'It
 will be a battle but NBC will hold up because the other networks are only piece-mealing together schedules to hurt NBC. Survivor may hurt NBC on Thursday night but Friends will hold up. I can’t see NBC losing its
 lead.'



NBC's easing grip
on the 18-49 demo

ABC and Fox climb. What will midseason bring?
   
By Kevin Downey

   Few things about this season have seemed certain.
    But if you were down to your last dollar a good bet was that NBC would take the adult 18-49 demo by season’s end.
    That bet now appears far less sure.
    Blame two forces: football, which has boosted ratings for ABC and Fox, and a stretch of NBC repeats, which performed poorly to abysmally for the Peacock network through the holidays.
   Last week the network came in an unheard of third place in the demo, and as the year 2000 wrapped up ABC had inched within two-tenths of a rating point of the No. 1 spot for the season. Fox inched up to within five-tenths of a rating point.
   NBC has a 4.9 so far, which is down 6 percent compared to last year, to ABC’s 4.7, Fox’s 4.4, and CBS’s 3.6.
    But one certainty is that the second half of the season is quite literally a whole different ball game and NBC is, again, sitting pretty.
    For one thing, ABC’s strong "Monday Night Football," which ranked No. 3 behind two episodes of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" last week, will be gone by the end of the month. With only its older-skewing "Millionaire" to hold up ratings, ABC will most likely slip further.
   A wild card for ABC will be "The Mole," which premieres next week. Despite much hype, its success is hardly assured, considering the other failed attempts by ABC to build on the reality fad.
    Fox too will lose football. And though the network has gone far to improve its ratings, it has no big strategies coming in the second half of the season to make further inroads to NBC’s lead.
    Moreover, NBC is likely to counteract much of any adult 18-49 ratings loss with Vince McMahon’s extreme football league.
   The XFL will premiere on the network, as it will on UPN and TNN, in February. NBC’s current movie on Saturday does little to attract younger viewers, but buxomy cheerleaders and a whole lot of head-banging should draw in the young, especially if McMahon’s successful WWF franchise is any indication.
   Roy Rothstein, national broadcast director at Zenith Media, says NBC’s lead in key demos is safe.
    "It will be a battle but NBC will hold up because the other networks are only piece-mealing together schedules to hurt NBC."
    He says the biggest threat to its lead is CBS’s "Survivor II," which premieres against NBC’s "must-see" Thursday next month. He says, however, that the reality show will not do as much damage as CBS probably thinks.
   "’Survivor’ may hurt NBC on Thursday night but ‘Friends’ will hold up. I can’t see NBC losing its lead."
   So, what about CBS?
   The network, which has been mired in last place among the demo, does have the "Super Bowl" and its second installment of "Survivor" to work with, and neither will prove insignificant when it comes to drawing young viewers.
     But in terms of pulling itself up from a distant fourth place among adults 18-49, it’s unlikely. That’s because the "Super Bowl" is a one-shot deal and "SII" is one kid in a sea of blue-haired ladies.
    Last week’s ratings, while unusual because of the holidays, put CBS’s problem into perspective.
    The network scored a 2.6 adult 18-49 rating to ABC’s 4.5, Fox’s 3.7, and NBC’s 3.5. UPN, meanwhile, had a 1.3 to The WB’s 1.1.
    Among households, ABC won with a 7.3 rating and 13 share. CBS was No. 2 with a 6.5/12, NBC had a 6.0/11, and Fox had a 5.1/9. UPN had a 1.9/3 and The WB had a 1.8/3.
     For the season, household ratings are tighter with ABC winning so far with an 8.7/14. CBS and NBC are tied at 8.3/13, while Fox has a 6.4/10, and UPN and The WB are tied at 2.7/4.

 

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
Week Ending Dec.31

 

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

ADULTS 18-49

 

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

ABC

7.3

7460

13

4.5

11740

12

4.5

5640

13

CBS

6.5

6690

12

3.6

9400

10

2.6

3220

7

NBC

6.0

6120

11

3.4

8870

9

3.5

4390

10

FOX

5.1

5180

9

3.3

8570

9

3.7

4590

11

UPN

1.9

1940

3

1.2

3120

3

1.3

1610

4

WB

1.8

1850

3

1.1

2820

3

1.1

1410

3

PAX

0.9

930

2

0.5

1380

1

0.4

450

1

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

SEASON-TO-DATE
 PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
Oct. 2 through Dec. 31

