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Fox's regular Sunday lineup reclaimed some of its past glory with a solid win in adults 18-49 yesterday with a 5.0 to ABC's 4.3, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. CBS and NBC shared a 2.7 in the demo. Perhaps buoyed by news of its cancellation, Fox's "Futurama" edged CBS's "60 Minutes" at 7 p.m. with a 3.5 to its 3.3 adult 18-49 rating. A repeat of "King of the Hill" built the rating for the hour to a 3.9 in adults 18-49, topping a 3.3 from the first half of ABC's "Cinderella" and a paltry 1.5 from the Pacers-Kings NBA game on NBC. A rerun of "The Simpsons" and a new "Malcolm in the Middle" skipped past the second half of ABC's "Cinderella" by nearly a rating point-and-a-half. At 9p.m. even the closing "X-Files" managed a win, grabbing a 4.6 adult 18-49 rating, compared to a 4.5 from ABC's "Alias" and a 3.9 from NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." A repeat of ABC's "The Practice" rounded out the night with an easy win over NBC's "Dateline." CBS fell short for most of the night as "The Education of Max Bickford" and the Diane Keaton TV movie "Crossed Over" finished last in every half-hour. The average household rating and share for Sunday night were: CBS 7.9/13, ABC 7.2/11, Fox 6.0/9 and NBC 5.1/8. Over the weekend, Wesley Snipes and Tommy Lee Jones teamed up to make NBC a winner in adults 18-49 and households Saturday night. Their 1998 "Fugitive" sequel, "U.S. Marshals," posted a 3.9 adult 18-49 rating for the night. Fox had a 3.5, CBS a 2.1 and ABC a 2.0, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. Fox took the first hour of the night with both a new and old episode of "Cops," but NBC's "Marshalls" jumped past "America's Most Wanted" the next hour and stayed in control for the rest of the night. ABC laid an egg with yet another repeat of a James Bond movie, this time "Diamonds are Forever." CBS struggled with "Touched by an Angel," a repeat of "The Agency," and "The District." The average household rating and share for Saturday night were: NBC 6.4/11, CBS 6.2/11, Fox 5.4/10, ABC 3.8/7. On Friday night, viewers' lack of interest in the "NAACP Image Awards" on Fox and "The Miss USA Pageant" on CBS helped propel NBC to a solid win in households and adults 18-49. At 8 p.m. ABC's "America' s Funniest Home Videos" edged the first "Dateline" on NBC. The second edition of the newsmagazine outdrew "Best Commercials You've Never Seen" on ABC before "Law & Order: SVU" cleaned up at 10 p.m. with a strong 5.2 adult 18-49 rating. CBS's "Miss USA Pageant" and Fox's "NAACP Image Awards" both disappointed with 2.8 and 2.0 adult 18-49 ratings, respectively. The average household rating and share were: NBC 9.8/17, ABC 6.4/11, CBS 5.4/10 and Fox 3.4/6.
Will Letterman's leap leave Koppel in the cold?
As negotiations between David Letterman and ABC continue, the late-night comedian's intentions remain unclear. What is clear, however, is the turmoil Letterman's open flirtation with ABC has caused in that network's news division. If Letterman jumps, he will probably displace Ted Koppel, whose news program, "Nightline," has been an ABC fixture for more than 20 years. Koppel's supporters are said to be outraged, though Koppel himself has yet to comment on the matter. One of broadcast journalism's most respected figures, Koppel has repeatedly questioned Disney's commitment to news programming, and he has said he is against moving "Nightline" to primetime, which is apparently what ABC has in mind should it land Letterman. All such speculation may prove to be academic, however, at least in the short run: Tensions between Letterman and CBS, his current home, are said to have eased somewhat over the weekend following a conciliatory statement by network president Les Moonves.
ESPN's 'Brink' will give viewers a F***ing earful
Famed basketball coach Bobby Knight isn't exactly an all-ages kind of guy, and ESPN says the new made-for-TV movie about him, "A Season on the Brink," won't be an all-ages kind of film. Specifically, "Brink" will have profanity--a lot of it. Portraying Knight, whose legendary temper got him fired from Indiana University, actor Brian Dennehy will utter the F-word--unbleeped--15 times in the first half-hour alone. It will be the biggest dose of swearing in basic cable since a June 2001 episode of "South Park" in which the S-word (that would be "shit") was said 162 times, with a counter in the corner of the screen keeping track. ESPN officials said they thought it would be a copout to soften Knight's language, although a bleeped-out version will air concurrently on ESPN2. All promotions for the broadcast have included parental advisories about the language, and warnings will air every nine minutes or so throughout the movie. Miller Beer will be among the sponsors of "Brink," which airs March 10 at 8 p.m.
Tonya Harding vs. Paula Jones on 'Celeb Boxing'
Coming soon on Fox, another reality TV special whose premise sounds like the punch line to a bad joke. On Wednesday, March 13, Tonya Harding and Paula Jones will face off in the ring in one of three "Celebrity Boxing" matches. Harding, the former Olympic skater whose plot to cripple rival Nancy Kerrigan failed, was originally supposed to fight Amy Fisher, the "Long Island Lolita" who served time in prison for shooting her middle-aged boyfriend’s wife, but Fisher backed out. Jones gained national attention after filing sexual harassment charges against then-President Bill Clinton. Former teen heartthrobs Barry Williams (Greg from "The Brady Bunch") and Danny Bonaduce will also fight, as will a third pair to be named later. The special is the work of Mike Darnell, the reality TV impresario behind such mind-expanding fare as "Alien Autopsy," "When Animals Attack" and "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire."
Steamy scandal at Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review, perhaps the nation's most serious-minded business magazine, is embroiled in a lurid scandal following the revelation that editor Susie Wetlaufer took herself off a story after becoming romantically involved with the subject, who happened to be retired General Electric Chairman Jack Welch. Wetlaufer interviewed Welch extensively last fall in a series of meetings and phone conversations for a cover story in the February issue, according to The Wall Street Journal. In late December, however, she recommended to her boss, Harvard Business School Publishing editorial director Walter Kiechel, that her interview be thrown out and that someone else be assigned to interview Welch. Wetlaufer was reportedly concerned that her relationship with the married Welch, if publicized, would cast doubt on the article’s objectivity. A second interview was completed; that apparently wasn't enough for Review editors, four of whom have written letters calling for Wetlaufer's resignation.
March 4, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
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