 |
|
A suddenly very
vulnerable 'Scrubs'
Gone are the strong lead-ins of past
seasons
By Diego Vasquez
"Scrubs" is one of those shows that any
network ought to want to nurture, and NBC certainly has done that, cushioning it among its
hit shows in the hopes that viewers in far larger numbers would come to appreciate the
qualities that have drawn praise from critics.
But this season NBC is setting the 4-year-old "Scrubs" loose,
without the training wheels of stronger shows to keep it upright, either to finally make
it on its own or topple over.
So far, not so good. After two outings, "Scrubs'" numbers are not
encouraging.
Last season, the show aired on both Tuesday and Thursday nights as the
lead-out for “Frasier,” "Friends" or “Will & Grace,” and
overall it averaged a respectable 6.9 household rating and a 5.0 among viewers 18-49. On
Tuesdays, the weaker of the two nights, it averaged a less respectable 5.7 household
rating and a 3.8 in 18-49s.
The more critical numbers are the Tuesday ratings. That's because this season
“Scrubs” is airing only on Tuesdays. NBC's Thursdays are booked with
“Friends” spinoff “Joey,” “Will & Grace,” The
Apprentice,” and “ER.”
And of course NBC's Tuesday is a very different night this season as well. In
place of last year's "Frasier," which has ended, the lead-out for
"Scrubs" is the new CGI-animated “Father of the Pride.”
Though widely panned by critics, actually savaged, “Pride”
got off to a good start, its premiere ranking as the No. 1 show among viewers 18-49 for
the week with a 5.4 rating. It finished No. 2 among households with a 7.7 average, only
one-tenth of a ratings point behind the week’s No. 1 show, “60 minutes.”
But in its second week, after yet further savaging by critics, “Father
of the Pride” took a serious tumble, posting a 6.2 household rating, down 19.5
percent from the premiere, and a 4.3 in 18-49s, down 20.1 percent.
The effects were felt by “Scrubs.”
In its premiere it posted a 5.5 household rating, down a modest 3.5 percent
from its Tuesday night average last season, but its 18-49 rating of 3.9 was actually up
slightly.
"Scrubs'" week-two tumble wasn't nearly as severe as its lead-in's,
but it had to hurt.
The show posted a 5.1 household rating, a 7.3 percent drop, and a 3.5 among
viewers 18-49, down 10.3 percent from the season premiere.
There's two ways to look at these numbers, and certainly one is to read them
as evidence that "Scrubs" is on a slippery gurney to oblivion, with steeper
rating slides to come.
The other, one presumes the reading preferred among NBC programming whizzes,
is that "Scrubs," in declining far less than its lead-in in week two, is showing
that it can find and hold an audience even if “Father of the Pride” goes into an
even deeper tumble into cancellation.
One thing is obvious. The two shows attract different audiences, as they
should. They are very different in their subject matter and appeal.
“Father," from the producers of the “Shrek” movies, is
adult cartoon fare built around the Siegfried & Roy animal act, featuring the
voices of John Goodman, Cheryl Hines, Carl Reiner and Orlando Jones. “Scrubs” is a single-camera dramedy with no
laugh track that follows around a young medical resident in a hospital full of odd
characters.
That the shows are so different, with different audiences, should be
encouraging to NBC, suggesting that if does cancel "Father" its lead-out won't
suffer too severely.
How different are the audiences of the two shows?
In its first week, "Scrubs" lost nearly a third of its lead-in's
households, 28.6 percent, and it dropped nearly as many 18-49s, 27.8 percent. In its
second week the show lost 17.7 percent of households and 18.6 percent of 18-49s.
PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 5 |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
| NBC |
4.9 |
5370 |
9 |
2.7 |
7480 |
8 |
2.8 |
3640 |
9 |
| CBS |
4.9 |
5350 |
9 |
2.6 |
7160 |
8 |
2.3 |
2940 |
7 |
| ABC |
4.1 |
4530 |
7 |
2.2 |
6080 |
6 |
2.2 |
2810 |
7 |
| Fox |
3.2 |
3540 |
6 |
1.8 |
5080 |
5 |
2.2 |
2820 |
7 |
| UPN |
1.6 |
1760 |
3 |
0.9 |
2400 |
2 |
1.0 |
1310 |
3 |
| WB |
1.5 |
1640 |
3 |
0.8 |
2140 |
2 |
0.9 |
1130 |
3 |
| PAX |
0.5 |
580 |
1 |
0.3 |
750 |
1 |
0.2 |
210 |
1 |
* Each rating point is equivalent to 1.084 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 5 |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
| CBS |
7.6 |
8230 |
13 |
4.2 |
11640 |
11 |
3.5 |
4460 |
10 |
| NBC |
7.0 |
7590 |
12 |
3.9 |
10640 |
10 |
4.0 |
5180 |
11 |
| ABC |
5.3 |
5700 |
9 |
2.9 |
8000 |
8 |
2.9 |
3740 |
8 |
| Fox |
5.3 |
5690 |
9 |
3.0 |
8350 |
8 |
3.5 |
4510 |
10 |
| WB |
2.2 |
2380 |
4 |
1.2 |
3250 |
3 |
1.3 |
1700 |
4 |
| UPN |
2.1 |
2330 |
4 |
1.1 |
3160 |
3 |
1.3 |
1650 |
4 |
| PAX |
0.6 |
680 |
1 |
0.3 |
940 |
1 |
0.2 |
280 |
1 |
* Each rating point is equivalent to 1.084 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
NETWORK TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 5 |
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
# |
Rtg% |
(000) |
1 |
60 MINUTES |
CBS |
7.8 |
17 |
8537 |
2 |
4.1 |
11358 |
2 |
FATHER OF THE PRIDE |
NBC |
7.7 |
12 |
8478 |
1 |
4.5 |
12388 |
3 |
NFL PRE-SEASON FTBL
SP-2(S) |
ABC |
7.6 |
13 |
8379 |
3 |
3.9 |
10963 |
4 |
CSI: MIAMI |
CBS |
7.5 |
12 |
8215 |
3 |
3.9 |
10826 |
5 |
TWO AND A HALF MEN |
CBS |
7.4 |
11 |
8111 |
7 |
3.8 |
10652 |
6 |
HAWAII |
NBC |
7.2 |
13 |
7939 |
3 |
3.9 |
10914 |
7 |
DATELINE NBC SPECIAL
9/1(S) |
NBC |
7.0 |
11 |
7633 |
12 |
3.4 |
9491 |
7 |
EVERYBODY LOVES
RAYMOND |
CBS |
7.0 |
11 |
7680 |
8 |
3.6 |
10019 |
9 |
COLD CASE |
CBS |
6.5 |
13 |
7115 |
10 |
3.5 |
9630 |
9 |
CSI |
CBS |
6.5 |
10 |
7142 |
10 |
3.5 |
9614 |
11 |
AMAZING RACE: 5
SP(S) |
CBS |
6.3 |
10 |
6933 |
8 |
3.6 |
9980 |
11 |
FEAR FACTOR |
NBC |
6.3 |
10 |
6926 |
3 |
3.9 |
10816 |
13 |
PRE-SEASON
SHOWCASE-2(S) |
ABC |
6.1 |
11 |
6649 |
13 |
3.1 |
8626 |
14 |
DATELINE FRI |
NBC |
6.0 |
11 |
6522 |
14 |
3.0 |
8398 |
15 |
BIG BROTHER 5-TUE
SP(S) |
CBS |
5.6 |
10 |
6136 |
14 |
3.0 |
8367 |
16 |
BIG BROTHER 5-THU |
CBS |
5.5 |
10 |
6079 |
19 |
2.9 |
8097 |
16 |
SCRUBS |
NBC |
5.5 |
9 |
6040 |
14 |
3.0 |
8455 |
18 |
CBS SUNDAY MOVIE |
CBS |
5.3 |
10 |
5842 |
20 |
2.8 |
7690 |
19 |
POP SECRET 500(S) |
NBC |
5.1 |
10 |
5550 |
14 |
3.0 |
8208 |
19 |
YES, DEAR |
CBS |
5.1 |
8 |
5617 |
23 |
2.6 |
7242 |
21 |
RENOVATE FAMILY
PREVIEW(S) |
FOX |
5.0 |
8 |
5497 |
14 |
3.0 |
8262 |
21 |
STILL STANDING |
CBS |
5.0 |
9 |
5479 |
23 |
2.6 |
7252 |
23 |
20/20-FRI |
ABC |
4.9 |
9 |
5322 |
30 |
2.3 |
6525 |
23 |
LAST COMIC STANDING
8/30(S) |
NBC |
4.9 |
8 |
5336 |
20 |
2.8 |
7779 |
25 |
EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM
ED-8P |
ABC |
4.8 |
8 |
5251 |
25 |
2.5 |
6932 |
25 |
TRADING SPOUSES-8/31
9P(S) |
FOX |
4.8 |
8 |
5298 |
20 |
2.8 |
7871 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Adults 18-49
Week Ending September 5 |
Rank |
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
1 |
FATHER OF THE PRIDE |
NBC |
5.4 |
7055 |
2 |
FEAR FACTOR |
NBC |
4.5 |
5835 |
3 |
AMAZING RACE: 5
SP(S) |
CBS |
4.3 |
5592 |
4 |
NFL PRE-SEASON FTBL
SP-2(S) |
ABC |
4.0 |
5159 |
4 |
RENOVATE FAMILY
PREVIEW(S) |
FOX |
4.0 |
5216 |
