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'Wife Swap' spoils
Wednesday for NBC
Strong opener upsets the night's pecking
order
By Marisa Hoheb
“Wife Swap” generated lots of buzz before its premiere, with
media buyers ruminating that long-beleaguered ABC might well have a hit on its hands.
The big question was how well the new reality show, which sneak-previewed on
Sunday to encouraging numbers, would perform in its extremely competitive Wednesday 10
p.m. timeslot against NBC’s “Law & Order” and CBS’ “CSI:
NY,” both ratings monsters.
That's no longer an issue.
In its first Wednesday airing this week, “Wife Swap” outperformed
all expectations, edging past “L&O” in adults 18-49 and nearly tying it in
total viewers.
With “CSI: NY” also beating “L&O” in both categories,
it’s the first time in years the once-invincible NBC drama has been pushed out of No.
1 and the first time ever that it's come in at No. 3 in any demo.
The effect has been to dramatically change the power structure of Wednesday
night, as well as the entire week, and entirely at the expense of NBC and to the advantage
of ABC and CBS.
Prior to Wednesday, the most competitive night in primetime was Thursday. Now
it is Wednesday, with ABC and CBS vying for top network and NBC struggling. Wednesday had
been the one remaining night that NBC could call its own, thanks to the weekly boost from
"L&O."
Meanwhile, just one week into the new season, Thursday has gone from a race
between CBS and NBC to a night where CBS is the new No. 1.
Again, no small amount of credit for the week's shifting of power goes to
"Wife Swap."
Wednesday’s episode of “Wife Swap” posted a 5.0/13 in 18-49s,
beating out “L&O’s” 4.8/12. That was good enough for No. 2, behind
“CSI: NY’s” 7.1/15.
“Wife Swap” also proved competitive in total viewership, averaging
11.1 million to “L&O’s” 12.9 million. “CSI: NY” took the
category with 19.5 million.
“Wife Swap” was also the only show in its time slot to build its
audience in both categories during the hour. Numbers for both “CSI: NY” and
“L&O” declined during their second half-hour.
And Wednesday’s “Wife Swap” actually beat its own strong
Sunday night preview in total viewers (11.1 million vs. 10.9 million), despite the
premiere having aired in a much less cutthroat time slot.
This is very good news for ABC, finally considered competitive after years of
struggle, and very bad news for NBC. Where once “L&O” was a surefire boost
for NBC’s Wednesday night lineup regardless of what aired before it, in its 15th
season the drama is at last proving fallible.
This is not the season for NBC to lose its stranglehold on Wednesday nights.
NBC has also dropped out of the race on Mondays, with its lineup of
“Fear Factor,” “LAX” and “Las Vegas” under-performing
against both ABC and CBS.
And while the network maintains its lead on Tuesdays, anchored by powerhouse
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” ABC is edging closer with thus-far
respectable performances from its Tuesday night comedy lineup, including freshman sitcom
“Rodney” and the returning “According to Jim.”
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Oct. 1, 2004
© 2004 Media Life
-- Marisa Hoheb is a staff writer
for Media Life.
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