The Programming Insider -- Thursday 2/6/03

Primetime Metered Market Ratings

Wednesday 2/5/03

Household Rating/Share
NBC (11.3/16), Fox (9.3/13), ABC (9.2/13), CBS (8.0/12), WB (3.4/5), UPN (3.4/5), Pax (1.0/1)

-Yesterday's Winners:
That'70s Show (Fox), American Idol (Fox), The Bachelorette (ABC), Law & Order (NBC)

-Honorable Mention:
My Wife and Kids (ABC), The Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS), The West Wing (NBC), Bernie Mac (Fox)

-Yesterday's Losers:
The Twilight Zone (UPN), Cedric the Entertainer Presents (Fox)

-Who's In On American Idol:
America voted -- eight million people according to Fox -- and America's Young Sweetheart, Kimberly Caldwell, is out and the Connecticut girl with the New York attitude, Julia DeMato, is in. Julia joins crooner Charles Grisby as the two finalists picked last night. Fans of Kimberly (and Bettis, J.D., Meosha, Patrick and Trenyce), don't fret -- there's always the wild card.

-And Then There Were Two on The Bachelorette:
As expected, Russ is gone and Charlie and Ryan are still around looking for love, a rose and their 15 minutes of fame on The Bachelorette. Following last night's overly mawkish hour (is Trista really worth it?), personally it makes me long for the return of CBS's The Amazing Race.

-Countdown to Survivor: Amazon:
Seven days!

-Ratings Breakdown:
Although Fox's American Idol (13.5/19 at 8:30 p.m.) remains a standout, old NBC faithful Law & Order was the top-rated show of the night with a 15.2/23 at 10 p.m. Law & Order beat ABC's competing Celebrity Mole: Hawaii (#2: 7.3/11) and CBS's 48 Hours Investigates (#3: 7.0/10) combined by 6 percent. Factor in Ed (#4: 7.4/10) and The West Wing (#2: 11.3/15) from 9-11 p.m. and NBC took the night with an overall 22 percent overnight advantage over second-place Fox.

In positive news for ABC, the absence of American Idol in the 9 p.m. hour put The Bachelorette (#1: 12.1/17) back on the map -- 7 percent above NBC's West Wing. Once the nationals are factored in expect a significantly wider winning margin among adults 18-49 for The Bachelorette. Earlier in the evening, the network's My Wife and Kids ranked second behind Fox's That'70s Show (#1: 8.6/13) with an 8.4/12 at 8 p.m. George Lopez followed with a fourth-place 7.0/10 at 8:30 p.m.

Over at Fox, and thanks to American Idol, Bernie Mac moved back to where he belongs, 9 p.m., with a season-high (and third-place) 8.7/12. Less successful was Cedric the Entertainer Presents, with a fourth-place 6.3/9 in its new 9:30 p.m. time period with 72 percent retention out of Bernie.

On CBS, consistency was the observation of note with 8 p.m. special, The Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular at a solid 8.5/12 at 8 p.m. followed by 60 Minutes II (#3: 8.1/11) and 48 Hours Investigates (#3: 7.0/10).

On UPN, although Enterprise (#5: 4.2/6) managed to beat the WB's soon-to-depart Dawson's Creek (#6: 3.5/5) by 20 percent, The Twilight Zone at 9 p.m. (#6: 2.5/4) trailed the frog net's recently relocated Angel (#5: 3.3/5) by 24 percent.

Finally, on Pax, Candid Camera opened the night with a 0.9/1 followed by repeats of Doc (1.0/1) and Diagnosis Murder (1.2/2).

Source: Nielsen Media Research


February 2003 Ratings To-Date:
CBS, NBC and Fox Rule; the WB on the Rise

Six days to-date and including one night of Fox mega-hit American Idol, the tide is changing in primetime with NBC and Fox tied for first among adults 18-49, CBS now first in total viewers and CBS holding the solo top spot in households. In other demos, Fox ranks first among adults 18-34 (5.3/16), teens 12-17 (4.6/15) and kids 2-11 (2.6/10).

Momentum-wise, kudos to the WB with across-the-board double-digit growth and a third-place finish to-date (behind Fox and NBC) among women 18-34, persons 12-34 and females 12-34. Although CBS is also on the rise, corporate cousin UPN is off significantly. Excluding The Super Bowl from the year-ago mix, Fox also is beginning to experience growth. ABC and NBC are, meanwhile, close to year-ago levels.

