No. 10 show last week in the 18-49 demo. Its rating was up over 16 percent from the previous week. And the Saturday episode tied for No. 26 and was up 29 percent from its last time on the air.
NBC’s "Downer Channel" was killed off after a few lowly rated weeks and was replaced by a special episode of "Spy TV." That reality show improved its time slot rating by over 66 percent.
UPN’s reality show, "Manhunt," failed to generate much interest following a slew of free publicity stemming from accusations about the show being rigged. Its rating was off 33 percent to a 0.6, and it ranked No. 109 out of 110 primetime programs last week.
The WB’s new series, "Dead Last," showed a bit of staying power with a 1.4, adult 18-49, rating. It was up one-tenth of a point from its premiere and was the network’s second-highest-rated program, outside of specials.
|
PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK |
|||||||||
|
|
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
ADULTS 18-49 |
||||||
|
Net |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
|
ABC |
6.9 |
7000 |
12 |
3.7 |
9660 |
11 |
3.3 |
4050 |
10 |
|
CBS |
5.4 |
5540 |
10 |
2.9 |
7500 |
8 |
2.6 |
3220 |
8 |
|
NBC |
5.1 |
5240 |
9 |
2.7 |
7040 |
8 |
2.8 |
3480 |
9 |
|
FOX |
4.0 |
4080 |
7 |
2.3 |
6110 |
7 |
2.7 |
3360 |
9 |
|
UPN |
2.2 |
2250 |
4 |
1.3 |
3480 |
4 |
1.3 |
1650 |
4 |
|
WB |
1.8 |
1880 |
3 |
1.0 |
2670 |
3 |
1.1 |
1390 |
3 |
|
PAX |
1.1 |
1100 |
2 |
0.6 |
1490 |
2 |
0.4 |
550 |
1 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|||||||||
|
SEASON-TO-DATE |
|||||||||
|
|
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
ADULTS 18-49 |
||||||
|
Net |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
|
CBS |
7.8 |
7960 |
13 |
4.3 |
11230 |
12 |
3.6 |
4420 |
10 |
|
ABC |
7.5 |
7700 |
13 |
4.3 |
11130 |
12 |
3.9 |
4850 |
11 |
|
NBC |
7.3 |
7470 |
12 |
4.1 |
10610 |
11 |
4.4 |
5440 |
12 |
|
FOX |
5.4 |
5560 |
9 |
3.2 |
8460 |
9 |
3.9 |
4840 |
11 |
|
UPN |
2.3 |
2390 |
4 |
1.4 |
3580 |
4 |
1.5 |
1890 |
4 |
|
WB |
2.3 |
2350 |
4 |
1.3 |
3390 |
3 |
1.5 |
1810 |
4 |
|
PAX |
0.9 |
970 |
2 |
0.5 |
1360 |
1 |
0.4 |
460 |
1 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|||||||||
|
NETWORK TV |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
||||
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
# |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1 |
PRIMETIME THURSDAY |
ABC |
17.2 |
29 |
17546 |
1 |
9.1 |
23695 |
|
2 |
60 MINUTES |
CBS |
9.8 |
19 |
9969 |
3 |
5.2 |
13617 |
|
2 |
MILLIONAIRE- THU |
ABC |
9.8 |
16 |
9972 |
4 |
5.1 |
13295 |
|
4 |
MILLIONAIRE- SUN |
ABC |
9.7 |
16 |
9952 |
2 |
5.3 |
13954 |
|
5 |
MILLIONAIRE- TUE |
ABC |
9.5 |
17 |
9714 |
4 |
5.1 |
13481 |
|
6 |
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND |
CBS |
9.0 |
14 |
9195 |
6 |
4.9 |
12956 |
|
7 |
WILL & GRACE |
NBC |
8.5 |
14 |
8644 |
7 |
4.5 |
11864 |
|
8 |
LAW AND ORDER |
NBC |
8.4 |
15 |
8564 |
10 |
4.2 |
11057 |
|
9 |
MILLIONAIRE- FRI |
ABC |
8.2 |
15 |
8423 |
8 |
4.3 |
11230 |
|
10 |
FRIENDS |
NBC |
8.0 |
15 |
8207 |
8 |
4.3 |
11334 |
|
11 |
WILL & GRACE-SP(S) |
NBC |
7.9 |
14 |
8054 |
13 |
4.1 |
10774 |
|
12 |
NFL PRE-SEASON FTBL SP-1(S) (Denver vs Green Bay) |
ABC |
7.6 |
13 |
7744 |
10 |
4.2 |
10927 |
|
13 |
YES, DEAR SPECIAL(S) |
CBS |
7.5 |
12 |
7616 |
10 |
4.2 |
10870 |
|
14 |
JUST SHOOT ME |
NBC |
7.4 |
12 |
7603 |
14 |
3.9 |
10232 |
|
