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‘What did Carol Brady just say?!?’

Parents in a lather over Nick Jr.'s new NickMom block

By Toni Fitzgerald

October 17, 2012

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NickMom seems to be annoying many moms more than entertaining.

The new block of adult-focused programming, which debuted earlier this month on Nick Jr., a channel aimed at toddlers and preschoolers, is drawing protests online from parents who say Viacom should keep the adult humor on adult networks.

So far the ratings for the new shows aren’t very good.

Last week, the week ended Oct. 14, the four shows in the two-hour block that airs from 10 p.m. to midnight averaged 165,000 viewers, or less than a third of what Nick Jr. averaged for the week in primetime.

Some averaged fewer than 100,000 viewers.

The block includes shows such as “What Was Carol Brady Thinking,” which peps up reruns of “The Brady Bunch” with the supposed off-color thoughts that mom Carol was having during the episodes (example: “Does Mike think needlepoint is foreplay?”) and “Parental Discretion,” a hidden camera program.

While the block air late in the evening on the East Coast, in theory after the young ones have gone to bed, it's on at 7 p.m. on the West Coast and even earlier in Hawaii, when many kids are still watching.

That’s led to protests from parents.

Already a web site called CancelNickMom has sprung up, and it includes instructions for angry parents to contact Nick Jr. advertisers and demand they pull their support of the shows.

Forums on parenting-oriented sites like Babycenter and Shine include dozens of commenters protesting the changes and saying that their kids are upset at missing out on their usual programs.

Others say those moms and dads are getting upset over nothing. Switch the channel or turn off the TV and spend time with your kids, they say, rather than complain over something so silly.

And clearly there are people who like the shows. NickMom’s Facebook page has 59,000 fans, and there are commenters on the forums saying they enjoy the mom-focused humor.

***

In cable ratings for the week ended Oct. 14:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TBS, ESPN, AMC, USA, FX.

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): TBS, Fox News Channel, ESPN, Disney Channel, USA.

Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, HLN, CNBC.

Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1 Fox News Channel's "VP Debate" (Thursday, 9 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" (Thursday, 10:33 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel's "Hannity" (Thursday, 11:03 p.m.); 4. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 5. MSNBC's "Debate" (Thursday, 9:02 p.m.)

Top movie (18-49s): No movie during the week was among the top 50 among 18-49s.

Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "NFL Football: Houston/New York Jets" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 14.05 million.

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN's "NFL Football: Houston/New York Jets" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); AMC's "The Walking Dead" (Sunday, 9 p.m.); NFL Network's "NFL Football: Steelers vs. Titans" (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.); FX's "Sons of Anarchy" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); A&E's "Duck Dynasty" (Wednesday, 10:30 p.m.).

Show on the rise: Discovery Channel's "Space Jump Live," Sunday, 1:35 p.m. The Felix Baumgartner jump averaged 4.21 million total viewers, making it the most-watched non-primetime program in the network's history.

Show on the decline: MTV's "Jersey Shore" Thursday, 10 p.m. Airing against the vice presidential debate the reality show averaged 1.82 million viewers 18-49, off 41 percent from 3.11 million the previous week.

TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Ranked on Total Viewers Week Ending Oct. 14
Rank	Primetime		Total Day
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	TBSC	4553	NICK	1767
2	FOXN	3181	TBSC	1726
3	ESPN	3130	DSNY	1639
4	DSNY	2682	FOXN	1537
5	USA	2274	ADSM*	1309
6	AMC	1588	USA	1202
7	ADSM	1569	ESPN	1140
8	HIST	1453	TOON	1089
9	AEN	1366	NAN *	1047
10	MSNB	1317	TNT	895
11	TNT	1301	HIST	829
12	FX	1300	AEN	742
13	NAN	1284	AMC	707
14	DISC	1252	HGTV	696
15	SYFY	1177	FX	680
16	TLC	1149	DISC	636
17	HGTV	1136	MSNB	622
18	LIF	978	FOOD	568
19	FOOD	975	TVLD	550
20	CMDY	935	TLC	542
21	BET	931	SYFY	524
22	FAM	859	ID	515
23	TRU	846	LIF	513
24	NFLN	844	CMDY	510
25	CNN	820	FAM	480
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS Ranked on Total Viewers Week Ending Oct. 14
Rank	Program	Net	(000)
1	Houston/New York Jets	ESPN	14047
2	Walking Dead	AMC	10872
3	V.P. Debate	FOXN	10014
4	On The Record with Greta Van Susteren	FOXN	8283
5	ALCS Detroit/N.Y. Yankees Game 1	TBSC	6847
6	South Carolina/LSU	ESPN	5978
7	St. Louis/Washington Game 5	TBSC	5908
8	Baltimore/N.Y. Yankees Game 3	TBSC	5777
9	2012 – Steelers vs. Titans	NFLN	5651
10	Baltimore/N.Y. Yankees Game 4	TBSC	5155
11	Baltimore/N.Y. Yankees Game 5	TBSC	5066
12	ALCS Detroit/N.Y. Yankees Game 2	TBSC	5040
13	Girl vs. Monster	DSNY	4919
14	Hannity	FOXN	4650
15	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	4622
16	Dog With A Blog	DSNY	4504
17	Debate	MSNB	4399
18	Walking Dead Marathon	AMC	4360
19	Debate Night In America	CNN	4351
20	Sons of Anarchy	FX	4339
21	Major Crimes	TNT	4333
22	N.Y. Yankees/Baltimore Game 2	TBSC	4222
23	Detroit/Oakland Game 3	TBSC	4216
24	Space Jump Live	DISC	4213
25	WWE Raw	USA	4191
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-34 Week Ending Oct. 14
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	TBSC	808	ADSM*	523
2	ESPN	689	TBSC	340
3	ADSM	527	NICK	335
4	AMC	498	ESPN	330
5	FX	486	NAN *	322
6	USA	414	TOON	248
7	CMDY	384	DSNY	246
8	MTV	355	FX	235
9	DSNY	347	MTV	226
10	BET	328	CMDY	207
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 18-34 Week Ending Oct. 14
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Walking Dead	AMC	4340
2	Houston/New York Jets	ESPN	3452
3	Jersey Shore Season 6	MTV	1853
4	2012 – Steelers vs. Titans	NFLN	1495
5	Jersey Shore Season 6	MTV	1468
6	Walking Dead Marathon	AMC	1432
7	Sons of Anarchy	FX	1415
8	2012 BET Hip Hop Awards	BET	1384
9	Duck Dynasty	AEN	1297
10	Walking Dead	AMC	1285
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-49 Week Ending Oct. 14
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	TBSC	1795	TBSC	733
2	ESPN	1534	ADSM*	711
3	AMC	919	ESPN	632
4	USA	828	NICK	488
5	FX	809	NAN *	472
6	ADSM	741	USA	423
7	AEN	645	FX	400
8	DSNY	595	DSNY	385
9	CMDY	594	AMC	371
10	DISC	580	AEN	365
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 18-49 Week Ending Oct. 14
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Walking Dead	AMC	7297
2	Houston/New York Jets	ESPN	7273
3	2012 – Steelers vs. Titans	NFLN	3164
4	Sons of Anarchy	FX	2865
5	South Carolina/LSU	ESPN	2759
6	ALCS Detroit/N.Y. Yankees Game 1	TBSC	2741
7	Walking Dead Marathon	AMC	2595
8	St. Louis/Washington Game 5	TBSC	2527
9	Duck Dynasty	AEN	2397
10	V.P. Debate	FOXN	2375
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 25-54 Week Ending Oct. 14
	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	TBSC	1974	TBSC	781
2	ESPN	1620	ESPN	612
3	USA	885	USA	462
4	AMC	817	ADSM*	460
5	FOXN	729	TNT	410
6	FX	707	NICK	385
7	DISC	666	NAN *	374
8	AEN	651	AEN	368
9	HIST	628	FOXN	364
10	SYFY	576	HIST	364
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day. Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 25-54 Week Ending Oct. 14
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Houston/New York Jets	ESPN	7409
2	Walking Dead	AMC	6082
3	2012 – Steelers vs. Titans	NFLN	3332
4	ALCS Detroit/N.Y. Yankees Game 1	TBSC	3141
5	V.P. Debate	FOXN	3055
6	South Carolina/LSU	ESPN	3016
7	Sons of Anarchy	FX	2893
8	St. Louis/Washington Game 5	TBSC	2658
9	Baltimore/N.Y. Yankees Game 3	TBSC	2473
10	Duck Dynasty	AEN	2473
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data