 

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

ADULTS 18-49

 

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

ABC

8.7

8870

14

5.0

13040

13

4.7

5810

12

NBC

8.3

8440

13

4.6

12120

12

4.9

6140

13

CBS

8.3

8440

13

4.5

11840

12

3.6

4510

10

FOX

6.4

6510

10

3.8

9850

10

4.4

5440

12

WB

2.7

2800

4

1.6

4060

4

1.8

2180

5

UPN

2.7

2730

4

1.6

4090

4

1.7

2170

5

PAX

0.9

940

2

0.5

1310

1

0.4

440

1

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

NETWORK TV
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
Week Ending Dec. 31

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Rtg
%

Shr

(000)

#

Rtg
%

(000)

1

MILLNAIRE
TUE

ABC

12.1

20

12340

1

7.2

18944

2

MILLNAIRE
WED

ABC

11.8

20

12100

2

6.8

17879

3

NFL MON NIGHT FOOTBALL (Dallas vs Tenn.)

ABC

11.0

22

11193

3

6.6

17293

4

FRIENDS

NBC

10.5

18

10760

4

6.3

16419

5

FOX NFC WILDCARD POST GME(S) (Tampa vs Phila)

FOX

10.2

19

10466

5

6.2

16232

6

LAW & ORDER

NBC

9.9

17

10167

7

5.4

14257

7

MILLNAIRE
THU

ABC

9.4

15

9622

6

5.6

14563

8

E.R.

NBC

9.2

16

9438

11

5.1

13398

9

WILL 
& GRACE

NBC

9.0

14

9215

9

5.2

13518

10

WEST WING

NBC

8.7

14

8871

13

4.9

12731

11

NFL MON SHOWCASE

ABC

8.6

17

8743

9

5.2

13668

12

60 MINS
 SPEC(S)

CBS

8.4

16

8594

21

4.4

11604

13

EVERYBDY LOVES 
RAYMND

CBS

8.3

16

8513

11

5.1

13335

14

DRW CAREY 

ABC

8.2

13

8369

15

4.8

12636

15

MILNAIRE
SUN 
SP-12/31

ABC

8.1

16

8300

8

5.3

13755

16

BECKER -
SPECIAL(S)

CBS

8.0

15

8178

15

4.8

12518

16

CSI

CBS

8.0

14

8188

19

4.5

11783

16

WEBER SHOW

NBC

8.0

13

8159

17

4.7

12219

19

DHARMA
 & GREG

ABC

7.9

13

8030

17

4.7

12347

19

SHOOT ME

NBC

7.9

13

8053

24

4.2

11125

21

DISTRICT

CBS

7.8

14

7952

19

4.5

11708

22

LAW AND 
ORDER:
SVU

NBC

7.7

14

7908

24

4.2

11098

23

JAG

CBS

7.5

13

7635

24

4.2

10904

24

ABC SAT.
 NIGHT 
MOVIE
 ("Jack")

ABC

7.4

13

7579

13

4.9

12876

25

48 HOURS 
SPECIAL(S)

CBS

7.3

12

7485

34

3.8

9910

25

DIAGNOSIS MURDER

CBS

7.3

12

7492

44

3.7

9575

25

FRASIER

NBC

7.3

12

7480

24

4.2

11030

28

48 HOURS

CBS

7.2

12

7344

34

3.8

10039

28

DATELINE 
FRI

NBC

7.2

12

7379

34

3.8

10006

30

60 MINS II

CBS

7.1

12

7294

34

3.8

9946

30

PRIMETIME 
THURS

ABC

7.1

12

7209

28

4.1

10855

30

PRVIDENCE

NBC

7.1

13

7219

44

3.7

9559

33

TOUCHED
BY ANGEL-
SPC(S)

CBS

7.0

13

7122

44

3.7

9610

34

JUDGING AMY

CBS

6.9

12

7098

34

3.8

9930

35

20/20-FRI

ABC

6.8

12

6979

34

3.8

9832

35

DATELINE NBC
TUE

NBC

6.8

12

6980

34

3.8

10051

37

BEST OF
WHOSE
LINE 
ANYWAY

ABC

6.7

12

6866

22

4.3

11312

38

GNA DAVIS

ABC

6.5

11

6671

29

4.0

10366

38

WHOSE LINE ANYWAY
8:30PM

ABC

6.5

11

6613

29

4.0

10552

40

COPS 2

FOX

6.4

11

6548

32

3.9

10309

40

ED

NBC

6.4

11

6499

48

3.6

9553

40

KENNEDY CENTER HONORS(S)

