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Supersize Me!
January 31
As you have seen from the
promos, the best way to eliminate repeats is to supersize your
programming. 2 Hour versions of The Biggest Loser - and next week,
BIGGER versions of Deal or No Deal and American Gladiators for NBC. Of
course, CBS expands daytime into primetime with The Price is Right, and
ABC supersizes Lost and adds movies. The chances of any of this going on
when there's no writer's strike? Probably the same chance of Bob Barker
going to a Michael Vick dog show.
Here at GSNN, we like to
follow the trends. So in honor of the networks, I'm going to SUPERSIZE
this column - not only because of the weekly programming, but, as
promised, what the February Sweeps will bring. And Syndication thoughts
as well. Hey, it beats watching Law and Order for the 57th time.
Wednesday, January 23,
2008
The Moment of Truth
1/23/08 - 23.2 Million Viewers (10.2 Mil for 18-49)
Wow. That's a lot of people. Could be that people wanted to know the
hype or that it was after American Idol or that people wanted to see
something original. Whatever the reason, TMOT was by far the highest
rookie show of the season and the highest ranked show to come out of
Idol. Ever. Now will it stay like that next week? (I'm guessing no.) How
much will the drop be? The average % drop between new episodes is 15%,
So if it's anywhere in the 15-20 range, then consider this a hit. If
it's over 20, then consider this show getting renewed on Thursday,
January 31st.
American Idol
1/16/08 - 30.28 Million Viewers (12.6 Mil for 18-49)
1/23/08 - 27.75 Million Viewers (11.1 Mil for 18-49)
It's down another 10% from last week and the week before that. 26.8 is
still potent, but I wonder if Idol is feeling a little backlash from
last season already. All I have to say is that I haven't been knocked
out by anyone yet and they better show up in the later rounds.
Deal Or No Deal
1/2/08 - 12.2 Million Viewers
1/9/08 - 13.2 Million Viewers (3.5 Mil for 18-49)
1/16/08 - 11.83 Million Viewers (3.1 Mil for 18-49) (IDOL Week #1)
1/23/08 - 13.76 Million Viewers (3.7 Mil for 18-49) (IDOL Week #2)
Or it could be that the audience moved over to Deal to see what's going
on with the Million Dollar Mission. The only problem for NBC though -
this Wednesday's episode is a repeat. That will probably move the
eyeballs back to Idol.
Power of 10
1/2/08 - 6.71 Million Viewers
1/9/08 - 6.12 Million Viewers (1.8 Mil for 18-49)
1/16/08 - 4.92 Million Viewers (1.1 Mil for 18-49) (IDOL Week #1)
1/23/08 - 3.88 Million Viewers (0.9 Mil for 18-49) (IDOL Week #2)
But it's obvious that the eyeballs didn't go here. The Power of 10 will
be yanked - and CBS did the right thing, putting in repeats on Wednesday
nights until Big Brother shows up. But what were they thinking by
putting Power of 10 here to begin with instead of Fridays? That being
said, I'm concerned that Big Brother's ratings will match what Power of
10 did - though in it's defense, we all know that CBS is only doing this
because of the writer's strike and even if it bombs, should not have an
effect on it's Summer standing - though I can certainly see this show
being extended until September, when it usually ends - especially if is
surprisingly scores ratings. 8 month Big Brother, anyone?
Crowned
1/9/08 - 1.8 Million Viewers (0.8 Mil for 18-49)
1/16/08 - 1.6 Million Viewers (0.7 Mil for 18-49) (IDOL Week #1)
1/23/08 - 1.46 Million Viewers (0.7 Mil for 18-49) (IDOL Week #1)
You sort of think that the CW is glad that this week is the last week of
Crowned? Bring back Tyra!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Are You Smarter than a 5th
Grader?
