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Last night settled the “Friends”-“Survivor 3” question, as well as whether “Inside Schwartz” will make it to Thanksgiving. “Friends” topped “Survivor: Africa” by nine household share points and scored an adult 18-49 rating 83 percent higher than its reality rival. “Inside Schwartz,” on the other hand, dropped 40 percent of this lead-in audience to lose the 8:30 p.m. half hour to “Survivor 3” by three household shares and 1.5 adults 18-49 rating points. But CBS saw its own viewers fleeing at 10 p.m., when “The Agency” dropped over 50 percent of an otherwise punishing “CSI.” “CSI” won its hour in both households and the demographic, nearly edging “Will and Grace” and solidly defeating “Just Shoot Me” among adults 18-49. “ER” still owns the 10 p.m. hour, as it more than doubled the household ratings and nearly quadrupling the adult 18-49 ratings of its closest competitors. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Thursday were: NBC 13.3/21 and 10.0, CBS 10.5/16 and 6.5, Fox 6.6/10 and 3.1, and ABC 6.1/9 and 2.8. On Wednesday, those “Law and Order” fans couldn’t be moved from NBC at 10 p.m. Not even when it’s the wrong version of “Law and Order” and one of the season’s biggest shows is running against it. On Wednesday night, CBS repeated the premiere episode of “Survivor 3: Africa” at 10 p.m., in the place of “Wolf Lake,” in order to get more sampling for the show and draw viewers from “The Amazing Race” at 9 p.m. The gambit failed, since “Survivor” finished third in its time period, doing only slightly better than the soon-to-be-canceled “Wolf Lake.” Meanwhile, NBC swapped the original “Law and Order” with an episode of “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” The ratings were down 12 percent in households and 22 percent versus last week’s “Law and Order,” but “Criminal Intent” still earned a preliminary 21 household share and 6.7 adult 18-49 rating. Those numbers were more than two-and-a-half times what last night’s “Survivor 3” earned in households and nearly double what it earned among adults 18-49. The ratings were also up over 30 percent from what “Criminal Intent” earned last Sunday at 9 p.m. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Wednesday night were: NBC 11.1/18 and 6.1, ABC 7.2/11 and 4.8, Fox 6.4/10 and 2.9, and CBS 6.0/10 and 3.3.
Anthrax turns up at CBS News
After infecting people at NBC and possibly ABC, anthrax has struck at CBS. A CBS News employee who works under anchor Dan Rather tested positive for the less-perilous skin version of anthrax yesterday morning. She has suffered from a skin lesion on her cheek since Oct. 1 but attributed it to an allergic reaction to an insect bite. Her doctor gave her penicillin at first, but she came in for nasal and blood tests after the anthrax attacks at NBC made the news. The employee, who is reported to be in good health, has not missed a day of work yet and has already resumed her training as a tri-athlete. She handles mail in her job but could not remember opening a suspicious letter or package. The Centers for Disease Control believes the strain of anthrax at CBS is similar to the one that infected the assistant to Tom Brokaw at NBC. So far six people in New York, New Jersey and Florida have been diagnosed with anthrax, while 31 on Capitol Hill have tested positive for exposure to the potentially fatal disease.
'Seinfeld' star Louis-Dreyfus in new NBC sitcom
"The Michael Richards Show" belly-flopped in true Kramer style. "Bob Patterson," like George Costanza, is turning out to be an underachiever. Undeterred, "Seinfeld" alumna Julia Louis-Dreyfus is moving ahead with plans for her own return to sitcom land. Her new show, tentatively called "22 Minutes With Eleanor Riggs," will debut midseason on NBC, the network said yesterday. Louis-Dreyfus will star as the titular Riggs, a singer who works at night clubs in Los Angeles. Actress Lauren Bowles will play her older sister, Darren Boyd her boyfriend and Steve Carell her ex. The show is being executive produced by Brad Hall, Louis-Dreyfus’ husband, in partnership with Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner and Caryn Mandabach, the team whose credits include "The Cosby Show," "Roseanne" and "That ‘70s Show."
Rodale slashes 13 percent of its workforce
The folks at Rodale Inc., publisher of Men's Health and Prevention, know about the importance of keeping trim, and this week the Emmaus, Pa.-based publisher did some trimming of its own, announcing plans to eliminate 148 positions. The cuts, which represent about 13 percent of Rodale's workforce, will be heaviest in the books division, and book publishing operations will be streamlined and scaled back. Rodale also publishes titles including Backpacker, Runner's World, Organic Gardening and two new magazines, MH-18 and Organic Style.
McCartney, Bowie and more at VH1 telethon
Four weeks after the "Tribute to Heroes" telethon raised more than $150 million for disaster relief, the stars will line up again on Saturday to perform and ask for cash in "The Concert for New York City." VH1, AOL, Miramax and Cablevision are organizing a joint live broadcast Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight ET/PT. According to VH1.com, musical performers will include Paul McCartney, The Who, Bon Jovi, Bono and the Edge of U2, David Bowie, Elton John, Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, the Backstreet Boys, Mick Jagger, John Mellencamp, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Melissa Etheridge, Macy Gray, Marc Anthony, Five For Fighting, Goo Goo Dolls and Jay-Z. Several new short films will also be screened during the event; participating directors include Woody Allen, Edward Burns, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Jerry Seinfeld and Kevin Smith. Dozens of movie stars are scheduled to appear during the event in some form. The audience will be filled with 5,000 invited members of the New York fire and police departments and rescue teams. It will cost $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000 to buy your way into the Madison Square Garden event. The concert benefits the Robin Hood Foundation, which will distribute money to families of firefighters, police officers and rescue workers who lost their lives. Donations can be made by calling (888) NYMUSIC.
Group protests Harry Potter-Coke marketing pact
They don't sell Coke in Hogsmeade, but that doesn't mean Harry Potter, boy wizard, can't be used to pitch the soft drink to us muggles. Now a group that wants Americans to improve their awful eating habits is objecting. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has launched a campaign against the advertising tie-ins between Coca-Cola and the film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the adaptation of the first book in the popular children's series. Coke paid Warner Bros. $150 million for the marketing rights to the movie, in a deal that includes the right to use images from the film on Coke products and an ad in which the title character's owl drops books to children from the air before finally settling on a Coca-Cola billboard. "Coke has transformed Harry Potter into a marketing wizard to hook our kids on its junk beverages," Gary Ruskin, executive director of advertising critic Commercial Alert, told the New York Post. Coke says that the advertisement largely consists of supporting reading. The Center has set up a web site, saveharry.com, that includes a petition calling for Coke and Warner Bros. to call off the deal and end the ad campaign.
October 19, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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