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TV buyers dissed
The surprising strength of 'The Guardian' and 'Jim'
By Kevin Downey
It’s always something of a crapshoot when media buyers go through the summer ritual of predicting which fall TV shows will become hits.
And this season, as in seasons past, there are some wild misses.
One is certainly CBS’s "The Education of Max Bickford," an expected hit among media buyers, whose low ratings now appear to be stagnating.
But more notable yet is CBS’s "The Guardian," a show buyers all but dismissed.
"The Guardian" is the season’s highest-rated new show.
And right up there near "The Guardian" is ABC’s "According to Jim." Even fewer buyers gave the show much of a chance of surviving. It has gotten only scant media coverage and only lukewarm reviews. (See today's review on page three.)
Yet "According to Jim" ranked No. 14 in the 18-49 demo last week and was the highest-rated new sitcom in the demo, outside of NBC's "Inside Schwartz."
"Jim" is now ABC’s top-ranked show, next to "Monday Night Football."
The show also edged out "Millionaire’s" average 18-49 rating by one-tenth of a point from the same time slot last season and has improved on the 18-34 rating by about 7 percent.
"Jim," which is helped enormously by weak competition from NBC’s "Ed" and CBS’s "60 Minutes II," did better last week than its lead-in and lead-out shows, "My Wife & Kids" and "Drew Carey."
Perhaps even more surprisingly, "Jim" is on pace to become a slightly bigger hit.
Its rating has improved by over a full point in the two weeks since its second episode, and last week it beat its premiere by one-tenth of a point, although premieres generally get inflated ratings.
Unfortunately for ABC the show’s strength has not been enough to power it out of its early-season slump.
The network ended in fourth place last week among adults 18-49 with a 3.9 rating.
NBC remained in the No. 1 slot for the fifth straight week this season, with a 5.0.
Fox, which was up 17 percent over its season average because of the World Series, had a 4.1, which will serve it well as it begins to roll out its new shows for the season.
Last week, game two of the World Series was its highest-rated show, at No. 5, even though the series overall has averaged only 6 percent ahead of last year’s series, which was the lowest-rated in history.
Game one was actually down 10 percent from that deflated base, while game two was the highest-rated since game four of the 1999 series.
CBS had a 4.0 last week, ABC had a 3.9, UPN had a 2.1, and the WB had a 2.0.
For the season, NBC is in the lead with a 5.2 rating that equals last season’s average. ABC is down 13 percent to a 4.0, CBS is flat at 3.9, and Fox is down 22 percent to a 3.5. UPN is up 21 percent to a 2.3 while the WB is down 11 percent to a 1.7.
Although household ratings are generally less important to advertisers, they do give networks bragging rights for being No. 1.
In that demo, CBS won by one-tenth of a rating point last week.
CBS had twelve shows in the top 25, but a big part of its strength comes from its Tuesday shows, "JAG," "The Guardian," and "Judging Amy." It’s the only lineup, besides NBC’s Thursday, in which every show is among the highest-rated.
"The Guardian" ranked No. 13 with a 10.8 rating. It has been building since its second week and surpassed its premiere rating for the first time last week.
The drama has quietly become the most successful new show of the season by fitting in nicely with its equally low-profile lead-in and lead-out shows, both of which have been in the top 15 every week this season.
CBS had an 8.7 household rating and 14 share for the week.
NBC had an 8.6/14, Fox had a 7.1/11, and ABC had a 6.6/11. UPN had a 3.0/5 and the WB had a 2.9/4.