6 |
CSI: MIAMI |
CBS |
3.9 |
5007 |
6 |
SCRUBS |
NBC |
3.9 |
5052 |
8 |
LAST COMIC STANDING
8/30(S) |
NBC |
3.8 |
4932 |
8 |
TWO AND A HALF MEN |
CBS |
3.8 |
4944 |
10 |
TRADING SPOUSES-8/31
9P(S) |
FOX |
3.6 |
4707 |
11 |
EVERYBODY LOVES
RAYMOND |
CBS |
3.5 |
4562 |
12 |
BIG BROTHER 5-THU |
CBS |
3.3 |
4297 |
12 |
CSI |
CBS |
3.3 |
4283 |
12 |
HAWAII |
NBC |
3.3 |
4263 |
15 |
BIG BROTHER 5-TUE
SP(S) |
CBS |
3.1 |
4039 |
15 |
POP SECRET 500(S) |
NBC |
3.1 |
4027 |
17 |
BIG BROTHER 5-SAT |
CBS |
2.8 |
3676 |
17 |
FATHER OF THE PRIDE
9/2(S) |
NBC |
2.8 |
3656 |
19 |
DATELINE NBC SPECIAL
9/1(S) |
NBC |
2.7 |
3522 |
19 |
LAST COMIC STANDING
3 |
NBC |
2.7 |
3546 |
19 |
WILL & GRACE |
NBC |
2.7 |
3481 |
22 |
EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM
ED-9P |
ABC |
2.6 |
3416 |
22 |
PRE-SEASON
SHOWCASE-2(S) |
ABC |
2.6 |
3353 |
22 |
TRADING SPOUSES |
FOX |
2.6 |
3436 |
25 |
DATELINE FRI |
NBC |
2.5 |
3220 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
CABLE TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 5 |
BASIC CABLE |
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons
2+ |
(000) |
Rtg
% |
(000) |
1 |
YOU DEC
04-BUSH(S)-9/02 |
FOXNC |
4735 |
4.3 |
7340 |
2 |
YOU
DECIDE 2004(S)-9/02 |
FOXNC |
4339 |
4.0 |
6595 |
3 |
YOU DEC
04-CHENEY(S)-9/01 |
FOXNC |
4207 |
3.8 |
6182 |
4 |
YOU DEC
04-BUSH DAUGHTERS(S)-8/31 |
FOXNC |
4004 |
3.7 |
5445 |
5 |
YOU DEC
04-ZELL MILLER(S)-9/01 |
FOXNC |
3915 |
3.6 |
5520 |
6 |
YOU DEC
04-L.BUSH(S)-8/31 |
FOXNC |
3812 |
3.5 |
5216 |
7 |
YOU DEC
04-SCHWARZENEGGER(S)-8/31 |
FOXNC |
3758 |
3.4 |
5124 |
8 |
YOU
DECIDE 2004(S)-9/02 |
FOXNC |
3609 |
3.3 |
5511 |
9 |
LAW
& ORDER |
TNT |
3594 |
3.3 |
4451 |
10 |
LAW
& ORDER |
TNT |
3422 |
3.1 |
4314 |
11 |
YOU DEC
04-PATAKI(S)-9/02 |
FOXNC |
3367 |
3.1 |
4947 |
12 |
YOU DEC
04-GIULIANI(S)-8/30 |
FOXNC |
3325 |
3.0 |
4818 |
13 |
YOU
DECIDE 2004(S)-9/01 |
FOXNC |
3302 |
3.0 |
4731 |
14 |
LAW
& ORDER |
TNT |
3283 |
3.0 |
4263 |
15 |
YOU
DECIDE 2004(S)-8/30 |
FOXNC |
3209 |
2.9 |
4664 |
PAY CABLE |
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons
2+ |
(000) |
Rtg
% |
(000) |
1 |
INTOLERABLE CRUELTY |
HBO |
1559 |
1.4 |
1962 |
2 |
ATLANTIC CITY
HOOKERS(AU) |
HBO |
1429 |
1.3 |
1718 |
3 |
UNDERWORLD (2003) |
HBO |
1080 |
1.0 |
1461 |
4 |
S.W.A.T. |
HBO |
943 |
0.9 |
1195 |
5 |
REAL TIME WITH BILL
MAHER |
HBO |
732 |
0.7 |
976 |
*
Ratings based on 108.4 million U.S. TV homes. One ratings point represents 1.084 million
homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 29 |
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
1 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE |
KIN |
7.5 |
8148 |
2 |
JEOPARDY |
KIN |
6.3 |
6871 |
3 |
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN
(AT) |
KIN |
5.8 |
6266 |
4 |
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
(AT) |
KIN |
5.6 |
6079 |
5 |
SEINFELD (AT) |
SPT |
5.2 |
5634 |
6 |
FRIENDS-SYN (AT) |
WB |
4.9 |
5297 |
7 |
ENTERTAINMENT
TONIGHT(AT) |
PRM |
4.6 |
4954 |
7 |
SEINFELD-WKND (AT) |
SPT |
4.6 |
4938 |
9 |
JUDGE JUDY (AT) |
PRM |
4.4 |
4759 |
10 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
WKND |
KIN |
4.3 |
4646 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending September 5 |
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
NHTI |
(000) |
1 |
AMARTE ES MI PECADO
M-F |
UNI |
23.3 |
2547 |
2 |
MARIANA DE LA NOCHE
M-F |
UNI |
22.6 |
2468 |
3 |
DON FRANCISCO
PRESENTA-WE |
UNI |
18.9 |
2063 |
4 |
CASOS VIDA R: ED.
