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CBS dominated Sunday viewing with a big thanks to a football overrun and, to a lesser degree, the “People’s Choice Awards,” a special most notable for getting a jump on the flashier awards shows to come. CBS ranked No. 1 in adults 18-49 with a 7.5 rating, based on Nielsen overnights, and a 13.4 household rating and 20 share. The last hour of the AFC divisional playoff game, which ran through 8 p.m. in some of the country, averaged a 12.8 rating, nearly twice the combined rating of ABC, NBC and Fox in that hour. The “People’s Choice Awards” didn’t fair as well, but ranked No. 1 for most of its two hour run. The special averaged a 5.6 adult 18-49 rating. Fox ranked No. 2 in that demographic with a 4.1 rating. The network’s highest rating was for “The Simpsons” at 8 p.m. Fox had a 5.1/8 among households. NBC had a 3.9 and briefly ranked No. 1 at 9:30 p.m. with the second half of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” The network ranked No. 2 in households with a 7.8/12. ABC had a 3.2 and a 5.2/8 with weak ratings for “One Hundred and One Dalmatians,” “Alias” and “The Practice.”
NBC will challenge Bowl with 'SNL' special
Counter-programming stunts have become as much a Super Bowl tradition as the big game itself. In its annual effort to take advantage of the window during which viewers are most likely to change the channel, NBC will air a 20-minute “Saturday Night Live” special. Last year the network drew a 4.6 adult 18-49 rating with a Playboy Playmates edition of “Fear Factor.” The reality show returns this year, minus the bunnies. A 90-minute “Fear Factor” will run against ABC’s Super Bowl Jan. 26, taking a timeout for “SNL” whenever the game goes to halftime. Fox, which helped begin the halftime counter-programming craze years ago with a halftime “In Living Color,” doesn’t plan any specials. It will run the movie “Independence Day.” CBS plans to show the film “Deep End of the Ocean.”
Comcast teams up for new black cable channel
While Black Entertainment Television (BET) struggles to keep some of its flagship shows on the air despite low viewership, others are trying to break into what's seen as a potentially large market. Cable operator Comcast Corp. and urban music conglomerate Radio One will announce plans today to launch their own 24-hour news and entertainment network aimed at African-Americans. The new digital channel will directly compete for the 60 million homes BET has gathered over twenty years on cable. BET's news division has cut back because of low ratings for many of the network's most-respected shows. "Lead Story" and "BET Tonight with Ed Gordon" have both been canceled, despite a ratings spike when Gordon interviewed Senator Trent Lott late last year. "Teen Summit" will go off the air this spring.
'Buffy' without Buffy? It's a possibility
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” may return to UPN, even if Buffy herself does not. CBS president Leslie Moonves, who is also in charge of UPN, said over the weekend that series star Sarah Michelle Gellar still has not signed a contract for next season. Still, the cult hit may return even without her, or with her appearing in fewer episodes. Moonves said that another possibility is a “Buffy” spinoff without Gellar. But the series’ return in any form is still far from definite, and that’s bad news for a network that has struggled this season. “Buffy” jumped to UPN last year after a five-year run on the rival WB. Along with “Enterprise,” “Buffy” helped the network to a shortlived surge last season before UPN's ratings fell this year. UPN currently ranks sixth in 18-49s, and although it had its best year financially, continues to lose money.
'Married...with
Children' reunion set for Feb. 16
“Married…with Children,” the genre-defying sitcom whose success set
the tone for much of Fox's subsequent programming, will return to the air
in a one-hour reunion Feb. 16. The special follows by two weeks the
release of the “Married … with Children: The Most Outrageous Episodes”
DVD. Stars Ed O’Neill, Katey Segal, Christina Applegate and David
Faustino will appear on the special, which was filmed in a replica of the
Bundys’ old living room. O’Neill and Segal both have first-year shows
on ABC this season (“Dragnet” and “8 Simple Rules for Dating My
Teenage Daughter,” respectively). The special will air right after “The
Simpsons’” 300th episode. In other programming news, CBS has decided
to premiere its most-talked about midseason show during its successful
Monday lineup. “My Big Fat Greek Life,” based on last summer’s
independent film smash “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” will debut Feb. 24
at 9:30 p.m., after “Everybody Loves Raymond.” The show will then move
to its regular spot following “Becker” at 8:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Ex-AOLer Levin gets
urge to diverge from wife
Inspired, perhaps, by the
resignation of former colleague Steve Case, Gerald Levin has decided it's
time for a change. The ex-CEO of AOL Time Warner is seeking a divorce from
his wife of 32 years, decorator Barbara Riley Levin, according to the New
York Post. The twice-married Levin has reportedly been seeing another
woman, one Laurie Perelman, for the past six weeks. The last few years
have been trying ones for the Levins. In addition to the financial
difficulties that have forced Gerald Levin to sell some of his now greatly
devalued AOL Time Warner stock and put two of their homes up for sale, the
couple lost their son, Jonathan, who was murdered in 1997. Now 63, Levin
continues to report for work at AOL Time Warner despite having resigned as
CEO early last year.
January 13,2003© 2003 Media Life
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