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CBS's regular lineup, along with the new "Baby Bob," reclaimed Monday night from NBC's schedule, still powered by the durable "Fear Factor." CBS posted a 5.3 adult 18-49 rating, NBC had a 5.0, ABC a 3.5 and Fox 2.8, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. At 8 p.m. NBC's "Fear Factor" continued to dominate, pulling in a solid 7.2 in adults 18-49, topping a 5.2 from CBS's "King of Queens" and the new "Baby Bob," which kept all of its audience from it previous week's debut. At 9 p.m. CBS collected a 7.2 among adults 18-49 from "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Yes, Dear." The premiere of the critically reviled "Bachelor" on ABC came in second with a 4.0 adult 18-49 rating, its audience swelling by 20 percent by its second half-hour. NBC came in third because of another dismal performance by the midseason entry "Colin Quinn Show," whose 2.8 adult 18-49 rating was still better than the 2.5 from Fox's struggling "American Embassy." At 10 p.m. NBC's "Crossing Jordan" eked out a slim victory over CBS's "Family Law" by just three-tenths of a rating point. The average household rating and share for Monday night were: CBS 9.7/15, NBC 6.8/11, ABC 5.9/9 and Fox 4.0/6. On Sunday night, despite ratings that hit a historic low (see story 1), the Academy Awards on ABC trounced the competition, consistently outdrawing the combined audience of the rival networks. ABC posted a solid 13.8 adult 18-49 rating, Fox had a 5.0, CBS a 3.2 and NBC a 2.3, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. The tail-end of NCAA basketball coverage and the rest of "60 Minutes" on CBS came the closest to ABC's Oscar coverage all night, as the "Barbara Walters Special" topped CBS by over three ratings points. Fox proved most successful in counter-programming with the action flick "Independence Day," which did markedly better than the 2.8 in adults 18-49 the Kurt Russell thriller "Executive Decision" and two "Fear Factor" repeats pulled in on CBS and NBC, respectively. The average household rating and share for Sunday night were: ABC 22.5/35, CBS 6.8/11, Fox 6.7/10 and NBC 3.4/5.
Judge rules Zahn did right by Fox
Proving that spitefulness is not always a sound legal strategy, a judge threw out Fox News Channel's breach-of-contract suit against Paula Zahn's agent, filed after Zahn left Fox to join CNN last fall. Fox was ordered to pay court costs for N.S. Bienstock, the company that represents Zahn, according to The New York Times. Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes fired Zahn after finding out she was in talks with CNN, claiming such negotiations violated the terms of her contract. In yesterday's ruling, a New York State Supreme Court judge contradicted that claim, saying Zahn was obligated only to give Fox a chance to match offers from rival networks, which she did.
March Madness ratings up 10% through Sunday
March Madness is cause for merriment at CBS, with ratings for the men's NCAA basketball tournament up 10 percent to a 6.4/13 as of the end of the weekend. Last year's tournament was laying a 5.8 rating/12 share by the time Final Four play got underway. Sunday's Eastern regional games, in which Maryland defeated Connecticut and Kansas beat Oregon -- scored a 7.6/15 overnight. Saturday's NCAA coverage earned a 6.9/14 as Indiana bested Kent State and Oklahoma defeated Missouri. Next Saturday (March 30), Indiana will take on Oklahoma and Maryland will face Kansas, with the winners meeting up two days later at 8 p.m.
'Celeb Boot Camp'? Fox is working on it
Question: If people go on reality shows mainly in hopes of becoming famous, what could possibly motivate people who are already famous to do it? No one knows, but the networks keeps trying to make it happen. At the moment, Fox is said to be working on plans for an all-celebrity edition of "Boot Camp," the show in which contestants compete in a make-believe version of Marine Corps training. The network presented the concept to advertisers last week and hopes to air "Celebrity Boot Camp" during the 2002-2003 season, according to the New York Post. CBS has reportedly been unsuccessful in its attempts to round up stars for a celebrity edition of "Survivor" or "Big Brother," apparently because famous people have better things to do than sit around cooped up in a house or on a rat-infested island. Fox may have an easier time of it, not least because it has shown it is willing to be flexible about what constitutes a "celebrity." This month's "Celebrity Boxing" special featured the likes of Danny Bonaduce, Tonya Harding and Vanilla Ice.
Claim: 'The PJs' stole my identity
Having been shuttled from Fox to the WB to the TV show scrap heap, "The PJs" is now being faced with a challenge from a retired Chicago janitor who claims his likeness was used without permission. Tally Collier, a 73-year-old great-grandfather and retired Chicago janitor, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming the Warner Bros. production applied nine of his characteristics to the show's Mr. Sanchez. Both have dark eyebrows, jowled cheeks, a similar nose, chin and build, and walk with canes. Most importantly, both speak with the aid of an electronic voice box. Collier says total strangers have remarked on the likeness. Moreover, Collier claims several other characters from the show were culled from a documentary film that focused on life in the real-life projects, Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes. A copy of the tape was reportedly sent to Oprah Winfrey, with a note suggesting she shop it around if she was not personally interested. Nine months later "The PJ's" went to air. Collier and his attorneys are seeking a minimum of $10 million in punitive damages from series creator Eddie Murphy, producer--and now Oscar-winner--Ron Howard, Fox Broadcasting and Warner Bros.
March 26, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
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