Here are the results:

-Households:
CBS: 8.6/14 (+12 percent), NBC: 8.3/13 (+2), Fox: 6.6/10 (no change), ABC: 6.1/10 (+2), WB: 3.1/5 (+24), UPN: 2.3/4 (-23)

-Viewers:
CBS: 13.07 million (+14), NBC: 12.77 (+3), Fox: 11.04 (-1), ABC: 9.61 (no change), WB: 5.01 (+29), UPN: 3.42 (-30)

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 5.1/13 (+2), NBC: 5.1/13 (-4), CBS: 3.8/10 (+12), ABC: 3.3/9 (-6), WB: 2.2/6 (+29), UPN: 1.4/4 (-33)

Source: Nielsen Media Research (1/30-2/4/03 vs. 1/31-2/5/02; Fox in 2002 excludes The Super Bowl)


Final Tuesday Nationals:
Fox Remains Unstoppable

Thanks to the show everyone is talking about, American Idol, Fox posted a clean sweep in all key categories this past Tuesday, Feb. 4. Take a look:

-Households:
Fox: 9.8/15, CBS: 9.3/14, NBC: 7.3/11, ABC; 6.6/10, WB: 4.2/6, UPN: 2.0/9

-Viewers:
Fox: 16.34 million, CBS: 13.27, NBC: 11.44, ABC: 10.35, WB: 7.16, UPN: 2.77

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 8.0/19, NBC: 5.0/12, ABC: 4.0/10, CBS: 3.4/8, WB: 3.4/8, UPN: 1.4/3

On an individual series note, here are the Tuesday night results for each new midseason entry.

American Idol -- Fox/8 p.m.
HH: 9.7/24 (#1 in time period), Viewers: 20.06 million (#1), 12.0/18 (#1)

With American on board, Fox is back on the map. Now we'll see what impact American Idol has on Fox's other series. Based on Tuesday lead-out 24 -- HH: 7.6/11 (#3), Viewers: 12.62 (#2), A18-49: 6.3/15 (#1) -- it's a rip-roaring positive.

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Abby -- UPN/9 p.m.
HH: 1.6/2 (#6), Viewers: 2.19 million (#6), A18-49: 1.0/2 (#6)

No one ever said launching a sitcom outside of Monday would be easy for UPN.

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A.U.S.A. -- NBC/9:30 p.m. (premiere)
HH: 7.5/11 (#3), Viewers: 11.53 million (#3), A18-49: 4.9/11 (#2)

With retention out of lead-in Frasier of 83 percent in adults 18-49, and 77 percent in both households and total viewers, A.U.S.A. is similar to former time period occupant Hidden Hills. Although this is far from a wash, for a debut telecast it should have been better.

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Kingpin -- NBC/10 p.m.
HH: 6.2/10 (#3), Viewers: 9.61 million (#3), A18-49: 4.5/11 (#1)

Considering the relevance of adults 18-49, a first-place time period finish in the demographic (with 92 percent retention out of lead-in A.U.S.A.) is, no doubt, a positive. Although viewers en masse are not tuning in, a 7.2 rating for its debut on Sunday (at 10 p.m.) among upscale adults 18-49 $75K+ (with an index of 133) put Kingpin on top for the night in that demographic. Yes, there is more to life than overnights!

Source: Nielsen Media Research


National Ratings in Syndication:
Week of Jan. 20

When the temperature drops (at least on the East Coast, that is), more people watch television. And with the deep freeze in full bloom this week, what you will see from the following listings is a truckload of series high, season high and above-average ratings. On that note, what follows are the top 20 rated syndicated shows for the week of Jan. 20:

Wheel of Fortune: 10.2, Jeopardy: 8.0, Friends and Seinfeld: 7.9/9.5 each, Everybody Loves Raymond: 7.0/8.0, Entertainment Tonight: 6.4/6.5, Seinfeld Weekend: 6.1/7.5, Judge Judy: 5.9/8.7, Oprah: 5.6/5.7, Dr. Phil: 5.4, Wheel of Fortune Weekend: 5.1, Will & Grace: 4.6/5.2, That'70s Show: 4.1/5.0, Entertainment Tonight Weekend: 4.1/4.2, Judge Joe Brown: 4.0/5.3, Friends Weekend: 3.9/4.0, Live! With Regis & Kelly: 3.9, King of the Hill: 3.6/4.1, Inside Edition: 3.6/3.7, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 3.6

(Note: Shows with a single rating only means there are no double runs)

Items worth noting this week:
-King World's Dr. Phil hit a series-high rating with growth of 12 percent from one week earlier.

