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Broadcast recap

Summer’s broadcast winners and losers

NBC's Olympics was the biggest winner of all

By Toni Fitzgerald

September 19, 2012

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On Monday the new TV season begins, bringing to a close the summer season.

This summer there’s no question what the big winner was on broadcast: The Olympic Games.

Not only did the Games draw the strongest ratings of the summer by far, they were also up substantially over the previous three Summer Olympics and gave NBC a huge audience to promote its new fall lineup.

The network averaged 31.1 million total viewers during the 16-day event, according to Nielsen, the best for any non-U.S.-hosted games since 1976.

Despite predictions before the Games that tape-delaying primetime action would hurt viewership, it actually grew 12 percent over the 2008 Beijing Games.

Undoubtedly that was helped by the fact that viewers could watch any event live as it happened online. Many reported streaming the results on the web during the day, then tuning in to NBC at night to watch again on television.

The strong performance of the Games helped boost NBC’s primetime average among adults 18-49 this summer by 82 percent.

This summer’s other big winners:

“Good Morning America”
ABC’s morning show has won nine of the past 11 weeks in total viewers and two straight among adults 25-54 after snapping NBC’s 17-year win streak in the key news demo earlier this summer. It heads into fall with its biggest lead over “Today” since 1995 and has opened up a lead of more than a half million viewers the past few weeks.

Gordon Ramsay
Ramsay had three shows on Fox this summer, and they were the three highest-rated shows on the network. In fact, his “MasterChef” was the only returning show this summer to see ratings gains, up 7 percent over last year.

“The Big Bang Theory” reruns
“Bang” reruns drew better adults 18-49 ratings than any other repeats on broadcast this summer. In fact, they often won their 8 p.m. timeslot on CBS over original competition on the other networks, indicating that the show will have another huge year when originals return next week.

Veteran reality shows
ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and CBS’s “Big Brother,” which have all run at least seven seasons, were the highest-rated shows on their respective networks this summer.

Losers

New shows
There was only one keeper in this year’s crop of new shows, Ramsay’s “Hotel Hell.” The rest of the summer rookies were disappointments, including ABC’s singing reality show “Duets,” Fox’s dating show “The Choice” (a spoof of the NBC reality show “The Voice”) and CBS’s “Dogs in the City.” It’s hard to imagine any will return.

“Bachelor Pad”
Though ABC’s “The Bachelorette” had a good season, the show about rejected “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” contestants sank to series lows. That didn’t help “The Glass House,” the “Big Brother” clone that ran after “Pad,” which drew miniscule ratings.

Reality show judges
“America’s Got Talent” judges Sharon Osbourne and Howard Stern got into public tiffs with “Talent” carrier NBC. Fox was turned down by several singers uninterested in doing “American Idol.” And Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green have decided to leave “The Voice,” at least temporarily, to concentrate on their music careers. Quick, someone superglue Simon Cowell’s pants to his “X Factor” chair.

***

In broadcast ratings for the week ended Sept. 16:

Among adults 18-49, NBC was first for the week with a 3.1 average rating and a 9 share, followed by Fox at 1.9/6, Univision and CBS at 1.4/4, ABC at 1.1/3, Telemundo at 0.4/1, ION, TeleFutura and CW at 0.3/1, Estrella at 0.1/0 and Azteca at 0.0/0.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. NBC's "Sunday Night Football" 8.9; 2. NBC's "Football Night in America" 5.0; 3. NBC's "The Voice" 4.2; 4. NBC's "The Voice-Tuesday" 4.0; Tie-5. NBC's "The Voice-Wednesday" and "Go On" and Fox's "The X Factor-Wednesday" 3.4.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. NBC's "Sunday Night Football" 21.33 million; 2. CBS's "60 Minutes" 12.36 million; 3 NBC's "The Voice" 12.29 million; 4. NBC's "Football Night in America" 11.74 million; 5. NBC's "The Voice-Tuesday" 11.42 million.

Show on the rise: CBS's "60 Minutes," Sunday, 7:38 p.m. Benefiting from NFL overrun as its lead-in, the long-running newsmagazine posted a 2.8 in 18-49s, up 33 percent from a 2.1 the previous week.

Show on the decline: CBS's "Big Brother," Wednesday, 9 p.m. The Wednesday edition of the reality competition posted a 2.0 in 18-49s, off 13 percent from a 2.3 the prior week.

WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households Week Ending Sept. 16
Network	Households			People 2+			Adults 18-49
Network	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr
NBC	5.6	6410	9	3.1	9000	8	3.1	3880	9
CBS	4.1	4660	7	2.1	6160	6	1.4	1810	4
FOX	3.1	3580	5	1.8	5150	5	1.9	2460	6
ABC	2.6	2950	4	1.3	3840	4	1.1	1350	3
UNI	1.9	2120	3	1.2	3430	3	1.4	1760	4
ION	0.8	870	1	0.4	1120	1	0.3	390	1
TEL	0.6	690	1	0.4	1040	1	0.4	550	1
CW	0.5	590	1	0.3	770	1	0.3	400	1
TF	0.3	370	1	0.2	600	1	0.3	330	1
ETV	0.1	130	0	0.1	180	0	0.1	80	0
AZA	0.1	70	0	0.0	110	0	0.0	60	0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1 percent or 1. 147 million homes Note: Viewing estimates include same day (3 a.m.-3 a.m.) DVR playback. Source: Nielsen

SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households Week Ending Sept. 16
Network	Households			People 2+			Adults 18-49
Network	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr
CBS	6.2	7110	10	3.4	9790	9	2.4	3090	7
NBC	4.9	5650	8	2.8	8090	7	2.6	3350	8
ABC	4.7	5370	8	2.5	7260	7	2.1	2710	6
FOX	4.5	5160	7	2.6	7500	7	2.7	3460	8
UNI	1.9	2150	3	1.2	3600	3	1.4	1840	4
CW	0.9	1090	2	0.5	1400	1	0.6	780	2
ION	0.7	830	1	0.4	1070	1	0.3	390	1
TEL	0.7	770	1	0.4	1220	1	0.5	660	1
TF	0.3	360	1	0.2	580	1	0.3	330	1
ETV	0.1	130	0	0.1	210	0	0.1	100	0
AZA	0.1	100	0	0.1	150	0	0.1	80	0
*Each rating point is equivalent to one percent or 1. 147 million homes Note: Season-to-date estimates are a weighted average and Live+7 data, except for the most recent two weeks which are based Live+SD viewing. Source: Nielsen

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Ranked on Households Week Ending Sept. 16
#	PROGRAMS	Net	HOUSEHOLDS			PERSONS 2+
#	PROGRAMS	Net	Rtg%	Shr	(000)	#	Rtg%	(000)
1	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	NBC	12.9	21	14738	1	7.4	21334
2	SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK	NBC	9.3	15	10674	2	5.3	15234
3	60 MINUTES	CBS	8.0	13	9161	3	4.3	12364
4	VOICE	NBC	7.5	11	8512	4	4.2	12285
5	FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3	NBC	7.4	12	8410	5	4.1	11740
6	VOICE-TUE	NBC	7.1	12	8103	6	3.9	11418
7	VOICE 9/12(S)	NBC	6.8	11	7745	7	3.8	10891
8	AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-WED	NBC	6.7	11	7673	7	3.8	11045
9	AMERICA'S GOT TALENT 9/13(S)	NBC	6.5	10	7398	9	3.7	10590
10	GO ON	NBC	6.1	10	6985	10	3.4	9726
11	NCIS	CBS	5.9	10	6784	11	3.0	8771
12	X-FACTOR-WED	FOX	5.3	9	6057	11	3.0	8726
13	X-FACTOR-THU	FOX	5.1	8	5797	13	2.9	8279
14	HAWAII FIVE-0 SPECIAL(S)	CBS	4.7	7	5383	17	2.4	6904
14	NCIS: LOS ANGELES 10P-SP(S)	CBS	4.7	8	5404	17	2.4	6861
16	BIG BANG THEORY, THE	CBS	4.6	8	5256	17	2.4	6944
16	GLEE	FOX	4.6	7	5275	14	2.6	7408
16	NEW NORMAL	NBC	4.6	7	5260	17	2.4	6962
19	CSI	CBS	4.5	8	5087	23	2.2	6493
19	FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 2	NBC	4.5	8	5165	15	2.5	7162
19	NEW NORMAL 9/10(S)	NBC	4.5	7	5172	17	2.4	6880
22	BIG BROTHER 14-SUN	CBS	4.3	7	4952	15	2.5	7242
23	20/20-FRI	ABC	4.1	7	4650	27	2.1	6131
24	GUYS WITH KIDS	NBC	4.0	7	4545	23	2.2	6248
24	ROCK CENTER-B. WILLIAMS	NBC	4.0	7	4518	27	2.1	5999
24	SHARK TANK	ABC	4.0	7	4549	23	2.2	6396
0Source: Nielsen

