The Programming Insider: Thursday 2/21/02

Primetime Metered Market Ratings

Wednesday 2/20/02

Primetime Metered Market Ratings
NETWORK	HH RATING/SHARE
	21.0/31
	6.1/9
	5.9/8
	5.7/8
	3.3/5
	3.1/5

-Ratings Breakdown:
The Winter Olympics on NBC posted another solid night of viewership with a 21.0/31 in primetime -- up 14 percent over its metered market average last Wednesday (18.4/27 on Feb. 13). Comparatively, NBC bested ABC, Fox and CBS combined by 19 percent.

In the continued battle of the non-Olympic audience leftovers, Fox's Bernie Mac Show continues to shine with a second place 7.2/10 at 9 p.m. -- up 36 percent over its Grounded for Life lead-in (#4, 5.3/8) and 24 percent above lead-out Titus (#2, 5.8/8). At 8 p.m., week five of That'80s Show slid a bit farther to a fourth place 5.1/8 (five-week metered market track: 8.4/13, 6.7/10, 5.9/9, 5.3/8, 5.1/8). We'll see what happens next week when the Olympics are not in the competitive mix.

On ABC, although a repeat of My Wife and Kids showed some life with a second place 7.0/11 at 8 p.m., it was downhill from 8:30-10:00 p.m. -- According to Jim R (#2, 5.9/9), Drew Carey R (#4, 4.8/7), Whose Line is it Anyway? R (#4, 4.8/7). Opposite Bernie Mac, the sinking Mr. Carey trailed by 33 percent. At 10 p.m., 20/20 Downtown perked up to a second place 6.8/10.

Over at CBS, 60 Minutes II opened the night with a third place 5.6/8 followed by repeat 1997 theatrical Breakdown at a 5.8/9 from 9-11 p.m.

In the battle of the weblets, back-to-back repeats of Enterprise on UPN (8 p.m. 3.8/6, 9 p.m. 2.7/4) managed to inch past original programming on the WB (Dawson's Creek 3.8/6, Glory Days 2.4/3) by an average two-tenths of a rating point.

Finally, on PAX it was typical repeat business as usual with Candid Camera (1.0/1), Touched by an Angel (1.4/2) and Diagnosis Murder (1.8/3).

Source: Nielsen Media Research


National Ratings in Primetime:
Week of February 11

With the first full week of the 2002 Winter Olympics in the mix it was a clean sweep for NBC, with seven nights of the Olympics holding the top seven spots in both total viewers and adults 18-49. Comparatively, NBC outdelivered CBS, Fox and ABC combined in total viewers (24.16 million) by 3.88 million. Based on the below year-to-year comparisons a now-No. 4 ABC was hit the hardest in all key categories with a growing UPN remaining on the rise. Also of note was the WB, which remained relatively flat despite the Olympics.

Here are the weekly results (with change versus last year in parentheses):

NBC
HH: 17.2/27, (+107 percent), Total Viewers: 28.04 million (+132), A18-49: 9.7/25 (+90), A25-54: 11.3/26 (+88)

CBS
HH: 6.5/10 (-26), Total Viewers: 9.33 (-28),
A18-49: 2.8/7 (-30), A25-54: 3.5/8 (-31)

Fox
HH: 4.7/7 (-28), Total Viewers: 7.68 (-25),
A18-49: 3.5/9 (-26), A25-54: 3.4/8 (-32)

ABC
HH: 4.6/7 (-45), Total Viewers: 7.15 (-43),
A18-49: 2.6/7 (-41), A25-54: 2.9/7 (-41)

UPN:
HH: 2.7/4 (+ 8), Total Viewers: 4.48 (+18),
A18-34: 2.0/6 (+25), A18-49: 2.0/5 (+25)

WB:
HH: 2.5/4 (no change), Total Viewers: 3.83 (+3),
A18-34: 1.8/5 (-10), A18-49: 1.7/4 (+6)