ESP TUE |
UNI |
17.8 |
1938 |
5 |
MUJER DE MADERA M-F |
UNI |
17.4 |
1896 |
6 |
CRISTINA-MON |
UNI |
17.0 |
1852 |
7 |
ESCUELITA VIP FRI |
UNI |
16.6 |
1814 |
8 |
CASA DE LA RISA FRI |
UNI |
14.6 |
1596 |
9 |
SABADO GIGANTE-SAT |
UNI |
11.9 |
1295 |
10 |
HORA
PICO...EXTRA-SUN |
UNI |
11.8 |
1284 |
11 |
VER PARA CREER-SUN |
UNI |
11.2 |
1224 |
12 |
PARODIA-SUN |
UNI |
8.9 |
969 |
13 |
PASION DE GAVILANES
M-F |
TEL |
7.8 |
856 |
13 |
HORA DERBEZ SAT |
UNI |
7.8 |
847 |
15 |
PRISIONERA M-F |
TEL |
7.3 |
793 |
16 |
GITANAS M-F |
TEL |
6.6 |
716 |
17 |
TE VOY-ENSENAR A
QUERER T |
TEL |
6.5 |
713 |
18 |
TE VOY-ENSENAR A
QUERER W |
TEL |
6.1 |
661 |
19 |
TE VOY-ENSENAR A
QUERER F |
TEL |
5.7 |
618 |
20 |
CINEMUNDO PREMIER |
TEL |
5.4 |
592 |
21 |
ZAPATA 8/30(S)-8/30 |
TEL |
5.1 |
559 |
22 |
CINE LAS ESTREL2 SUN |
TF |
4.8 |
524 |
23 |
CINE LAS ESTREL1 SUN |
TF |
4.3 |
474 |
24 |
CINEMUNDO DEL SABADO |
TEL |
4.2 |
460 |
24 |
SIN FRONTERAS |
TEL |
4.2 |
454 |
*
Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 9.7 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 29 |
| # |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
Episode |
Households |
Persons
2+ |
US
Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
(000) |
1 |
SUM OLYM MON
PRIME 2(S)-8/23 |
NBC |
|
16.4 |
27 |
17765 |
25943 |
2 |
SUM OLYM TUE
PRIME 2(S)-8/24 |
NBC |
|
15.7 |
26 |
16979 |
24972 |
3 |
SUM OLYM WED
PRIME 2(S)-8/25 |
NBC |
|
15.3 |
26 |
16585 |
24265 |
4 |
SUM OLYM THU
PRIME 2(S)-8/26 |
NBC |
|
13.8 |
24 |
14986 |
21515 |
5 |
SUM OLYM FRI
PRIME 2(S)-8/27 |
NBC |
|
12.5 |
23 |
13519 |
20141 |
6 |
SUM OLYM SAT
PRIME 3(S)-8/28 |
NBC |
|
11.1 |
21 |
12027 |
18029 |
7 |
SUM OLYM SUN
PM 3(S)-8/29 |
NBC |
|
6.0 |
15 |
6453 |
8685 |
8 |
NFL PRE-SEASON
FTBL SP-1(S)-8/23 |
ABC |
ST.