|
PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK |
|||||||||
|
|
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
ADULTS 18-49 |
||||||
|
Net |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
|
CBS |
8.7 |
9180 |
14 |
4.8 |
12840 |
12 |
4.0 |
5100 |
11 |
|
NBC |
8.6 |
9040 |
14 |
4.7 |
12740 |
12 |
5.0 |
6380 |
13 |
|
FOX |
7.1 |
7480 |
11 |
4.0 |
10890 |
10 |
4.1 |
5160 |
11 |
|
ABC |
6.6 |
6940 |
11 |
3.7 |
10080 |
10 |
3.9 |
4980 |
10 |
|
UPN |
3.0 |
3210 |
5 |
1.8 |
4870 |
5 |
2.1 |
2680 |
6 |
|
WB |
2.9 |
3040 |
4 |
1.6 |
4410 |
4 |
2.0 |
2480 |
5 |
|
PAX |
0.9 |
960 |
1 |
0.5 |
1240 |
1 |
0.3 |
410 |
1 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
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|
SEASON-TO-DATE |
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|
|
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
ADULTS 18-49 |
||||||
|
Net |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
Rtg |
(000) |
SHR |
|
NBC |
8.7 |
9210 |
14 |
4.8 |
12980 |
12 |
5.2 |
6590 |
14 |
|
CBS |
8.3 |
8740 |
13 |
4.5 |
12270 |
12 |
3.9 |
5000 |
10 |
|
ABC |
6.8 |
7210 |
11 |
3.8 |
10330 |
10 |
4.0 |
5130 |
11 |
|
FOX |
5.9 |
6230 |
10 |
3.3 |
8880 |
9 |
3.5 |
4510 |
10 |
|
UPN |
3.2 |
3380 |
5 |
1.9 |
5210 |
5 |
2.3 |
2940 |
6 |
|
WB |
2.7 |
2880 |
4 |
1.5 |
4160 |
4 |
1.7 |
2220 |
4 |
|
PAX |
0.9 |
980 |
2 |
0.5 |
1310 |
1 |
0.3 |
430 |
1 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
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|
NETWORK TV |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
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|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
# |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1 |
E.R. |
NBC |
17.3 |
27 |
18236 |
1 |
10.1 |
27376 |
|
2 |
FRIENDS |
NBC |
16.1 |
25 |
16976 |
2 |
9.5 |
25642 |
|
3 |
CSI |
CBS |
15.7 |
23 |
16522 |
3 |
9.1 |
24667 |
|
4 |
FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 2(S) (Yankees vs. Diamond- backs) |
FOX |
15.0 |
23 |
15795 |
4 |
8.7 |
23550 |
|
5 |
LAW AND ORDER |
NBC |
14.4 |
24 |
15179 |
6 |
7.9 |
21388 |
|
6 |
WEST WING |
NBC |
14.1 |
21 |
14872 |
5 |
8.0 |
21471 |
|
7 |
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND |
CBS |
13.7 |
20 |
14402 |
6 |
7.9 |
21207 |
|
8 |
JUDGING AMY |
CBS |
12.1 |
20 |
12793 |
10 |
6.5 |
17564 |
|
8 |
SURVIVOR: AFRICA |
CBS |
12.1 |
19 |
12784 |
8 |
7.6 |
20432 |
|
10 |
JAG |
CBS |
11.9 |
19 |
12600 |
9 |
6.6 |
17884 |
|
11 |
LAW AND ORDER: SVU |
NBC |
11.5 |
21 |
12101 |
12 |
6.1 |
16513 |
|
12 |
BECKER |
CBS |
11.3 |
17 |
11945 |
11 |
6.4 |
17364 |
|
13 |
GUARDIAN, THE |
CBS |
10.8 |
16 |
11426 |
16 |
5.9 |
16005 |
|
13 |
INSIDE SCHWARTZ |
NBC |
10.8 |
16 |
11372 |
12 |
6.1 |
16559 |
|
15 |
PRIMETIME THURSDAY |
ABC |
10.7 |
17 |
11318 |
18 |
5.6 |
15177 |
|
15 |
WILL & GRACE |
NBC |
10.7 |
16 |
11298 |
15 |
6.0 |
16200 |
|
17 |
60 MINUTES |
CBS |
10.6 |
17 |
11153 |
17 |
5.8 |
15552 |
|
18 |
FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 1(S) (Yankees vs. Diamond- backs) |
FOX |
10.4 |
19 |
10998 |
12 |
6.1 |
16476 |
|
19 |
NFL MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (Philadelphia vs New York) |
ABC |
9.9 |
16 |
10446 |
20 |
5.4 |
14643 |