-Non-Olympics Related Highlights:
With little to really talk about, the WB's Steve Harvey Show ended its five-and-a-half year run with a mere 3.37 million viewers (#87 out of 99 shows) and an equally unimpressive 1.5/4 (#83) among adults 18-49. Unfortunately for the frog net, funny lead-out Jamie Kennedy Experiment had nothing to laugh about with a loss of 1 million viewers (#96, 2.37 million) and 27 percent among adults 18-49 (#94, 1.1/3). Also on a negative note for the WB was the not-so-glorious Glory Days on Wednesday (viewers: #92, 2.75, A18-49: #88, 1.4/3) with a deficit of 1.28 million viewers from its aging Dawson's Creek lead-in (#82T, 4.03).

Over at Fox, week four of That'80s Show slipped a bit farther, finishing third in its time period in both total viewers (#55, 6.93) and adults 18-49 (#34T, 3.3/ 9). One week earlier the sitcom reached 7.87 million viewers. In season (and probably series) finale news, the net's Temptation Island 2 remained out of the competitive loop at 6.07 million viewers (#64T) and a 3.6/9 (#27T) among adults 18-49. Better news for Fox remains Bernie Mac at a healthy #16 (4.2/10) among adults 18-49.

In forgettable miniseries news, the conclusion of CBS's Guilty Hearts on Wednesday ranked second in the Wednesday 9-11 p.m. block in total viewers (#26, 9.57) and fourth among adults 18-49 (#57T, 2.5/7).

-Top 10 Shows in Total Viewers:
Winter Olympics Monday (NBC, 31.53 million), Winter Olympics Tuesday (NBC, 29.76), Winter Olympics Sunday (NBC, 28.41), Winter Olympics Thursday (NBC, 28.18), Winter Olympics Wednesday (NBC, 27.42), Winter Olympics Friday (NBC, 25.88), Winter Olympics Saturday (24.12), Everybody Loves Raymond R (CBS, 14.49), CSI R (CBS, 13.41), Everybody Loves Raymond Thursday R (CBS, 12.35)

-Top 10 Shows Among Adults 18-49:
Winter Olympics Monday (NBC, 11.1/26), Winter Olympics Wednesday (NBC, 10.4/27), Winter Olympics Tuesday (NBC, 10.3/26), Winter Olympics Thursday (NBC, 9.7/26), Winter Olympics Sunday (NBC, 9.3/22), Winter Olympics Saturday (NBC, 8.8/26), Winter Olympics Friday (NBC, 8.5/25), Malcolm in the Middle (Fox, 5.6/13), Everybody Loves Raymond R (CBS, 5.5/12), The Simpsons (Fox, 5.3/13)

-And the Least Seen Show of the Week Was...
...For Your Love (WB, 1.53 million)

CABLE
What follows are the top 10 rated cable networks in primetime for the week of Feb. 11:
-Households:
Lifetime (2.2, 1.865 million), USA (2.0, 1.684), Nickelodeon (1.7, 1.431), TNT (1.7, 1.419), TBS (1.6, 1.371), Cartoon Network (1.6, 1.192), A&E (1.1, 913,000), Discovery (1.0, 888,000), Fox News (1.1, 843,000), TNN (0.9, 745,000)
-A18-49:
USA (1.128), TBS (1.10), Lifetime (973,000), TNT (884,000), TNN (643,000), Discovery (602,000), CNBC (547,000), TLC (542,000), ABC Family (466,000), Nickelodeon (456,000)
-A25-54:
USA (1.268), Lifetime (1.171), TBS (1.072), TNT (1.004), Discovery (664,000), TNN (619,000), CNBC (565,000), TLC (541,000), Sci Fi (493,000), Nickelodeon (471,000)
Source: Nielsen Media Research

