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for 'Law & Order'
The times, perhaps? Trio bolsters weaker shows.
By Toni Fitzgerald
The comfort of a clear-cut good guys versus bad guys premise certainly connects with an audience when the country’s about to begin a war.
NBC aired seven episodes of “Law & Order” in one form or another last week, most of them repeats. Four ranked in the top 25 among adults 18-49.
All of them finished in the top 75, above such fresh fare as NBC’s “Mister Sterling,” the WB’s “Angel” and Fox’s “NAACP Image Awards.”
The “Law & Order” franchise has become the network’s most reliable dramatic trio. The shows have helped make up for the free fall of “West Wing” among 18-49s while also patching a massive scheduling hole Saturday nights.
The original Wednesday 10 p.m. “Law & Order” still wins its time slot among households and 18-49s most weeks, even when facing ABC’s seemingly more hip “Celebrity Mole.” Back-to-back shows Wednesday, pre-empting “West Wing,” averaged a 5.1 adult 18-49 rating.
“Law & Order: SVU,” the second of the bunch to debut, is Friday night’s most-watched program among 18-49s and households.
It was the highest-ranking of any of the “L&O” shows last week, finishing tied for 13 despite having the least desirable time slot, Friday at 10 p.m. “SVU” ranked as the No. 4 drama last week among 18-49s, behind CBS’s “CSI” and “CSI: Miami” and NBC’s “ER.”
“Law & Order: Criminal Intent” at 9 p.m. Sundays has been a hit ever since it began last year. Now it’s having an even more desirable effect – lifting the 10 p.m. “Boomtown” to better ratings the past four weeks.
“Boomtown” finished tied for 29 last week, the new episode retaining 91 percent of “Criminal Intent’s” 18-49 audience.
Still, the Sunday bounce hasn’t helped the 8 p.m. NBC show, “American Dreams.” The freshman drama, considered an even chance for renewal, didn’t boost its chances with just a 3.5 adult 18-49 rating last week for a new episode.
After six straight weeks at No. 1 in the weekly adults 18-49 network rankings, Fox finally finished second.
NBC, the season-to-date leader in the category, prevailed by a scant .2 rating points with a 4.7 average. Regrouping from a disappointing February sweeps, the network has seen its season-to-date average stall at 4.6 among young adults as Fox’s steadily climbs, now to 4.2.
New episodes of Thursday’s lineup helped lift NBC, in a week where CBS (except for “Survivor”) was in repeats.
In its second week, Fox’s “Oliver Beene” dropped from its debut average, when it retained 100 percent of its lead-in “Simpsons” audience. In the 8:30 Sunday spot, “Beene” averaged a 5.1, retaining a still-respectable 88 percent.
A Wednesday “American Idol” lead-in has given a huge boost to Fox’s “Bernie Mac” and “Cedric the Entertainer Presents.”
The two comedies both finished in the top 30 among 18-49s for the first time since the fall.
CBS’s “My Big Fat Greek Life” slipped to No. 49 among 18-49s last week. The show remains very popular among households, though, where it has ranked in the top 25 every outing since its debut.
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PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY
NETWORK |
|||||||||
|
Network |
Households* |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
||||||
|
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
|
|
CBS |
8.2 |
8750 |
13 |
4.6 |
12400 |
12 |
3.7 |
4730 |
10 |
|
NBC |
7.9 |
8420 |
13 |
4.4 |
11890 |
11 |
4.7 |
6110 |
13 |
|
FOX |
6.2 |
6590 |
10 |
3.7 |
10030 |
9 |
4.5 |
5830 |
12 |
|
ABC |
4.9 |
5200 |
8 |
2.9 |
7790 |
7 |
2.8 |
3650 |
8 |
|
WB |
2.1 |
2200 |
3 |
1.1 |
3110 |
3 |
1.4 |
1770 |
4 |
|
UPN |
1.7 |
1830 |
3 |
0.9 |
2570 |
2 |
1.0 |
1340 |
3 |
|
PAX |
0.7 |
790 |
1 |
0.4 |
1040 |
1 |
0.3 |
330 |
1 |
|
* Each rating point is
equivalent to 1.067 million homes |
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|
SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME
AVERAGES BY NETWORK |
|||||||||
|
Network |
Households* |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
