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NBC’s experiment with “Sopranos-“ type programming came to an end Tuesday with a resounding thud. The season finale of “Kingpin,” the short-run series with two weekly slots during the ongoing February sweeps, ranked a distant third among the Big Three networks in the 18-49 demo at 10 p.m. The show averaged a 3.5 rating and trailed both ABC’s “NYPD Blue” and CBS’s “Judging Amy” by roughly 1 rating point. NBC struggled all night, even at 9 p.m. with “Frasier,” against Fox’s No. 1 ranked lineup of “American Idol” and “24,” a show that while only holding 70 percent of “Idol’s” rating beat its nearest competitor by nearly 3 points. NBC’s biggest trouble spot, however, was at 9:30 p.m. when the midseason “A.U.S.A.” ranked last in its time period and lost 35 percent of “Frasier’s” lead-in rating. Fox won the night with a 7.9 adult 18-49 rating. ABC had a 4.1, NBC had a 3.7 and CBS had a 3.6, based on Nielsen overnights. CBS was No. 1 in households with a 10.2 rating and 16 share. Fox had a 9.6/14, ABC had a 6.4/10 and NBC had a 6/9.
ESPN helps out ABC with
football game swap
ESPN is taking one for the team,
giving up the NFL season opener so that fellow Disney-owned network ABC
won't have to end its "Monday Night Football" season on a low
note yet again. Under the new arrangement, ABC will televise the first
game of the season on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 4. In exchange for
handing it over to ABC, ESPN will get an extra Saturday night game at the
end of the season. When ESPN aired last year's season opener, it earned a
9 rating, a towering number by cable's standards. The Dec. 29 "Monday
Night Football" contest between San Francisco at St. Louis,
meanwhile, earned only an 8.7, dragging the average rating for the whole
season down. ABC has been arguing for flexible schedule that would insure
no meaningless "MNF" games between non-playoff contenders late
in the season, but CBS and Fox, seeing little benefit for themselves in
such a system, have opposed it.
All-star lineup at Grammys'
NYC homecoming
Congratulations, New Yorkers, you've been chosen to host
the Grammys. Rather than go with a single host, the National Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences has elected to name a group of "New York
All-Stars" to represent the city. The move symbolizes the music
awards show's return to the Big Apple after a four-year exile in Los
Angeles caused by a spat between former mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-Academy
president C. Michael Greene. The New York All-Stars will include pop stars
Queen Latifah and Marc Anthony, "Sopranos" actress Jamie-Lynn
Sigler, "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley, comedian Robin
Williams and Paul Schaffer, bandleader on CBS's "The Late Show."
Jon Stewart, star of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," hosted
the last two Grammy ceremonies. This year's presenters will include Alicia
Keys, B.B. King, Justin Timberlake, Peter Gabriel, Aretha Franklin and
Bonnie Raitt. The 45th Annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday night
at Madison Square Garden, with CBS's telecast beginning at 8 p.m.
Tyson PPV bout is on again,
off again, on, off...
After being briefly down with the flu, Mike
Tyson is ready to fight again -- but that doesn't mean Saturday night's
pay-per-view match against Clifford Etienne is on. Now it’s Etienne who
looks as if he may pull out, with his manager sending mixed signals
yesterday about the boxer's intentions. Etienne may be understandably
nervous about the fight, with Tyson once again exhibiting some of his
trademark "erratic behavior," including getting a large tattoo
on the left side of his face earlier this week. Last year, during the
run-up to a fight with Lennox Lewis, Tyson attacked the champ at a press
conference and bit him on the leg, causing Las Vegas boxing officials to
deny him a license to fight. The bout ended up taking place in Memphis,
where Saturday's Tyson-Etienne match is supposed to happen. If it goes
ahead, the fight will air on Showtime at 10 p.m.
Blake blabs to Babs on
'20/20' next week
Former "Baretta" star
Robert Blake will return to television next week in an interview that has
already cost him two defense attorneys. Blake, who is in jail waiting
trial on charges of murder, recently granted a two-hour interview to ABC's
Barbara Walters. Footage from the interview will be edited for a Feb. 28
segment on "20/20." Blake, who denies involvement in the death
of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, insisted on granting the interview despite
the objections of his lawyers. Two of them, Harland Braun and Jennifer L.
Keller, quit after failing to dissuade him.
Ailing Reuters
commits to massive job chop
A $630 million loss last year has Reuters preparing to
eliminate 3,000 jobs by the end of 2005. The London-based news and
financial information company may snip some from the editorial side,
mostly from special projects. The multi-million loss was Reuters' first
since it went public 19 years ago, and much higher than the company had
expected. Reuters has faced increased competition in the past few years
from Bloomberg and Thomson Financial. In order to streamline costs,
Reuters will also end some joint ventures. In addition to the layoffs,
this is projected to save about $700 million by 2005. Reuters currently
has about 16,000 worldwide employees, down from a peak of 19,000.
Investors have been spooked this year by the company's refusal to offer a
revenue forecast for 2003's second half.
February 19, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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