|
20 |
CBS SUNDAY MOVIE ("The Wedding Dress") |
CBS |
9.4 |
15 |
9887 |
30 |
4.6 |
12325 |
|
21 |
JUST SHOOT ME |
NBC |
9.3 |
14 |
9810 |
22 |
5.3 |
14324 |
|
21 |
KING OF QUEENS |
CBS |
9.3 |
14 |
9803 |
19 |
5.5 |
14710 |
|
23 |
YES, DEAR |
CBS |
9.0 |
13 |
9510 |
20 |
5.4 |
14442 |
|
24 |
60 MINUTES II |
CBS |
8.7 |
14 |
9176 |
27 |
4.7 |
12639 |
|
24 |
CROSSING JORDAN |
NBC |
8.7 |
14 |
9170 |
31 |
4.5 |
12251 |
|
24 |
FRASIER |
NBC |
8.7 |
13 |
9227 |
24 |
4.8 |
12955 |
|
24 |
PROVIDENCE |
NBC |
8.7 |
16 |
9185 |
27 |
4.7 |
12589 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
||||||||
|
CABLE TV |
|||||
| BASIC CABLE | |||||
|
House- |
House- holds |
Persons 2+ |
|||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
Net |
(000) |
Rtg % | (000) |
|
1 |
WWF ENTERTAINMENT |
TNN |
3472 |
3.3 |
5348 |
|
2 |
WWF ENTERTAINMENT |
TNN |
3410 |
3.2 |
5368 |
|
3 |
CONCERT FOR NYC |
VH1 |
3012 |
2.9 |
4905 |
|
4 |
NFL REGULAR SEASON |
ESPN |
2912 |
2.8 |
3823 |
|
5 |
STRONG MEDICINE |
LIF |
2464 |
2.3 |
3150 |
|
6 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2427 |
2.3 |
3535 |
|
7 |
DRAGON BALL Z |
TOON |
2426 |
2.3 |
3100 |
|
8 |
SUNDAY MOVIE (A TIME TO HEAL) |
LIF |
2360 |
2.2 |
2873 |
|
9 |
SUNDAY MOVIE (BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA) |
LIF |
2356 |
2.2 |
3044 |
|
10 |
DRAGON BALL Z |
TOON |
2353 |
2.2 |
2855 |
|
11 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2348 |
2.2 |
3471 |
|
12 |
PRIME MOVIE (A PROMISE TO CAROLYN) |
LIF |
2339 |
2.2 |
3002 |
|
13 |
DRAGON BALL Z |
TOON |
2277 |
2.2 |
3189 |
|
14 |
MOVIE, UPO (WOLF GIRL) |
USA |
2254 |
2.1 |
3222 |
|
15 |
HEY ARNOLD |
NICK |
2252 |
2.1 |
3591 |
|
PAY CABLE |
|||||
|
House- |
House- holds |
Persons 2+ |
|||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
Net |
(000) |
Rtg % |
(000) |
|
1 |
BAND OF BROTHERS |
HBO |
3674 |
3.5 |
5950 |
|
2 |
SOPRANOS, THE |
HBO |
2659 |
2.5 |
3900 |
|
3 |
LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE |
HBO |
2469 |
2.3 |
3746 |
|
4 |
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM |
HBO |
1862 |
1.8 |
2612 |
|
5 |
MIND OF THE MARRIED MAN |
HBO |
1531 |
1.5 |
1963 |
|
*Coverage area ratings are within each cable network's universe. |
|||||
|
SYNDICATION |
||||
|
|
Households |
Households |
||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
Syndicator |
Rtg % | (000) |
|
1 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE |
KIN |
8.5 |
9013 |
|
2 |
JEOPARDY |
KIN |
7.4 |
7854 |
|
3 |
FRIENDS-SYN (AT) |
WB |
6.6 |
6930 |
|
4 |
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT) |
KIN |
6.4 |
6774 |
|
5 |
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT) |
PRM |
6.0 |
6378 |
|
6 |
ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON |
ESP |
5.7 |
6001 |
|
7 |
SEINFELD (AT) |
CTS |
5.5 |
5809 |
|
8 |
JUDGE JUDY (AT) |
PRM |
5.2 |
5490 |
|
9 |
EVRYBDY LVS RAYMOND-SYN |
KIN |
4.5 |
4715 |
|
10 |
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT WKD |
PRM |
4.0 |
4224 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research
|
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October 31, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
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