CBS

6.4

11

6567

50

3.5

9107

43

EVERYBDY LVES RAY

CBS

6.3

12

6423

34

3.8

10006

43

NASH BRIDGES

CBS

6.3

11

6463

34

3.8

9966

43

SPIN CITY

ABC

6.3

10

6388

34

3.8

9946

46

NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN EVE '01

ABC

6.2

13

6326

22

4.3

11317

47

AMW: AMER. FIGHTS 
BACK

FOX

6.1

10

6224

44

3.7

9758

48

WALKER, TEX. RNGR

CBS

6.0

10

6088

50

3.5

9203

49

DAG

NBC

5.8

10

5906

53

3.4

8830

49

FAMILY LAW - SPECIAL(S)

CBS

5.8

11

5960

62

3.1

8072

49

FOX MOVIE SPECIAL(S) ("Dragon-
heart")

FOX

5.8

10

5943

32

3.9

10097

49

WHOSE LINE  ANYWAY?

ABC

5.8

10

5894

53

3.4

8991

53

COPS

FOX

5.7

10

5818

53

3.4

9031

54

20/20
DOWNTOWN SPL-12/25(S)

ABC

5.5

12

5644

59

3.2

8372

54

DATELINE SUN-8PM
-SP(S)

NBC

5.5

11

5650

66

3.0

7966

54

SIMPSONS 
NEW YR'S 
EVE SPC

FOX

5.5

11

5658

29

4.0

10416

57

KNG OF HILL
 NY EVE SP(S)

FOX

5.4

10

5468

50

3.5

9262

58

 '70S SHOW

FOX

5.3

9

5459

53

3.4

8993

58

WHOSE LINE 
ANYWAY 2
12/30

ABC

5.3

10

5425

58

3.3

8723

60

FUGITIVE

CBS

5.2

9

5364

69

2.9

7472

61

CBS SUN MOVIE ("Time-
piece")

CBS

5.1

10

5222

72

2.7

7044

61

FOX THURS NIGHT MOVIE ("Jumanji")

FOX

5.1

8

5184

48

3.6

9333

61

WHOSE LINE
ANYWAY 1
12/30

ABC

5.1

9

5216

59

3.2

8479

64

BETTE

CBS

5.0

8

5084

77

2.6

6793

64

CHARLIE BROWN 
Xmas(S)

CBS

5.0

11

5150

59

3.2

8432

64

NBC SUN NIGHT MOVIE
 ("While U 
Were Slping")

NBC

5.0

10

5126

66

3.0

7841

67

ALL-STAR BLOOPERS

ABC

4.9

9

5025

62

3.1

8004

67

WHOSE LINE
ANYWAY 2
12/29

ABC

4.9

8

4974

66

3.0

7813

69

3RD ROCK 
FRM  SUN

NBC

4.7

8

4815

77

2.6

6912

69

GIDEON'S
 XING

ABC

4.7

8

4792

72

2.7

6992

71

MALCOLM
NW
YR'S EVE 

FOX

4.6

9

4671

53

3.4

8810

71

THAT'S LIFE

CBS

4.6

8

4746

81

2.4

6383

71

TWO GUYS 
AND GIRL

ABC

4.6

8

4729

72

2.7

6949

71

WHSE LINE 
ANYWAY 1
12/29

ABC

4.6

8

4731

62

3.1

8097

75

DRK ANGL

FOX

4.5

8

4585

72

2.7

7051

75

WHSE LINE 
ANYWAY 2
12/31

ABC

4.5

9

4606

62

3.1

8034

77

TITUS

FOX

4.4

7

4473

71

2.8

7251

77

WRLDS MST
 AMZNG VDEO
-SP(S)

NBC

4.4

8

4491

81

2.4

6226

79

3RD RCK
FRM SUN
-S(S)

NBC

4.2

7

4309

81

2.4

6162

79

FOX MOVIE SPL(S) ("Bthoven")

FOX

4.2

7

4261

72

2.7

7167

79

NORM SPEC
12/29(S)

ABC

4.2

7

4306

77

2.6

6839

82

WELCOME 
TO NY

CBS

4.1

7

4228

85

2.2

5673

82