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ABC and Fox split households and adults 18-49 last night, while NBC fell to fourth in both audience categories. On Fox, the season premiere of “Boston Public” won both of its half-hours in the demographic, and the 8:30 p.m. half-hour in households. At 9 p.m., the premiere of “Ally McBeal” didn’t fare as well, dropping 20 percent of “Boston Public’s” lead-in audience, but still finished ahead of NBC’s “Third Watch” for the hour. CBS’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” won the 9 p.m. half-hour in households and adults 18-49, and then ABC’s “Monday Night Football” swept the rest of the night from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. At 10 p.m., NBC ran into more trouble, when “Crossing Jordan” finished third behind CBS’s “Family Law” in households and just barely edged the legal drama among adults 18-49. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Monday were: ABC 10.4/16 and 5.5, CBS 9.9/15 and 5.3, Fox 8.1/12 and 5.8, and NBC 7.4/12 and 3.9. On Sunday, Fox won the night in both households and adults 18-49, thanks to game two of the World Series. Without adjusting for time zone differences, the game averaged a preliminary 12.0/18 household rating and share and 7.0, adult 18-49, rating from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Fox also won all of its half-hours on the night among adults 18-49, starting with “Futurama” at 7 p.m., and every hour except 7 p.m. in households, when CBS’s “60 Minutes” won. At 10 p.m., CBS’s movie “The Wedding Dress” won households and ABC’s “The Practice” won among adults 18-49. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Sunday night were: Fox 11.6/18 and 6.8, CBS 9.6/15 and 3.8, NBC 7.2/11 and 3.7, and ABC 6.3/10 and 4.4.
MTV lays off 450 in reorg; cutbacks at MSNBC
With revenue way down, MTV is facing the music, laying off 450 people, or 8 percent to 9 percent of its workforce, in a major reorganization announced yesterday. As part of the overhaul, operations previously handled by online unit MTVi will be reintegrated into MTV Networks' core business, and Nick at Night and TV Land will be merged into one unit. Other changes will include the outsourcing of animation, consolidation of Latin American operations for MTV and Nickelodeon, downsizing of the affiliate marketing department and relocation of TNN from its headquarters in Tennessee to New York City. MSNBC also warned staffers yesterday of imminent cost-cutting measures, including a halt in production on all new documentaries not related to the events of Sept. 11 and the war on terrorism.
WB cancels primetime dating show
In a perfect example of the schizophrenic relationship between syndication and primetime audiences, the WB has canceled its dating series "Elimidate Deluxe" after just two episodes while the show's junior edition "Elimidate" continues to flourish in syndication. Going into the all-important November sweeps, the WB couldn't risk losing revenue with a show that could only bring in a 1.5/2 household rating and share for its premiere and a 1.3/2 for its second episode on Oct. 25. Next month the Thursday 8:30 p.m. time slot will be taken by full-year ordered "Reba" and hour-long episodes of "Popstars 2." The syndicated "Elimidate," where a single man or woman must pick one-by-one among four or five potential mates at a group date, has led the pack among relationship game shows.
FX adds a second hour of 'Practice' in primetime
FX is rejiggering its primetime schedule, hoping to get the most out of two David E. Kelley lawyer series for which the network paid top dollar. Beginning this week, "Ally McBeal" will move from its 8 p.m. time slot to a new berth at 11 p.m., where it will follow the sitcom "Married...With Children." "Ally" has been averaging 298,000 homes and a 0.4 rating, a 26 percent dropoff for the time slot, which last year featured "NYPD Blue." To fill the hole at 8 p.m., FX will add an extra hour of "The Practice," creating a two-hour block of the show from 8 to 10 p.m. Like "Ally," "The Practice" has also failed to justify the reported $700,000 per episode FX is paying for it, earning only a 0.4 rating and 300,000 homes, down 27 percent from last year's "The X-Files."
'Seinfeld' poison envelope episode pulled
A woman dies from toxins she ingested after coming into contact with tainted envelopes. Hilarious? Not at the moment. Following the death of two mailroom workers and the infection of several others, Columbia Tri-Star Television Distribution has pulled an episode of "Seinfeld" titled "The Invitations" out of its syndication lineup. In the episode, which was supposed to have aired on Oct. 22, George escapes from imminent marriage when his fiancée, Susan, dies from licking the bargain envelopes he bought for the wedding invitations. It is not clear how long the episode has been taken out of syndication, but the latest long-term schedule from Columbia does not include it.
Comcast to roll out HDTV service in Northeast
The spread of high-definition television will get a boost from Comcast Cable Communications, which says it will offer the service to 1.3 million customers in the northeastern United States. For $10.95 a month, Comcast digital-cable subscribers will be able to rent a set-top box allowing them to watch programs broadcast in HDTV format. The Big Three broadcast networks all offer limited amounts of HDTV programming, including NBC’s "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and CBS’s "The Young & the Restless," while HBO and Showtime use the format more extensively.
October 30, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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