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NBC won another Thursday night this week, but its victory over CBS was slight and based solely on “Friends” and “ER.” CBS, in fact, ranked No. 1 from 8:30 p.m., when the second half of “Survivor” beat NBC’s “Scrubs” by a full rating point, through 10 p.m. with “CSI,” which beat NBC’s “Will & Grace” and “Good Morning, Miami” by three rating points. NBC averaged an 8.7 adult 18-49 rating, compared to CBS’s 7.8. ABC had a 2.9 and Fox had a 2.2, based on Nielsen overnights. “Friends” started off NBC’s lineup with a 10 rating and “ER” finished it off with a 10, nearly twice the rating of CBS’s “Without a Trace.” Meanwhile, ABC trailed with reality shows like “Are You Hot? The Search for America’s Sexiest People.” The network’s best rating came at 10 p.m. for “Primetime Thursday’s” coverage of the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. The show had a 3.5 and ranked last in its time slot. Fox had the NAACP Image Awards, which slumped in last place for its two-hour run. CBS ranked No. 1 in households with a 13.3 rating and 21 share. NBC had an 11.8/18, ABC had a 5.2/8 and Fox had a 3.6/6.
Ho-hum
Wednesday debut for 'All American Girl'
ABC’s “All American Girl”
joined the ranks of other recent reality shows that have fallen short of
expectations in its first outing with weak ratings and waning viewer
interest. The show debuted with a two hour special on Wednesday with an
average 3 adult 18-49 rating. More troubling, its rating dipped 9 percent
in its second half-hour and another 7 percent in its third half-hour
before rebounding some for its conclusion. “All American Girl” was in
last place throughout its run, despite facing repeats of NBC’s dramas
“West Wing” at 9 p.m. and “Law & Order” at 10 p.m. The reality
show also trailed Fox’s sitcoms “Bernie Mac” and “Cedric the
Entertainer,” as well as CBS newsmagazines featuring coverage of the
return of kidnapped Elizabeth Smart. Fox ranked No. 1 for the night with
an average 6.1 adult 18-49 rating, due mostly to “American Idol,”
which with an 8.5 was the highest rated show on any network. NBC had a
4.4, CBS had a 3.8 and ABC had a 3.3, based on Nielsen overnights.
WB un-schedules
commercial-free variety show
If integrated product placement
is the future of TV advertising, then the future will have to wait. The WB
has placed plans for this summer’s commercial-free variety/talk show “Live
From Tomorrow” on hold because the network could not find a second major
sponsor. Pepsi had made a multi-million dollar commitment to the
six-episode, hour-long show, which will weave sponsors' messages into its
entertainment content. Although Reebok and Sony PlayStation had signed up
for secondary sponsorships, the WB decided to ice the show. It’s
uncertain whether it will ever reach the air. WB president Jed Petrick says
“Live” will go forward when more sponsors can be found, but that
probably would not be until at least 2004. Diplomatic, the production
company of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” producer Michael Davies, is
developing the show. Sponsors may have been scared off by the recent
logjam of under-performing reality shows on other networks. In other WB
programming news, freshman comedy “Greetings from Tucson” will return
to the Friday night schedule on April 4 at 8:30 p.m., an hour earlier than
its old slot. Meanwhile, at ABC, the network has ordered a second version
of “Celebrity Mole.”
'Are You Hot?'
Howard Stern's $10M question
It’s hard to believe anyone would
voluntarily associate himself with the ratings disappointment that is
ABC’s “Are You Hot? The Search for America’s Sexiest People.” But
as he’s been threatening all week, Howard Stern sued ABC and
Telepictures Prods. Thursday, alleging that the reality series is actually
a ripoff of a segment on his E! television show. Filing suit in Los
Angeles, Stern named his former TV producer, “Hot” co-executive
producer/show runner Scott Einziger, and “Hot” creator Mike Fleiss as
defendants. The $10 million complaint notes the similarities between
“Hot” and a Stern spot called “The Evaluators,” wherein Stern and
guests rate women on their Playboy Playmate potential. Stern claims that
he’d been in talks to spin “The Evaluators” into a network or cable
show, but once hot went into production, the talks stopped. The suit
alleges unfair business practices, unfair competition and misappropriation
of trade secrets.
'The
District' star Lynne Thigpen dead at 54
Actress
Lynne Thigpen, a co-star on CBS’s “The District,” died unexpectedly
Wednesday night at her Los Angeles home. She was 54. Thigpen may have been
best known for playing the chief on the children’s program “Where in
the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” She also guest-starred on a number of
shows, including “LA Law” and “thirtysomething.” In 1997 she won a
Tony for her portrayal of an oncologist in the Wendy Wasserstein play
“An American Daughter.” Thigpen also won two Obie Awards for
off-Broadway work. On “The District” she played crime analyst Ella
Farmer, who worked with series star Craig T. Nelson’s character. An
autopsy will be performed to determine cause of death. Production on
“The District” has been temporarily suspended.
'Friends' star Perry
will guest on 'West Wing'
Apparently $1 million per episode isn’t quite enough for
"Friends" star Matthew Perry. The man who’s known to millions
as Chandler Bing will soon be doing some moonlighting on another NBC
series with a two-episode guest shot on "The West Wing." Perry
will play Joe Quincy, a Republican attorney who attempts to land a job as
a White House associate counsel. The episodes will air April 23 and 30.
March 14, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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