-Paramount's Judge Judy reached a season-high rating with year-to-year growth of 4 percent.

-King World's Everybody Loves Raymond also notched a season-high in households, women 18-34 (5.0), women 18-49 (5.2) and women 25-54 (5.4).

-Ditto for the syndicator's Wheel of Fortune (+7) and Jeopardy. Wheel also scored a season-high rating among women 25-54 (4.6) with growth of 21 percent over the year-ago week.


Since there's more to syndication than just the top 20, here are the ratings broken down by genre:

TALK
Oprah: 5.6/5.7, Dr. Phil: 5.4, Live! With Regis & Kelly: 3.9, Maury: 3.4/3.7, Jerry Springer: 2.9/3.2, Montel: 2.6/2.7, Jenny Jones: 2.0, Ricki: 1.8/1.9, John Walsh: 1.6, John Edward: 1.5/2.0, Beyond With James Van Praagh: 1.1/1.6, The Other Half and Caroline Rhea: 1.1 each, Good Day Live: 1.0

Of note:
-Universal's Maury (+10 percent) and Buena Vista's Live! With Regis & Kelly (+5) were the only two established talk shows to grow year to year.

-NBC Enterprise's John Walsh tied its series high to-date.

-Twentieth Television's Good Day, which was recently launched nationally, hit a series high.

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GAME/RELATIONSHIP
Wheel of Fortune: 10.2, Jeopardy: 8.0, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 3.3, Hollywood Squares: 2.9, Pyramid: 2.1/2.4, The Weakest link: 2.0/2.2, Blind Date: 2.0/2.1, ElimiDate: 1.9/2.0, Family Feud: 1.7/2.2, 5th Wheel: 1.5/1.7, Street Smarts: 1.4/1.6, Change of Heart: 1.2/1.3, Shipmates: 0.9/1.0

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COURT
Judge Judy: 5.9/8.7, Judge Joe Brown: 4.0/5.3, Divorce Court: 3.2/4.3, Texas Justice: 2.5/3.4, People's Court: 2.4/2.5, Judge Mathis: 2.1/2.2, Judge Hatchett: 1.9/2.7

Twentieth's Divorce Court scored its best rating in 99 weeks.

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MAGAZINES/REALITY
Entertainment Tonight: 6.4/6.5, Inside Edition: 3.6/3.7, Access Hollywood: 3.2, Extra: 3.0/3.1, Celebrity Justice: 1.4, Life Moments: 0.7

NBC's Access Hollywood hit its best household rating since the week of Nov. 26, 2001, and highest rating among women 25-54 (2.4) ever.

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FIRST RUN HOURS
Stargate: SG1: 2.6/2.8, Mutant X: 2.3/2.5, Andromeda: 2.1/2.2, She Spies: 2.0/2.1, Adventure, Inc.: 1.9/2.1, Maximum Exposure: 1.8/1.9, Showtime: 1.5, The Outer Limits and The Lost World: 1.4, It's Showtime At the Apollo and Livin' Large: 1.3/1.4, BeastMaster: 1.2/1.3, Relic Hunter, Soul Train and Weekend Vibe: 1.0 each, Once a Thief (0.8), Starhunter: 0.6

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OFF-NET SITCOMS
Seinfeld and Friends: 7.9/9.5 each, Everybody Loves Raymond: 7.0/8.0, Will & Grace: 4.8/5.2, That'70s Show: 4.1/5.0, King of the Hill: 3.6/4.1, Home Improvement: 3/54/5, Dharma & Greg: 3.0/3.3, Frasier: 3.0/3.1, Drew Carey: 2.5/2.6, Steve Harvey: 1.8/2.2, 3rd Rock From the Sun: 1.8/2.0, Just Shoot Me: 1.8/1.9, The Hughleys: 1.6/1.8, Larry Sanders: 1.3/1.7, Married With Children: 1.3/1.4, Sabrina and Spin City: 1.3 each, Suddenly Susan: 1.0, Cosy and City Guys: 0.5 each