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49 Week Ending Sept. 16
Rank	Program	Net	Rtg%	(000)
1	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	NBC	8.9	11287
2	SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK	NBC	6.4	8158
3	FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3	NBC	5.0	6347
4	VOICE	NBC	4.2	5353
5	VOICE-TUE	NBC	4.0	5003
6	GO ON	NBC	3.4	4355
6	VOICE 9/12(S)	NBC	3.4	4293
6	X-FACTOR-WED	FOX	3.4	4279
9	FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 2	NBC	3.1	3947
9	GLEE	FOX	3.1	3872
9	X-FACTOR-THU	FOX	3.1	3921
12	AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-WED	NBC	2.9	3705
13	60 MINUTES	CBS	2.8	3570
14	MASTERCHEF-MON	FOX	2.6	3295
15	HELL'S KITCHEN-MON	FOX	2.5	3188
15	NEW NORMAL	NBC	2.5	3185
15	NEW NORMAL 9/10(S)	NBC	2.5	3196
18	AMERICA'S GOT TALENT 9/13(S)	NBC	2.4	2991
18	BIG BROTHER 14-SUN	CBS	2.4	3075
20	GUYS WITH KIDS	NBC	2.2	2809
21	BIG BROTHER 14-WED	CBS	2.1	2618
22	BIG BROTHER 14-THU	CBS	2.0	2574
22	FAMILY GUY	FOX	2.0	2570
22	FAMILY GUY-SUN 9:30P	FOX	2.0	2553
25	ABISMO DE PASION FRI	UNI	1.9	2393
25	ABISMO DE PASION MON	UNI	1.9	2349
25	BIG BANG THEORY, THE	CBS	1.9	2387
25	PARENTHOOD	NBC	1.9	2410
25	SIMPSONS	FOX	1.9	2382
25	SIMPSONS-SUN 8:30P	FOX	1.9	2401
Source: Nielsen

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION Ranked on Households Week Ending Sept. 9
#	PROGRAMS	Net	Rtg	P2+ (000)
1	ABISMO DE PASION M-F	UNI	18.7	4315
2	MIRA QUIEN BAILA 3 SUN	UNI	15.7	3587
3	POR ELLA SOY EVA M-F	UNI	15.2	3630
4	AMOR BRAVIO MTW.F..	UNI	14.9	3334
5	REFUGIO PARA AMOR M-F	UNI	14.1	3195
6	NOT UNI OBAMAPRESHOW9/6(S)-09/06/2012	UNI	11.5	2531
7	RUMBO MUNDIAL 9/7/12(S)-09/07/2012	TEL	10.1	2511
8	SABADO GIGANTE SAT	UNI	9.5	2074
9	PABLO ESCOBAR: PAT MAL MTWT…	TEL	7.8	1724
10	SAL Y PIMIENTA AN MQB 9/9(S)-09/09/2012	UNI	7.8	1556
11	C. CERRADO-ED. ESTELAR M-T	TEL	6.6	1293
12	FAMILIA P. LUCHE 2 SAT	UNI	6.2	1382
13	CORAZON VALIENTE MTWT…	TEL	5.9	1245
14	ESP PABLO ESCOBAR 9/7(S)-09/07/2012	TEL	5.6	1138
15	ROSA DIAMANTE MTWT…	TEL	4.9	994
16	RUMBO MUNDIAL PREGAME9/7(S)-09/07/2012	TEL	4.6	1051
17	ROSTRO VENGANZA MTWT…	TEL	4.3	935
18	ESP CORAZON VALIENTE 9/7(S)-09/07/2012	TEL	4.3	919
19	CINE DE IMPACTO U	TEL	4.2	1059
20	CINE DE LAS ESTREL SUN 2	TF	3.9	961
21	JUNTO AL TRI 9/7(S)-09/07/2012	TEL	3.7	835
22	ESP ROSTRO VENGANZA(S)-09/07/2012	TEL	3.5	695
23	CINE DE LAS ESTREL SUN	TF	3.2	782
24	YO ME LLAMO SUN	TEL	3.1	714
25	CINEPLEX 3 SAT	TF	3.0	699
Source: Nielsen

HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING Ranked on Households Week Ending Sept. 9
#	PROGRAMS	Net	Rtg	P2+(000)
1	NBC NFL WED SPECIAL(S)-09/05/2012	NBC	11.3	2329
2	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	NBC	10.2	2199
3	NBC NFL WED PRE-KICK(S)-09/05/2012	NBC	7.7	1703
4	FOX NFL SUNDAY-PST GN-NAT	FOX	6.9	1505
5	SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK	NBC	6.7	1502
6	NFL OPENING KICK-OFF SHOW(S)-09/05/2012	NBC	4.7	990
7	FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3	NBC	4.4	993
8	60 MINUTES	CBS	3.2	654
9	MASTERCHEF-TUE	FOX	3.1	613
10	FAMILY GUY-SUN 9:30P	FOX	3.0	613
Source: Nielsen

AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES Ranked on Households Week Ending Sept. 9
#	PROGRAMS	Net	Rtg	P2+(000)
1	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	NBC	19.7	3874
2	NBC NFL WED SPECIAL	NBC	17.5	3490
3	NBC NFL WED PRE-KICK	NBC	13.8	2683
4	SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK	NBC	13.1	2527
5	FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3	NBC	8.5	1625
6	DECISION '12 DEM CONV THU	NBC	8.1	1545
7	NFL OPENING KICK-OFF SHOW	NBC	7.9	1486
8	60 MINUTES	CBS	7.0	1268
9	CAMPAIGN 2012-DEM CONV-WE	CBS	5.4	979
10	SIMPSONS	FOX	5.3	1011
* Ratings based on 13.65 million African American TV homes. Source: Nielsen