||||||
|
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
|
|
CBS |
8.4 |
9010 |
14 |
4.7 |
12880 |
12 |
4.0 |
5110 |
11 |
|
NBC |
7.8 |
8330 |
13 |
4.3 |
11830 |
11 |
4.6 |
5870 |
12 |
|
ABC |
6.5 |
6980 |
11 |
3.8 |
10450 |
10 |
4.0 |
5130 |
11 |
|
FOX |
6.1 |
6470 |
10 |
3.6 |
9920 |
9 |
4.2 |
5430 |
11 |
|
WB |
2.7 |
2850 |
4 |
1.6 |
4260 |
4 |
1.8 |
2360 |
5 |
|
UPN |
2.3 |
2460 |
4 |
1.3 |
3630 |
3 |
1.5 |
1970 |
4 |
|
PAX |
0.9 |
910 |
1 |
0.4 |
1210 |
1 |
0.3 |
390 |
1 |
|
* Each rating point is
equivalent to 1.067 million homes |
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|
NETWORK TV |
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|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
||||
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
RANK |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
CSI |
CBS |
17.4 |
26 |
18618 |
1 |
10.5 |
28601 |
|
2 |
E.R. |
NBC |
13.7 |
23 |
14652 |
3 |
7.7 |
20915 |
|
3 |
FRIENDS |
NBC |
13.5 |
21 |
14428 |
3 |
7.7 |
21000 |
|
4 |
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY |
FOX |
13.3 |
21 |
14183 |
2 |
8.1 |
22011 |
|
5 |
CSI: MIAMI |
CBS |
12.9 |
21 |
13739 |
7 |
7.0 |
18951 |
|
6 |
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND |
CBS |
12.4 |
18 |
13283 |
6 |
7.2 |
19475 |
|
6 |
SURVIVOR: AMAZON |
CBS |
12.4 |
19 |
13191 |
3 |
7.7 |
21055 |
|
8 |
LAW AND ORDER:SVU |
NBC |
11.5 |
20 |
12238 |
10 |
6.2 |
16994 |
|
9 |
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY |
FOX |
10.7 |
17 |
11376 |
8 |
6.7 |
18302 |
|
10 |
LAW AND ORDER |
NBC |
10.4 |
17 |
11067 |
14 |
5.5 |
14967 |
|
11 |
FEAR FACTOR |
NBC |
10.3 |
16 |
11040 |
8 |
6.7 |
18304 |
|
11 |
STILL STANDING |
CBS |
10.3 |
16 |
11017 |
11 |
5.8 |
15863 |
|
13 |
SCRUBS |
NBC |
10.1 |
15 |
10796 |
12 |
5.7 |
15636 |
|
13 |
WITHOUT A TRACE |
CBS |
10.1 |
17 |
10825 |
12 |
5.7 |
15382 |
|
15 |
WILL & GRACE |
NBC |
10.0 |
15 |
10672 |
14 |
5.5 |
15009 |
|
16 |
60 MINUTES |
CBS |
9.4 |
16 |
10078 |
17 |
5.0 |
13683 |
|
17 |
48 HOURS INVESTIGATES |
CBS |
9.2 |
15 |
9854 |
19 |
4.9 |
13195 |
|
18 |
KING OF QUEENS |
CBS |
9.1 |
14 |
9657 |
16 |
5.2 |
14037 |
|
19 |
YES, DEAR |
CBS |
8.9 |
13 |
9466 |
17 |
5.0 |
13468 |
|
20 |
LAW & ORDER 3/12(S) |
NBC |
8.7 |
13 |
9328 |
21 |
4.6 |
12459 |
|
21 |
GOOD MORNING MIAMI |
NBC |
8.6 |
13 |
9132 |
21 |
4.6 |
12571 |
|
22 |
MY BIG FAT GREEK LIFE |
CBS |
8.3 |
13 |
8905 |
21 |
4.6 |
12388 |
|
23 |
LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT |
NBC |
8.2 |
12 |
8797 |
21 |
4.6 |
12631 |
|
24 |
60 MINUTES II - 9PM |
CBS |
8.1 |
12 |
8670 |
25 |
4.5 |
12224 |
|
24 |
DATELINE FRI |
NBC |
8.1 |
14 |
8616 |
30 |
4.2 |
11516 |
|
24 |
JAG |
CBS |
8.1 |
13 |
8688 |
25 |
4.5 |
12134 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
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TOP 30 PROGRAMS - BROADCAST TV |
||||
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
In Millions |
|
1 |
CSI |
CBS |
10.3 |
13.24 |
|
2 |
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY |
FOX |
10.3 |
13.22 |
|
3 |
FRIENDS |
NBC |
10.0 |
12.87 |
|
4 |
ER |
NBC |
9.9 |
12.77 |
|
5 |
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY |
FOX |
8.7 |
11.22 |
|
6 |
SURVIVOR: AMAZON |
CBS |
8.1 |
10.38 |
|
7 |
FEAR FACTOR |
NBC |
8.0 |
10.31 |
|
8 |
SCRUBS |
NBC |
7.7 |
9.84 |
|
8 |
WILL & GRACE |
NBC |
7.7 |
9.85 |
|
10 |
CSI: MIAMI |
CBS |
7.0 |
8.94 |
|
11 |
GOOD MORNING MIAMI |
NBC |
6.4 |
8.22 |
|
12 |
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND |
CBS |
6.3 |
8.08 |
|
13 |
MEET MY FOLKS 3/10 |
NBC |
5.9 |
7.58 |
|
13 |
LAW & ORDER: SVU |
NBC |
5.9 |
7.63 |
|
13 |
THAT ‘70S SHOW |
FOX |
5.9 |
7.58 |
|
13 |
SIMPSONS |
FOX |
5.9 |
7.58 |
|
17 |
LAW & ORDER |
NBC |
5.5 |
7.10 |
|
18 |
BERNIE MAC |
FOX |
5.4 |
6.99 |
|
18 |
STILL STANDING |
CBS |
5.4 |
7.00 |
|
20 |
WITHOUT A TRACE |
CBS |
5.1 |
6.62 |
|
20 |
OLIVER BEENE |
FOX |
5.1 |
6.62 |
|
22 |
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE |
FOX |
5.0 |
6.43 |
|
23 |
LAW & ORDER 3/12 |
NBC |
4.6 |
5.92 |
|
24 |
LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT |
NBC |
4.5 |
5.83 |
|
24 |
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE SPCL |
FOX |
4.5 |
5.81 |
|
26 |
YES, DEAR |
CBS |
4.4 |
5.60 |
|
27 |
ALIAS |
ABC |
4.3 |
5.59 |
|
27 |
KING OF QUEENS |
CBS |
4.3 |
5.52 |
|
29 |
CEDRIC ENTERTAINER: PRESN |
FOX |
4.2 |
5.37 |
|
29 |
BOOMTOWN |
NBC |
4.2 |
5.45 |
|
Source: ABC Networks, based on data from Nielsen Media Research |
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|
CABLE TV |
|||||
|
BASIC CABLE |
|||||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons 2+ |
|
|
(000) |
Rtg |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW ZONE) |
TNN |
4043 |
3.8 |
5856 |
|
2 |
PRES NEWS CONF/ANALYSIS(S)-3/06 |
FOXNC |
3983 |
3.7 |
5938 |
|
3 |
PRESIDENTIAL NEWS CNFRNCE(S)-3/06 |
FOXNC |
3728 |
3.5 |
5576 |
|
4 |
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) |
TNN |
3724 |
3.5 |
5353 |
|
5 |
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD(S)-3/09 |
TNT |
3546 |
3.3 |
4763 |
|
6 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
3385 |
3.2 |
5226 |
|
7 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
3236 |
3.0 |
4606 |
|
8 |
THE OREILLY FACTOR |
FOXNC |
3171 |
3.0 |
4427 |
|
9 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
3166 |
3.0 |
4709 |
|
10 |
FAIRLY ODD PARENTS |
NICK |
3108 |
2.9 |
4680 |
|
11 |
FAIRLY ODD PARENTS |
NICK |
3086 |
2.9 |
4511 |
|
12 |
SUNDAY MOVIE I (THE FAMILIAR STRANGER) |
LIF |
3019 |
2.8 |
3522 |
|
13 |
BEST OF TLC WEEK(S)-3/08 (TRADING SPACES) |
TLC |
3002 |
2.8 |
4412 |
|
14 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2968 |
2.8 |
4102 |
|
15 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2860 |
2.7 |
4437 |
|
PAY CABLE |
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# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons 2+ |
|
|
(000) |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
SIX FEET UNDER |
HBO |
3458 |
3.2 |
5129 |
|
2 |
WCB:KLITSCHKO VS. SANDERS (JONES, JR. VS. RUIZ) |
HBO |
2627 |
2.5 |
3843 |
|
3 |
WCB:KLITSCHKO VS. SANDERS (PRE 2) |
HBO |
2537 |
2.4 |
3483 |
|
4 |
WCB:KLITSCHKO VS. SANDERS (POST) |
HBO |
2521 |
2.4 |
3245 |
|
5 |
SOPRANOS, THE |
HBO |
2423 |
2.3 |
3374 |
|
Total U.S. ratings and
household projections are based on 106.7 million TV homes. |
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SYNDICATION |
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# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
|
US Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE |
KIN |
10.2 |
10857 |
|
2 |
JEOPARDY |
KIN |
7.9 |
8467 |
|
3 |
FRIENDS-SYN (AT) |
WB |
7.8 |
8272 |
|
4 |
SEINFELD (AT) |
SPT |
7.7 |
8204 |
|
5 |
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN (AT) |
KIN |
6.8 |
7226 |
|
5 |
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT) |
KIN |
6.8 |
7213 |
|
7 |
SEINFELD-WKND (AT) |
SPT |
6.7 |
7180 |
|
8 |
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT) |
PRM |
6.3 |
6712 |
|
9 |
DR. PHIL SHOW |
KIN |
5.8 |
6208 |
|
10 |
JUDGE JUDY (AT) |
PRM |
5.5 |
5868 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
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| SPANISH-LANGUAGE
TELEVISION Ranked on Households Week Ending March 9 |
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|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
NHTI* |
Projection |
|
1 |
ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO TUE |
UNI |
25.5 |
2481 |
|
2 |
ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO WED |
UNI |
25.3 |
2458 |
|
3 |
ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO MON |
UNI |
24.6 |
2393 |
|
4 |
ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO THU |
UNI |
24.4 |
2373 |
|
4 |
VIAS DEL AMOR TUE |
UNI |
24.4 |
2371 |
|
6 |
VIAS DEL AMOR MON |
UNI |
24.2 |
2354 |
|
7 |
ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO FRI |
UNI |
24.1 |
2343 |
|
8 |
VIAS DEL AMOR THU |
UNI |
23.6 |
2292 |
|
9 |
VIAS DEL AMOR WED |
UNI |
23.2 |
2255 |
|
10 |
VIAS DEL AMOR FRI |
UNI |
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