ABC
 is proving to be a more formidable competitor and the network to beat overall as the midseason gets under way, despite the death notices given it early in the season when 'Millionaire' began its slow
slide.



ABC bowls nearly
bollix NBC's 18-49 edge

All eyes now 'Mole'-ward. Will it do the trick?

By Kevin Downey

    Woe is NBC, its longstanding dominance among adult viewers 18 to 49 suddenly under serious challenge.
   ABC’s adult 18-49 rating is now within one-tenth of a point of NBC's for the season, thanks to a series of widely watched bowl games in the first week of the new year.
   The network once considered a long-shot for the younger demo coveted by many advertisers dominated last week in all key measures.
   In fact, six ABC bowl games and pre-game shows were among the top 25 shows last week.
   Factoring in three episodes of the network’s still-strong "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "The Practice,"  ABC had 10 of the top shows and averaged nearly 5 million more viewers than nearest rival NBC.
    ABC was No. 1 in household and adult 18-49 ratings with NBC a distant No. 2 last week. CBS followed in households but was well behind Fox among the younger demographic group. The rankings for the networks are about the same for the season so far, with the exception of NBC edging out ABC in adults 18-49.
   ABC is proving to be a more formidable competitor and the network to beat overall as the midseason gets under way, despite the death notices given to it early in the season when "Millionaire" began its slow slide.
   Certainly, its run on NBC’s younger viewers seems to be having a bit more impact than most media pundits had expected.
   If ABC’s "The Mole," which debuted last night, did well and continues to do well, NBC will likely take the brunt of the damage.
   The network’s long-suffering Tuesday night competes against the reality show with the tepid duo of "3rd Rock" and "DAG." 
    Things don't look too spry on Wednesdays or Thursdays either.
    "Temptation Island," another reality show debuting tonight on Fox, will surely take steam out of NBC’s "West Wing." And NBC's Thursday lineup, which has pushed the network to No. 1 in adults 18-49, will soon go against "Survivor II."
    ABC, meanwhile, managed to boost its Friday night with "Millionaire" on its first outing, as expected, with a 10.8 household rating.
     While that’s below the 12-13 range for its other episodes, it improved the 8:00 p.m. hour by 145 percent. And even "Two Guys and a Girl" and "Norm," now in the 9:00 p.m. slot, were up by about 9.6 percent for the hour.
   The "Orange Bowl," "Rose Bowl," "Fiesta Bowl," and "Sugar Bowl" all had household ratings of 10.0 or more and well over 17 million viewers.
    NBC’s Thursday lineup all fell within the top 15 last week, including the poorly performing "Weber Show." But the network’s weekend movies, like "The Devil’s Own," were also weak.
   Fox did well with a football playoff overrun on Sunday, beating CBS, which had the "People’s Choice Awards."
   CBS had an average week but only won Saturday night with its rookie show, "The District."
   Overall, ABC had the strongest showing last week, which helped bump it up 6.0 percent for the season compared to last year at this time, to an 8.8 household rating and 14 share.
    CBS and NBC are tied at an 8.2/13, while Fox, up 4.9 percent compared to last year, has a 6.4/10. The WB is edging out UPN slightly with a 2.7/4 and 2.6/4, respectively.
  Among adults 18-49, NBC has a 4.9 to ABC’s 4.8, which is down 4 percent compared to last year, Fox has a 4.4, CBS has a 3.6, and The WB and UPN both have a 1.7.
    ABC scored a 10.7/17 last week in households and a 6.3 among adults 18-49. NBC was in second with an 8.1/13 and a 4.9. CBS had a 7.9/12 and 3.7, while Fox scored a 6.2/10 and a 4.6. UPN had a 2.2/3 and 1.5 to The WB’s 2.1/3 and 1.4.

 

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
Week Ending January 7, 2001

 

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

ADULTS 18-49

 

Rtg%

(000)

Share

Rtg%

(000)

Share

Rtg%

(000)

Share

ABC

10.7

10980

17

6.4

16830

16

6.3

7790

15

NBC

8.1

8320

13

4.6

11990

11

4.9

6090

12

CBS

7.9

8050

12

4.4

11440

11

3.7

4550

9

FOX

6.2

6330

10

3.8

9910

9

4.6

5780

11

UPN

2.2

2270

3

1.4

3560

3

1.5

1920

4

WB

2.1

2180

3

1.3

3390

3

1.4

1770

3

PAX

1.0

1050

2

0.6

1530

1

0.4

540

1

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

SEASON-TO-DATE 
 PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
October 2, 2000 through January 7, 2001

 

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

ADULTS 18-49

 

Rtg%

(000)

Share

Rtg%

(000)

Share

Rtg%

(000)

Share

ABC

8.8

9030

14

5.1

13320

13

4.8

5950

13

NBC

8.2

8430

13

4.6

12110

12

4.9

6140

13

CBS

8.2

8410

13

4.5

11810

12

3.6

4520

10

FOX

6.4

6500

10

3.8

9860

9

4.4

5460

12

WB

2.7

2760

4

1.5

4010

4

1.7

2150

4

UPN

2.6

2700

4

1.6

4060

4

1.7

2160

5

PAX

0.9

950

2

0.5

1330

1

0.4

450

1

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

NETWORK TV
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
Week Ending Jan. 7

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

#

Rtg%

(000)

1

E.R.