15 |
TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL |
CBS |
7.2 |
12 |
7321 |
15 |
3.7 |
9751 |
|
15 |
WEST WING |
NBC |
7.2 |
12 |
7320 |
16 |
3.6 |
9489 |
|
17 |
20/20-FRI |
ABC |
6.8 |
13 |
6941 |
18 |
3.5 |
9115 |
|
18 |
DATELINE NBC-TUE |
NBC |
6.5 |
12 |
6669 |
22 |
3.3 |
8603 |
|
19 |
DATELINE NBC-MON |
NBC |
6.4 |
11 |
6525 |
25 |
3.2 |
8406 |
|
20 |
BIG BROTHER 2-TUE |
CBS |
6.2 |
10 |
6366 |
16 |
3.6 |
9297 |
|
20 |
WEAKEST LINK |
NBC |
6.2 |
11 |
6304 |
21 |
3.4 |
8805 |
|
22 |
BIG BROTHER 2-WED(S) |
CBS |
6.1 |
11 |
6246 |
18 |
3.5 |
9142 |
|
22 |
FRASIER |
NBC |
6.1 |
10 |
6208 |
22 |
3.3 |
8515 |
|
22 |
PRE-SEASON SHOWCASE- 1(S) |
ABC |
6.1 |
12 |
6223 |
25 |
3.2 |
8311 |
|
25 |
PRACTICE, THE |
ABC |
6.0 |
11 |
6085 |
31 |
3.0 |
7975 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
||||||||
|
CABLE TV |
|||||
| BASIC CABLE | |||||
|
House- |
House- holds |
Persons 2+ |
|||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
Net |
(000) |
Rtg % | (000) |
|
1 |
WWF ENTERTAINMENT |
TNN |
4245 |
4.2 |
6465 |
|
2 |
WWF ENTERTAINMENT |
TNN |
4118 |
4.0 |
6243 |
|
3 |
NFL PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL L |
ESPN |
3601 |
3.5 |
4548 |
|
4 |
PEPSI 400 |
TNT |
3396 |
3.3 |
5363 |
|
5 |
PRIME MOVIE (VOWS OF DECEPTION) |
LIF |
2734 |
2.7 |
3517 |
|
6 |
MOVIE, UPO |
USA |
2589 |
2.5 |
3954 |
|
7 |
PRIME MOVIE (BEFORE HE WAKES) |
LIF |
2546 |
2.5 |
3250 |
|
8 |
WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE |
NICK |
2414 |
2.4 |
3829 |
|
9 |
SUNDAY MOVIE (BURDEN OF PROOF, THE PT. 2) |
LIF |
2342 |
2.3 |
2702 |
|
10 |
NASCAR PREVIEW (RETURN/CABIN BY THE LAKE) |
TNT |
2330 |
2.3 |
3305 |
|
11 |
WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE |
NICK |
2188 |
2.1 |
2922 |
|
12 |
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP |
TNT |
2173 |
2.1 |
2696 |
|
13 |
TARZAN |
DSNY |
2149 |
2.1 |
3729 |
|
14 |
MAJOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL L |
ESPN |
2121 |
2.1 |
3158 |
|
15 |
ANY DAY NOW |
LIF |
2117 |
2.1 |
2586 |
|
PAY CABLE |
|||||
|
House- |
House- holds |
Persons 2+ |
|||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
Net |
(000) |
Rtg % |
(000) |
|
1 |
SIX FEET UNDER |
HBO |
4646 |
4.5 |
7056 |
|
2 |
SIX FEET UNDER |
HBO |
4383 |
4.3 |
6668 |
|
3 |
SOPRANOS, THE |
HBO |
2822 |
2.8 |
4097 |
|
4 |
WHAT LIES BENEATH |
HBO |
2659 |
2.6 |
4342 |
|
5 |
REAL SEX XTRA: SIZE MATTERS |
HBO |
2614 |
2.6 |
3545 |
|
*Coverage area ratings are within each cable network's universe. |
|||||
|
SYNDICATION |
||||
|
Households |
Households |
|||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
Syndicator |
Rtg % | (000) |
|
1 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE |
KIN |
8.2 |
8403 |
|
2 |
JEOPARDY |
KIN |
7.2 |
7356 |
|
3 |
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT) |
KIN |
5.6 |
5742 |
|
4 |
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT) |
PRM |
5.5 |
5621 |
|
4 |
JUDGE JUDY (AT) |
PRM |
5.5 |
5641 |
|
6 |
SEINFELD-WKND |
CTS |
5.3 |
5408 |
|
7 |
FRIENDS-SYN (AT) |
WB |
4.9 |
4963 |
|
8 |
FRASIER-SYN (AT) |
PRM |
4.5 |
4612 |
|
9 |
SEINFELD |
CTS |
4.4 |
4471 |
|
9 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND |
KIN |
4.4 |
4545 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
||||
August 29, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
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