Fox's 'Married' finale gains but CBS wins Monday
Fox’s reality show “Married by America” hardly caused a stir with television viewers for most of its run, but it’s finale on Monday generated respectable ratings. The two-hour special averaged a 3.9 adult 18-49 rating and improved its rating 93 percent from beginning to end, when at 9:30 p.m. it moved into first place with a 5.4 rating in the demographic. Still, Fox trailed other networks for most of the night, notably CBS, which ranked No. 1 in all but one half-hour. CBS had the night’s highest-rated show with “Everybody Loves Raymond” pulling a 5.8 at 9 p.m. “CSI: Miami” also did well with an average 5.3 rating at 10 p.m. CBS won the night with a 4.9 adult 18-49 rating, compared to NBC’s 4, Fox’s 3.9 and ABC’s 1.8, based on Nielsen overnights. Meanwhile, NBC was competitive for most of the night with a “Fear Factor” repeat, “Third Watch” and “Crossing Jordan.” ABC suffered from the under-performing “John Stossel: Help Me! I Can’t Help Myself” special, and two episodes of “The Practice,” all of which ranked in last place in their time slots.

Fox, led by 'Simpsons,' has an easy Sunday win
Fox was the top network on a decidedly uneventful Sunday. Many of the networks’ regular shows were in repeats and even those that weren’t, like CBS’s “My Big Fat Greek Life” and “Becker,” pulled unimpressive ratings. CBS led early in the night among adults 18-49 with the first half of “60 Minutes,” but quickly gave way to Fox’s “Simpsons-“ anchored lineup. Fox was No. 1 from 7:30 p.m. with “King of the Hill” through 9:00 p.m. with “Malcolm in the Middle.” “The Simpsons” at 8 p.m. had the night’s highest rating with a 5.Fox averaged a 3.5 adult 18-49 rating, based on Nielsen overnights. NBC had a 3.2, CBS had a 3 and ABC had a 2.4.CBS and NBC did best later in primetime after Fox finished its lineup.The second half of a repeat of NBC’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” was No. 1 at 9:30 p.m., while CBS was No. 1 with the first half of a “Without a Trace” repeat at 10 p.m. The second half of NBC’s “Boomtown” moved up to No. 1 at 10:30 p.m. Meanwhile, ABC trailed with the 1998 movie “Dr. Dolittle,” an “Alias” repeat at 9 p.m. and an original “Dragnet” at 10 p.m.

Stockholders: AOL suits have been swindling us
Ted Turner and Steve Case have been reunited – as co-defendents in a lawsuit. Two institutional shareholders have filed suit against AOL Time Warner and most of its higher-ups, alleging insider trading and tricks designed to pump up the company’s share price. The Amalgamated Bank’s Longview Collective Investment Fund and the University of California brought the suit Monday in California Superior Court. Turner, Case, AOL CEO Dick Parsons and two former executives, Gerald Levin and Bob Pittman, also are named. The suit alleges that AOL inflated earnings by $1 billion from 2000 to 2001 and that it overstated e-commerce and advertising revenue in order to secure its merger with Time Warner. Company auditor Ernst & Young also is named in the suit. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating AOL for allegedly booking millions improperly as part of a deal with Bertelsmann. The claimants say that the AOL executives cashed in their stock options at the time of the merger on an accelerated basis, resulting in billions in profit. UC claims to have lost $450 million since then.

Hachette, Wenner planning bids for Seventeen 
Bids for Seventeen magazine are due tomorrow, and the list of interested parties appears to be a short one. Only two companies, Hachette Filipacchi Media and Wenner Media, are expected to bid, and neither is said to be offering anything like the $175 million-$200 million Primedia was hoping to get for the title. Hachette would most likely merge Seventeen with Elle Girl, its two-year-old Elle spinoff for teens. Wenner doesn't publish a teen title, but Us Weekly editor Bonnie Fuller has experience in the genre and would likely be given oversight of the title. Seventeen is the biggest title in the category, with a circulation of 2.46 million in the latter half of last year, but it's newsstand and advertising performance has been flagging. Single copies sales were off 24.1 percent through December, averaging 368,250, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Sharon Osbourne in public brawl over necklace
Sharon Osbourne, who recently got a clean bill of health from the doctors who've been treating her for colon cancer , seems to be back in fighting shape. The reality TV matriarch was accused of battery after engaging in fisticuffs at a West Hollywood restaurant last week. Osbourne claims to have sustained a dislocated jaw, chipped tooth and sprained neck when talent agent Renee Tab punched her in the face, while Tab says Osbourne instigated the fracas by spitting on her. The two women have been enemies since New Year's Eve, when Tab, attending a party hosted by the Osbournes, won a $15,000 diamond necklace in a raffle. The family, saying the raffle was only for invited guests, demanded that she return it and filed a theft report when she refused. Though police took reports from both women after last week's scuffle, neither was arrested.

DreamWorks brings CGI magic to primetime
NBC will harness the technology responsible for movies like "Toy Story" and "Shrek" for a new primetime comedy in production for fall 2004. Produced by DreamWorks, "Father of the Pride" will be the first primetime series created entirely with computer-generated imagery (CGI). The show will focus on a family of white lions who perform in Siegfried and Roy's long-running Las Vegas stage show. The famous animal trainers will make occasional appearances as CGI characters. In the less distant future, NBC is developing a reality TV version of the show "Fame," which took place at a performing arts high school. The show, which will air this summer, will be a talent search similar to Fox's "American Idol."

April 15, 2003© 2003 Media Life


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