Another series high: Twentieth's Dharma & Greg

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OFF-NET HOURS
The Practice: 2.6/2.8, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: 2.4/2.6, ER: 2.2/2.5, The X-Files: 2.4/2.6, World's Wildest Police Videos: 1.9/2.0, Providence: 1.3/1.4, Profiler: 0.9/1.0

Source: Nielsen Media Research


On the Air Tonight:
Primetime Programming Options

Thursday 2/6/03
Night Eight of the Feb. 2003 Sweep

ABC:
20/20: Michael Jackson (two-hours), Primetime Thursday

CBS:
Star Search (arc finale), CSI, Without a Trace

NBC:
Friends, Scrubs, Will & Grace, Good Morning, Miami, ER

Fox:
Joe Millionaire R, The Pulse

UPN:
WWE Smackdown!

WB:
High School Reunion (R), The Surreal Life, Jamie Kennedy Experiment

Guest Star Alert:
-Minnie Driver on Will & Grace

Thinking Out Loud:
Although the strength of ER will still likely give NBC the night, move over Friends and CSI. No one can top the oddball King of Pop.


TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest

-The WB Makes Room for Grounded For Life:
Former Fox comedy Grounded for Life, which is moving to the WB, will officially join the frog net with two original episodes airing on Friday, Feb. 28, at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which currently airs at 8:30 p.m. Friday, will move to Thursday at 8 p.m., effective on Feb. 27. Family Affair, now on hiatus, will lead-out of Sabrina at 8:30 p.m. Unless Sabrina can successfully anchor Thursday (unlikely given the competition), it looks like the aging witch may very well be joining Touched by an Angel in the veteran series graveyard.

-An Adult Swim All-Star Extravaganza on TNT:
Turner Network Television will offer a special edition of Cartoon Network's young adult-driven Adult Swim programming block this coming Sunday, Feb. 9, following the NBA All-Star Game. Beginning at 11 p.m. ET, the 90-minute sampler of Adult Swim will feature Futurama followed by Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (11:30 p.m.), Aqua Teen Hunger Force (11:45 p.m.), Sealab 2021 (12 a.m.) and The Brak Show (12:15 a.m.).

-Catherine Crier Live Announces Court TV's First Annual Casey Awards:
Court TV's upcoming Casey Awards, which recognize, for better or worse, the most memorable participants and moments from the trials the network covered over the past year, will be unveiled on the network's Catherine Crier Live on Monday, Feb. 10. The categories are Most Memorable Case, Most Memorable Prosecution Attorney and Most Memorable Prosecution Witness.


TV Trivia Time:
A Populated Little House

How many children did Caroline Ingalls give birth to on Little House on the Prairie?

a) three
b) four
c) five
d) six
e) seven

The answer to yesterday's question ...

Which of the following pairs of Our Gang kids never appeared in a short together?

a) Butch and Darla
b) Chubby and Joe Cobb
c) Alfalfa and Wheezer
d) Mary Ann and Farina
e) Spanky and Porky

... is c) Alfalfa and Wheezer. By the time Spanky's buddy Alfalfa hit the scene, Jackie Cooper and Mary Ann's younger TV brother, Wheezer, had outgrown the Our Gang series.

Current kudos go to:
Eric Antaki, David Ballarotto, Bob Berman, Julie Bestry, Leslie Bialler, Robert Bienvenu, Gerry Bixenspan, Kristy Bremer, Jordan Breslow, Al Canaletich, Larry Collins, Charlie Conner, Shelley Cooper, Jocelin Dills, Gary Engel, Sylvia Franklin, Elaine Moy-Gederman, Jerry Gibbons, Jeff Gillette, Maureen Goldman, Jennifer Gosley, Vicky Gregorian, Bill Guess, Carolyn Hale, Tom Heald, Jeff Hysen, Bob Ingersoll, David Jackino, Greg Janover, Ken Jobe, Maxim Jones, Tom Kilgallon, Paul Koenig, Mark Langlois, Gerald Leo, Ted Linhart, Lyle Merdler, Kevin Moeller, Jim Moore, Terry Morrow, Mike Natale, Graham Olbur, Aaron Paquette, Jeff Passmore, Nick Pernisco, Alan Perris, Jodi Perris, Patrick Preblick, Gordon Purcell, Steven Roberts, Jim Romanovich, Jody Russell Rones, Christopher Rose, Lisa Rothenberg, Betsy Russell, Eric Steele, Bruce Stone, Cliff Tendler