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Strong showings from "Yes, Dear" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" on CBS propelled the network to a slim win over NBC in adults 18-49 last night. CBS drew a 5.1 adult 18-49 rating, NBC had a 4.9, Fox a 3.5 and ABC a 2.6, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. The once-dominant "Fear Factor" on NBC saw a slide in its viewership at 8 p.m., as it only managed a 4.8 among adults 18-49 compared to a 5.4 from "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" on CBS. The debut of "Wayne Brady" failed to light it up on ABC at 8:30 p.m., as the sketch/musical comedy show came in third place with a 3.1 adult 18-49 rating, dropping slightly from its lead-in of a repeat of "My Wife & Kids." That's still better than the rest of the night for ABC. The reality/game show "The Chair" averaged a measly 2.1 adult 18-49 rating the next hour, dwarfed by a 6.7 from "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Becker" on CBS and a 4.9 from "Third Watch" on NBC. At 10 p.m. ABC's on-the-ropes "Once and Again" came in third place with a 2.8 in adults 18-49, just more than half of the 5.1 garnered by NBC's "Crossing Jordan." The average household rating and share for Monday night were: CBS 10.1/16, NBC 7.9/12, Fox 4.9/7, and ABC 4.1/6. On Sunday night, Fox's regular lineup reclaimed some of its past glory with a solid win in adults 18-49 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 9 p.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.
Cokie and Sam dropped from 'This Week'?
Ted Koppel isn't the only ABC News star in danger of being dumped. The network is also planning to name new hosts for "This Week," its Sunday morning politics and policy chat show, according to USA Today. Out are Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts; in are former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos and Claire Shipman, national correspondent for "Good Morning America" and a former NBC News White House correspondent. The show, which regularly gets killed in the ratings by NBC's "Meet the Press" with Tim Russert, will also undergo some tweaks to its format, possibly including a studio in New York where some segments will be conducted. Donaldson, who has spent the last few days speaking out on behalf of the embattled Koppel, told USA Today he didn't know he was being replaced, saying, "No one had the courtesy to tell me directly."
S.F. Examiner goes tabloid in May
The San Francisco Examiner is getting a new design to go along with its tabloid-worthy history. Starting in May, the 50,000-circulation family-run paper will adopt a side-fold format, abandoning the broadsheet format favored by its rival, the San Francisco Chronicle. The broadsheet layout is considered more conducive to attracting national advertising, while the smaller size and simplified organization of tabloids make them popular with commuters. Dan Fost, a media critic for the Chronicle, says the Examiner's headlines--recent examples include "Cops fear pimp turf war" and "Naked corpse in Nob Hill love nest"--already give it more of a tabloid feel anyway. Hearst Corp. sold the Examiner to the Fang family in 2000 to appease the antitrust regulators who were reviewing its acquisition of the Chronicle. The deal, under which Hearst paid the Fangs a $66 million "subsidy" to help run the paper, had many media watchers crying foul.
Parole board nixes Amy's 'Celeb Boxing' bout
Perhaps it says something about Fox's programming ethos that one of its stars was forced to back out of an upcoming special because her parole officer wouldn't let her participate. Amy Fisher was supposed to square off against disgraced Olympic skater Tonya Harding on next week's "Celebrity Boxing," but the New York State division of parole, which initially OK’d the fight, has changed its mind, according to the New York Post. Fisher, known by the nickname "Long Island Lolita," went to prison for the attempted murder of her boyfriend's wife in 1993. Fighting in her place will be Paula Jones, who accused Bill Clinton of sexually harassing her during his time as governor of Arkansas. Next Wednesday's special will also feature a three-round match between "The Brady Bunch's" Barry Williams and "The Partridge Family's" Danny Bonaduce, and producers have reportedly approached "celebrities" including rapper Vanilla Ice and Rick Rockwell, of "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire," about fighting in future specials.
WB to 'Off Centre' writers: Cut some penises
How much cock talk is too much cock talk? It's a tough question, but one that employees of the WB's Broadcast Standards Acceptability department find themselves forced to answer now that the network is home to "Off Centre," a new sitcom from "American Pie" producers Chris and Paul Weitz. In a recent internal memo that has been making the email rounds in Hollywood, the WB regulators asked the Weitzes to remove some of the penis references from an episode of "Off Centre." "It is essential to reduce and/or modify the significant number of uses of 'penis,' 'testicles,' 'foreskin' as well as euphemisms for the same, such as 'your thingie,' " reads the memo, according to the New York Post. Other unacceptable references include "covered wagon," "unit," "turtleneck," "little fella," "anteater," "diddy," "cloaking device" and "my pig is still snuggly, wrapped in his doughy blanket." "Off Centre," which airs Sundays at 9 p.m., is about two New York City roommates, one British, one American.
March 5, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
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