NBC

19.7

32

20096

1

11.6

30412

2

ORANGE BOWL(S) (Oklahoma vs Florida State)

ABC

17.8

28

18200

2

10.4

27240

3

FRIENDS

NBC

15.0

24

15327

3

9.3

24366

4

WILL & GRACE

NBC

13.3

20

13634

5

7.8

20360

5

ROSE BOWL-POST(S)

ABC

13.0

20

13285

4

8.6

22478

5

SUGAR BOWL(S) (Miami vs Florida)

ABC

13.0

21

13245

7

7.6

19783

7

JUST SHOOT ME

NBC

12.7

19

13018

8

7.4

19456

7

MILLIONAIRE-THU

ABC

12.7

19

12992

9

7.3

19215

9

ORANGE BOWL-PRE(S)

ABC

12.5

21

12792

10

7.2

18880

10

MILLIONAIRE-SUN

ABC

12.4

18

12687

6

7.7

20254

11

PRACTICE, THE

ABC

12.1

19

12349

10

7.2

18943

12

60 MINUTES

CBS

12.0

19

12229

14

6.6

17399

13

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL

CBS

11.4

17

11620

17

6.4

16815

14

WEBER SHOW

NBC

11.3

17

11529

14

6.6

17323

15

MILLIONAIRE-FRI

ABC

10.8

18

11011

19

5.9

15500

16

FIESTA BOWL(S) (Oregon State vs Notre Dame)

ABC

10.7

18

10933

13

6.7

17475

17

CSI

CBS

10.1

17

10294

20

5.7

14922

17

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMND SP(S)

CBS

10.1

15

10285

18

6.2

16166

19

SIMPSONS

FOX

10.0

15

10264

12

7.1

18520

19

SUGAR BOWL PRE-GAME(S)

ABC

10.0

17

10222

21

5.6

14590

21

LAW AND ORDER

NBC

9.8

15

9988

27

5.1

13417

22

DATELINE FRI

NBC

9.7

16

9895

24

5.2

13715

22

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS(S)

CBS

9.7

15

9956

21

5.6

14607

24

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

9.4

16

9629

24

5.2

13529

25

FRASIER

NBC

9.2

14

9414

27

5.1

13366

25

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE

FOX

9.2

13

9384

16

6.5

17104

25

PROVIDENCE

NBC

9.2

15

9397

30

5.0

13210

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

CABLE
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
Week Ending Dec. 31

BASIC CABLE

 

 

Households

Households

Persons 2+

#

PROGRAM NAME

(000)

US Rating %

(000)

1

HOLIDAY BOWL L-12/29

4377

4.3

6341

2

INDEPENDENCE BOWL L-12/31

3388

3.3

5675

3

WWF ENTERTAINMENT-12/25

3198

3.1

5659

4

NETWORK WINDOW MOVIE-12/26

3189

3.1

4742

5

ALAMO BOWL L-12/30

3049

3.0

4772

6

WWF ENTERTAINMENT-12/25

2884

2.8

4846

7

PEACH BOWL L-12/29

2827

2.8

4118

8

TBS MOVIE AFTERNOON-12/25

2558

2.5

3634

9

TBS PRIME MOVIE-12/25

2453

2.4

3693

10

SUNDAY MOVIE I-12/31

2272

2.2

2700

11

TBS MOVIE AFTERNOON-12/25

2251

2.2

3571

12

RUGRATS-12/28

2211

2.2

3252

13

PRIME MOVIE-12/27

2208

2.2

3067

14

RUGRATS-12/31

2200

2.2

3344

15

MOVIE, USA-12/27

2199

2.2

3295

PAY CABLE

 

 

Households

Households

Persons 2+

#

PROGRAM NAME

(000)

US Rating %

(000)

1

ANYWHERE BUT HERE-12/30

2414

2.4

3824

2

BEST OF TAXICAB CONFESS 2-12/30

2396

2.3

3666

3

SEX BYTES-12/30

2022

2.0

2969

4

MARKED FOR DEATH-12/29

1894

1.9

2708

5

SEX BYTES-12/28

1658

1.6

1947

*Coverage area ratings are within each cable network's universe.
*Total U.S. ratings and household projections are based on 100.8 million TV homes.
*For inclusion in the rankings, telecasts must be promoted as distinct programs and must be of 5 minutes minimum duration.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

SYNDICATION
RANKED ON HOUSEHOLDS
Week Ending December 24, 2000

SYNDICATED PROGRAMS

 

 

Household

Household

#

PROGRAM NAME

US Rating %

(000)

1

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

10.5

10750

2

JEOPARDY

8.7

8847

3

JUDGE JUDY (AT)

6.7

6855

4

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

6.3

6429

5

OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT)

5.9

6008

6

WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND

5.7

5847

7

FRIENDS-SYN (AT)

5.5

5664

8

SEINFELD

5.4

5540

9

FRASIER-SYN (AT)

4.9

5020

10

LIVE! WITH REGIS

4.3

4446

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life


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