|
|
with solid numbers
Network viewership clocks in at last year's levels
By Kevin Downey
In what may be one of the strongest signs yet that the American public wants to return to a sense of normalcy following the terrorist attacks of two weeks ago, the fall television season got off to an impressive start on Monday.
The network primetime audience was remarkably unchanged from last season’s premiere night, with 50.5 million people watching the Big Four networks compared to 50.8 million a year ago.
The debut of the fall season was especially strong in light of recent events, which left both media buyers and TV executives in doubt as to whether viewers were ready to watch entertainment programming following nearly a week’s worth of nonstop coverage of the attacks.
"It appears that viewers are cautiously easing back into their previous daily routines, including watching network television," says John Rash, senior vice president and director of broadcast negotiations at Campbell Mithun.
"But they can and will quickly be jolted out of those patterns as news continues to unfold."
A research study conducted this past weekend confirmed that TV viewers are ready to watch regular shows again.
Of 452 households polled, 80 percent felt that the time was right for the fall season to begin, after having been pushed back one week by the networks.
The study was conducted by Knowledge Networks-Statistical Research, which also found that 77 percent of those polled felt enough time had passed since the tragedies for advertising to resume on entertainment programs.
The first night of the new season included a sneak preview of CBS’s "Ellen," the series premiere of NBC’s "Crossing Jordan," and the first regularly scheduled matchup between "Millionaire" and "Weakest Link."
Moreover, most of CBS’s Monday night shows had their season premieres, as did the WB’s "7th Heaven" and "Angel."
ABC, as it turned out, was the most-watched network, with 15.8 million viewers; it featured a combination of "Millionaire," which beat "Weakest Link" by just 900,000 viewers, and "Monday Night Football."
CBS had 14.6 million viewers, NBC had 13.3 million, and Fox had 6.8 million.
"The Ellen Show" was watched by 14 million people but lost 36 percent of "Everybody Loves Raymond’s" lead-in audience.
NBC’s "Crossing Jordan" was watched by 15.2 million people and was that network’s most-watched Monday premiere since 1995.
While the season has started with good numbers, it remains to be seen whether viewers will steer clear of dramas, especially those containing violent themes, following the terrorist attacks.
Already some shows that might be considered inappropriate have made changes.
Fox’s "24," which is set to premiere at the end of October, for example, cut a few shots of a plane blowing up.
"I believe people will go for the lighter entertainment," says Shari Anne Brill, vice president and director of programming services at Carat.
"And they want to get back into a regular routine, because if you don’t it’s a way of admitting defeat."
One thing that the networks might benefit from this season is a larger available audience to attract to their shows.
News of the terrorist attacks drove viewing up by 13 percent in the first day of coverage. On that first night, 69 percent of homes were watching TV. And the audience, which has decreased since that first Tuesday, has remained above average.
The number of households watching TV was 3.4 percent higher on Monday, for example, than it was for the first night of the season last year.
"The one certainty is that viewing levels will increase as people travel less and cocoon more with their friends and family," says Campbell Mithun’s Rash.
"Network prime-rating levels will be derivative of historical factors, like the relative quality of the programs compared to the cable competition.
"But they will also be driven by the unknown but impending national events that may interrupt programming as well as viewer attention," he says.
September 26, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
