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Viewer leakage for new reality shows
The latest entrants to the summer reality schedule didn’t show much promise last night, suffering double-digit declines in both household and adult 18-49 ratings. NBC’s “The Downer Channel” dropped nearly 30 percent in its ratings from the week before and lost almost 30 percent of it lead-in audience from a repeat of “Spy TV.” Fox’s “Murder in Small Town X” slipped about 15 percent from its ratings last week, but managed to build slightly on the lead-in audience from a repeat of “Titus.” Only CBS’s “Big Brother 2” held steady, earning the same household rating as it did last week. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Tuesday night were: ABC 6.5/11 and 2.8, NBC 5.3/9 and 3.0, CBS 5.1/9 and 2.4, and Fox 3.7/7 and 2.9.
On Monday, NBC won again with its reality programs. New episodes of “Fear Factor,”
“Weakest Link” and “Dateline” swept all three primetime hours in both households and adults 18-49.
Of the three
programs, “Fear Factor” at 8 p.m. earned the highest ratings, topping
its closest competitor by seven household shares. ABC’s one-round golf
match, “The Battle at Bighorn,” which pitted Tiger Woods and Annika
Sorenstam against David Duval and Karrie Webb, hovered around second and
third place for most of the night. Without adjusting for time zone
differences, the live golf special managed to edge CBS’s repeats for
second place in households, but lost to those same repeats among adults
18-49 to finish third in the demographic. The preliminary Nielsen
household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Monday night were:
NBC 8.8/15 and 5.8, ABC 6.0/10 and 2.8, CBS 5.8/10 and 2.9, and Fox 3.1/5
and 1.9.
X Games coming to
ABC and ESPN
Faceplant fans, rejoice.
The collection of dangerous, exotic and just plain stupid sports that fall
under the rubric of "extreme" are coming to TV this month,
courtesy of Disney. The X Games, to be held in Philadelphia Aug. 18 to 23,
will air on network TV on ABC and on cable on ESPN and ESPN2. ABC sports
will broadcast four hours of X Games coverage on Saturday, Aug. 18 and
Sunday, Aug. 19. ESPN will carry 10.5 hours of X Games coverage, including
a wrap-up of daily highlights at midnight, and ESPN2 will show six hours.
X Games events include skateboarding, in-line skating and street luge.
FCC strips child molester
of radio licenses
In a controversial case with serious free speech
implications, the Federal Communications Commission is preparing to
auction off the operating licenses to five radio stations owned by a
repeat sex offender. Michael Rice of St. Charles, Mo., has lost a number
of appeals since being stripped of his licenses under an FCC regulation
that dates back to the early days of broadcasting. The rule prohibits
persons of bad moral character from operating radio stations. Rice spent
five years in prison during the 1990s after being convicted of molesting
five boys in his hometown. In his appeals, he has argued that he was
suffering from psychiatric problems, including multiple personality
disorder, at the time of his crimes, but has since received treatment. He
has also pointed out that the rule allowing the FCC to strip operators of
their licenses is enforced rarely and inconsistently. The two licenses
Rice held in Missouri are reported to be worth $2.5 million.
Universal backs out of
condom promo deal
Put the words "product placement" and
"condom" in the same sentence and you’re bound to raise a few
eyebrows. As it happens, Universal Pictures, the studio behind
"American Pie 2," the sophomoric comedy set to open in theaters
on August 10, has scrapped part of its plans for a promotional campaign
involving prominent placement of LifeStyles condoms in the film and a
television commercial advertising both the movie and the condoms. The
proposed commercial was rejected by the Motion Picture Association of
America, which reserves the right to vet all promotional and marketing
content for the movies it rates. The inclusion of condoms in the ad
violates MPAA policy. Universal Pictures had agreed to film the commercial,
while LifeStyles maker Ansell Healthcare Inc. planned to buy the time.
Universal dropped the project at the MPAA’s urging, to the chagrin of
Ansell, who released a statement Monday charging that the studio did not
want to be associated with a condom company. According to the studio, the
rest of the promotional deal will remain in place.
Florida glutton tries
out for Japanese eating show
Getting thrown out of an all-you-can-eat
buffet in Florida made Bob Middleton something of a laughingstock for
papers across the U.S., but in Japan, Middleton's appetite may make him a
hero. Producers from the Japanese TV show "Food Battle Club," on the
lookout for international talent, say they will meet with Middleton and make an audition tape.
If he passes the test, Middleton will win a free trip to Japan and a chance to win $50,000 battling other eating
champions to see who can put away the most grub. Last year, a woman from Los Angeles was discovered and brought to Japan to compete.
Ratings for eating shows have been waning, but the format remains popular
in Japan, where epic intake is celebrated. Takeru Kobayashi, who won
this year's Nathan's Hot Dogs contest by eating 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes, is called "The Prince" back home. Two years ago a two-hour show called "Tournament of the Gluttons," which featured dozens of gorgers consuming until only one was left, brought in millions of viewers.
August 1, 2001
© 2001 Media Life
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