LOU
AT KC |
5.0 |
8 |
5457 |
7130 |
9 |
SUM OLYM SAT
PM 3(S)-8/28 |
NBC |
|
4.7 |
13 |
5062 |
6426 |
10 |
SUM OLYM SUN
AM 2(S)-8/29 |
NBC |
|
4.3 |
12 |
4608 |
6063 |
11 |
SUM OLYM MON
LN 2(S)-8/23 |
NBC |
|
4.1 |
17 |
4418 |
5531 |
12 |
SUM OLYM TUE
LN 2(S)-8/24 |
NBC |
|
4.1 |
17 |
4444 |
5065 |
13 |
SUM OLYM WED
LN 2(S)-8/25 |
NBC |
|
4.1 |
17 |
4443 |
5482 |
14 |
SUM OLYM FRIDAY
LN 2(S)-8/27 |
NBC |
|
4.0 |
15 |
4378 |
5531 |
15 |
SUM OLYM TUE
PM 2(S)-8/24 |
NBC |
|
3.9 |
13 |
4245 |
4985 |
16 |
SUM OLYM THUR
PM 2(S)-8/26 |
NBC |
|
3.9 |
13 |
4277 |
5291 |
17 |
SUM OLYM MON
PM 2(S)-8/23 |
NBC |
|
3.8 |
12 |
4164 |
4948 |
18 |
SUM OLYM THUR
LN 2(S)-8/26 |
NBC |
|
3.7 |
15 |
4042 |
5010 |
19 |
SUM OLYM SAT
LN 3(S)-8/28 |
NBC |
|
3.6 |
12 |
3898 |
4922 |
20 |
SUM OLYM FRI
PM 2(S)-8/27 |
NBC |
|
3.5 |
11 |
3767 |
4443 |
21 |
SUM OLYM WED
PM 2(S)-8/25 |
NBC |
|
3.3 |
11 |
3587 |
4271 |
22 |
WWE SMACKDOWN! |
UPN |
|
3.1 |
5 |
3357 |
4361 |
23 |
NFL PRE-SEASON
FOOTBALL(S)-8/28 |
CBS |
NEW
ENG
AT CAR |
3.0 |
6 |
3270 |
4461 |
24 |
NFL ON FOX
PRESEASON 2(S)-8/27 |
FOX |
WASH.
AT
ST LOU |
3.0 |
6 |
3256 |
4320 |
25 |
SUM OLYM TUE
P RPLY 2(S)-8/24 |
NBC |
|
2.4 |
16 |
2583 |
2806 |
26 |
LITTLE LEAGUE
WLD SERIES(S)-8/29 |
ABC |
WORLD
CHAMP |
2.3 |
4 |
2467 |
3351 |
27 |
SUM OLYM MON
P RPLY 2(S)-8/23 |
NBC |
|
2.2 |
15 |
2405 |
2798 |
28 |
SUM OLYM FRI
P RPLY 2(S)-8/27 |
NBC |
|
2.2 |
14 |
2362 |
2776 |
29 |
BUICK CHAMP
-SU(S)-8/29 |
CBS |
|
2.0 |
5 |
2214 |
2707 |
30 |
FOX SAT
BASEBALL |
FOX |
VAR.
TEAMS
& TIMES |
2.0 |
5 |
2211 |
2910 |
31 |
SUM OLYM WED
P RPLY 2(S)-8/25 |
NBC |
|
1.9 |
13 |
2098 |
2508 |
32 |
SUM OLYM THU
P RPLY 2(S)-8/26 |
NBC |
|
1.9 |
13 |
2029 |
2285 |
33 |
SUM OLYM CC
RPLY(S)-8/29 |
NBC |
|
1.8 |
8 |
1999 |
2258 |
34 |
BUICK CHAMP
-SA(S)-8/28 |
CBS |
|
1.7 |
4 |
1864 |
2329 |
35 |
SUM OLYM SAT
P RPLY 3(S)-8/28 |
NBC |
|
1.7 |
11 |
1875 |
2157 |
36 |
LITTLE LEAGUE
WRLD SRS(S)-8/28 |
ABC |
U.S.
CHAMP |
1.6 |
3 |
1718 |
2478 |
37 |
FIRESTONE INDY
225(S)-8/29 |
ABC |
|
0.9 |
2 |
1001 |
1292 |
38 |
USTA TNNS:
A.ASHE KIDS
DAY(S)-8/29 |
CBS |
PRES.
BY HESS |
0.9 |
2 |
935 |
1107 |
39 |
PILOT PEN
INT.(S)-8/28 |
CBS |
WOMEN'S
TENNIS
FINAL |
0.7 |
2 |
725 |
887 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
|
Sept. 10,
2004 © 2004 Media Life
- Diego Vasquez is a staff writer for
Media Life.
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