DOA Return of Fox's The O.C.

The return of serial The O.C. left Fox at the starting gate on this first night of the November 2006 sweeps. Season four of The O.C. opened with a series-low (and distant fourth-place) 3.38 million viewers and a 1.5 rating/ 3 share among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research data.

Comparably, that was down by an alarming 4.12 million viewers and 55 percent among adults 18-49 from its third-season premiere (on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005 at 8 p.m.). As expected, ABC and CBS opened the sweeps on a winning note: CBS was first in total viewers; ABC No. 1 among adults 18-49. But all was not well on ABC given another series low for Grey's Anatomy lead-out Six Degrees. NBC, meanwhile, finished a distant No. 3.


Prime-Time Thursday Ratings:


Thursday 11/02/06
Metered Market Ratings

HH
Rtg/Shr
CBS 10.9/16
ABC 10.1/15
NBC 8.0/12
CW 3.1/ 5
Fox 2.7/ 4

-Percent Change From the Comparable Year-Ago Evening (Thursday 11/03/05)
(The CW is compared to the WB's combination of Smallville and Everwood)
ABC: +63, NBC: - 8, CW: -14, Fox: -23, CBS: -25

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Fast Nationals

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 16.42 million, ABC: 14.09, NBC: 12.02, CW: 4.15, Fox: 3.56

-Adults 18-49:
ABC: 5.6 rating/14 share, CBS: 5.3/13, NBC: 4.8/12, Fox: 1.6/ 4, CW: 1.5/ 4

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-Yesterday's Winners:
Ugly Betty (ABC), Survivor: Cook Islands (CBS), Grey's Anatomy (ABC), CSI (CBS), ER (NBC)

-Yesterday's Losers:
'Til Death (Fox), Happy Hour (Fox), The O.C. (Fox), Six Degrees (ABC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
ABC and CBS split leadership on this first night of the November 2006 sweeps, with CBS first in the overnights and total viewers, and ABC No. 1 among adults 18-49. Working against ABC is the ongoing collapse of new drama Six Degrees, but considerably more alarming was the DOA return of Fox soap The O.C. NBC and the CW were both on par with typical Thursday levels.

Beginning with 8 p.m., the little ABC show that could, Ugly Betty, remained on the winning track with a 10.1 rating/15 share in the overnights (#1), 13.72 million viewers (#2) and a 4.4/11 among adults 18-49 (#2). Comparably, the last ABC series to generate any real interest