2002 Winter Olympics to-Date:
Solid but Not Spectacular Results for NBC

As has been the pattern since night one of the events, The Winter Olympics in Salt Lake is up significantly from Nagano in 1998 but off in key demos from Lillehammer in 1994 and Albertville in 1992. Take a look:

First 12 Days:
Albertville (CBS): Feb. 8-19, 1992
Lillehammer (CBS): Feb. 12-23, 1994
Nagano (CBS): Feb. 6-17, 1998
Salt Lake City (NBC): Feb. 8-19, 2002
-Total Viewers:
Albertville (29.73 million), Lillehammer (42.49), Nagano (24.98), Salt Lake (30.72)
-A18-49:
Albertville (12.2 rating), Lillehammer (16.4), Nagano (8.9), Salt Lake (10.7)
-M18-49:
Albertville (11.4), Lillehammer (13.8), Nagano (7.8), Salt Lake (9.4)
-W18-49:
Albertville (12.9), Lillehammer (18.8), Nagano (9.9), Salt Lake (11.9)
-A18-34:
Albertville (9.7), Lillehammer (13.5), Nagano (6.4), Salt Lake (7.8)
-M18-34:
Albertville (9.1), Lillehammer (11.5), Nagano (5.5), Salt Lake (7.0)
-W18-34:
Albertville (10.3), Lillehammer (15.5), Nagano (7.1), Salt Lake (8.6)
Source: Nielsen Media Research

On the Air Tonight:
Night 22 of the Feb. 2002 Sweeps
Thursday 2/21/02
ABC:
My Wife and Kids (R), According to Jim (R), Drew Carey (R), Whose Line is it Anyway? (R), Primetime Thursday
CBS:
Everybody Loves Raymond (R), King of Queens (R), CSI (R), The Agency (R)
NBC:
Winter Olympics
Fox:
Glutton Bowl: The World's Greatest Eating Competition
UPN:
WWF Smackdown!
WB:
Movie: Look Who's Talking Now? (R)

TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest
-Lifetime Soars on Sunday:
Despite airing opposite the Winter Olympics, Lifetime's original Sunday dramas this past weekend (themed Stop Violence Against Women) was seen by 3.647 million viewers with a 3.3 household rating -- the network's highest-rated Sunday in six years and second-highest rated ever. The Division at 9 p.m. ET was the standout with a 3.6 rating -- the best-ever for a Lifetime original series.
-One More Turn on The X-Files for David Duchovny:
David Duchovny will reprise his role as Agent Fox Mulder on the two-hour series finale of The X-Files on Sunday, May 19, at 9 p.m. ET. Duchovny will also direct the upcoming April 28th episode of The X-Files.
-Don't Forget Charmed:
In my discussion yesterday on the status of all established series for 2002-03 I failed to include WB stalwart Charmed, which is expected back for a fifth season.


TV Trivia Time:
Flipping Networks
Which one of the following series never switched from one network to another?
a) The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet
b) For Your Love
c) In the Heat of the Night
d) Leave it to Beaver
e) My Three Sons
The answer to yesterday's question ...
Which one of the following current TV dramas has the most number of cast members introduced in the opening credits?
a) ER
b) NYPD Blue
c) OZ
d) The Practice
e) The Sopranos
... is c) OZ. With 33 listed cast members in the opening credits, HBO's OZ is clearly the most populated.

Current kudos go to:
Anthony Alberti, Joelle Alexander, Fabienne Alexis, Dawn Aveline, David Ballaroto, Doug Benson, Mark Berger, Steve Berkowitz, Sara Berrisford, Rebecca Berry, Julie Bestry, Steve Beverly, Lori Birnbaum, Miranda Morris-Bisbee, Michael Bisignano, Gerry Bixenspan, Ramey Warren Black, Graham Blevins, Paul Boland, Dolly Bonner, Debbie Bozich, Mark Braff, Jocelyn Brandeis, Shari Brandt, Lisa Brause, Patricia Breen, Jordan Breslow, Sharianne Brill, Rob Byrne, Cheryl Cagle, Carol Callahan, David Campanelli, Dave Carfolite, Natalie Carusillo, Robert Casalaina, Perry Casciato, Audrey Chan, Wahley Chan, Ted Chase, Carrie Clark, Anne Clausen, Sid Cohen, Larry Collins, Richard Collumb, Pattie Colvin, Brian Compare, John Consoli, Cynthia Cooper, Eric Covert, Katy Cross, John Curran, Roy Currlin, Audrey Davis, Denise Davison, Robert DeLapp, Andy Denenmark, Tamar Dezen, Gary Engel, Phyllis Epstein, Jeff Erdel, Robert Briscoe Evans, Bill Evashwick, John Ferlazzo, Albert Fisher, Shari Flaugher, Holley Ford, Jim Forkan, Sylvia Franklin, Stephen Friedman, Michael Fruchtman, Ike Garlington, Wendy Gentner, Jerry Gibbons, Kent Gibbons, Alison Gilbert, Brandi Chaney-Giles, Steve Gleason, Ron Gold, Maureen Goldman, Jen Good, Steve Goodman, Bill Graff, John Grafton, Zach Gray, David Green, Vicky Gregorian, Andrew Grossman, Carolyn Hale, Brad Hight, Sherrie Holliday, Nick Holtvluwer, Miriam Holzman, Kerry Sheldon-Hughes, April Hutchings, Jeff Hysen, Bob Ingersoll, Rob Iozzio, David Jackino, Victoria Jackson, Denise Jaworski, Marshall Johnson, Matthew Johnson, Michele Johnson, Tara Johnson, Kathleen Johnston, Sandy Jones, Eric Kabakoff, Steve Kaplan, Sue Kendall, Kim Kettler, Tom Kilgallon, Anaka Kobzev, Synda Kollman, Kitty Knutson, Sherrie Lambie, Steve Leblang, Richard Lee, Rick Leed, Marie LeFevre, Howard Leib, Denise Leon, Ted Linhart, Bill Locke, David Loehr, Catherine Lord, Alyson Luscher, Patty Lynch, Derek Maldonado, Donna Makaton, Ken Manheim, Claudia Martin, Carol Martz, Kathy McClung, Bill McGarry, Michael McLaren, David Mehlman, Mark Melville, Lisa Menin, Alita Michael, Kevin Moeller, Ron Monitz, Tony Montana, Jim Moore, Peter Morley, Sarah Morrison, Celeste O'Brien, Greg Oddo, Colleen O'Kane, Phil Oppenheim, Joseph Osuna, Dawn Panzica, Aaron Paquette, Dan Pasternak, Melissa Paz, Alan Perris, Donna Perris, Jodi Perris, Jennifer Petteway, Pat Preblick, Ted Putman, Cynthia Qualich, Alex Quinn, Rusty Ricketts, Dave Robinson, Christy Rodibaugh, Steve Rogan, Gary Rosen, Colleen Roth, Marla Rothfarb, Joe Rubi, Gary Rubin, Andrew Russell, Elisabeth Ryan, Neal Sabin, Jane Sackstein, Ron Salmon, Christina Schrenk, Gadi Schultz, Jason Schwartz, Simcha Schwartz, Carrie Scott, Thomas Sieracki, Michael Silver, Sheila Sluk, Sally Sluss, Greg Sorenson, Charles Sorkin, Michelle Stanton, Eric Steinberg, Adam Storm, Richard Storrs, Kristen Strauss, Joe Swaney, Ronnie Tallant, Tammy Terwelp, Terry Thrams, Margaret Thomas, Stephanie Treiber, Mark Vogel, P. Kellach Waddle, Patrick Walker, Mike Walsh, Dave Ware, Michelle Webley, Andrea Weinstein, Myndi Weintraub, Aaron Williams, Tracie Williams, Margaret Wubbenhorst, Heather York, Damon Zaleski