1/10/08 - 10.8 Million Viewers (2.9 Mil for 18-49)
1/17/08 - 11.5 Million Viewers (3.7 Mil for 18-49)
1/24/08 - 8pm - 10.47 Million Viewers (3.2 Mil for 18-49)
1/24/08 - 9pm - 10.18 Million Viewers (3.3 Mil for 18-49)
The Jeff Foxworthy-driven vehicle keeps driving. The 2 hour special
stays at around the same demos as the non-celebrity episodes, so that's
a good sign. The big test will come in 2 weeks, when Big Bad Survivor
comes to town
Celebrity Apprentice
1/3/08 - 11 Million Viewers (4.5 Mil for 18-49)
1/10/08 - 8.3 Million Viewers (3.9 Mil for 18-49) (Gray's Anatomy Season
Finale)
1/17/08 - 8.99 Million Viewers (3.9 Mil for 18-49) (Gray's Anatomy Goes
into Repeat mode)
1/17/08 - 8.87 Million Viewers (3.7 Mil for 18-49) (Gray's Anatomy Goes
into Repeat mode)
NBC is renewing the show, which is great for Apprentice fans. However,
despite the 3.7 being the highest rated show of the evening for 18-49,
NBC will be completely delusional if they think that The Apprentice will
keep those numbers once Gray's Anatomy and CSI show up with new
episodes. The best place for Celebrity Apprentice season #2 will be
either on Sundays as a post-cursor to Sunday Night Football or during
the Summer - which just might happen if the strike continues on.
Friday, January 25, 2008
1 vs. 100
1/4/08 - 8.59 Million Viewers
1/11/08 - 7.69 Million Viewers (1.9 Mil for 18-49)
1/18/08 - 7.16 Million Viewers (1.8 Mil for 18-49)
1/25/08 - 8.44 Million Viewers (2.2 Mil for 18-49) (Unopposed)
Before everyone starts jumping for joy on the 'resurgence' on 1 vs. 100,
let me point this out - it was the ONLY NON-REPEAT show on for that time
slot. That being said, the increase not only breaks the downward spiral,
but shows that there is an audience for the show, which is good news for
NBC. Not such good news - The Price is Right is coming to town.
Fortunately for 1 Vs. 100, they will only go against TPIR with 1 show,
but unfortunately for NBC, Amne$ia will be taking it's place. This can't
possibly be what Mark Burnett was hoping for...
Monday, January 28, 2008
American Gladiators
1/7/08 - 10.73 Million Viewers
1/14/08 - 10.66 Million Viewers (4.6 Mil for 18-49)
1/21/08 - 10.08 Million Viewers (4.3 Mil for 18-49)
1/28/08 - 8.4 Million Viewers (3.5 Mil for 18-49) (NOT AIRED IN ALL OF
AMERICA)
Before you all panic, keep in mind that the show on the West Coast was
pre-empted by a special on Heath Ledger (with the Gladiator show to come
on after George Bush). However, if you watched the George Bush speech,
it could be possible that millions of Americans cured their insomnia and
maybe couldn’t stay up through the speech to actually watch American
Gladiators.
Dance Wars
1/7/08 - 10.97 Million Viewers
1/14/08 - 10.50 Million Viewers (2.9 Mil for 18-49)
1/21/08 - 9.86 Million Viewers (2.6 Mil for 18-49)
1/28/08 - 9.3 Million Viewers (2.4 Mil for 18-49)
Or maybe it was this show that put the West Coast to sleep. The show
keeps losing viewership at an alarming rate. The fake arguing between
Bruno and Carrie Ann is only good when it comes to stars. PS. If you
want a REAL Dancing Show while waiting for Dancing With the Stars, check
out America's Ball Room Challenge on PBS. Good stuff.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
American Idol
1/15/08 - 33.24 Million Viewers (13.8 Mil for 18-49)
1/22/08 - 29.05 Million Viewers (11.7 Mil for 18-49)
1/29/08 - 28.0 Million Viewers (11.0 Mil for 18-49)
The audience is still shrinking, but 28 million is more than enough to
be the best show in the land. I'm still waiting for that one singer to
blow me away, but there are a bunch of good vocalists in Tuesday's crop.
The Biggest Loser 5
1/1/08 - 8.5-12.72 Million Viewers
1/8/08 - 8.48-12.13 Million Viewers (5.2 Mil for 18-49)
1/15/08 - 7.28 Million Viewers (3.0 Mil for 18-49) (IDOL Premiere)
1/22/08 - (AGAINST IDOL (8-9)) 7.01 Million Viewers (2.9 Mil for 18-49)
1/22/08 - (NOT AGAINST IDOL (9-10)) 10.87 Million Viewers (4.5 Mil for
18-49)
1/29/08 - (AGAINST IDOL (8-9)) 6.8 Million Viewers (2.7 Mil for 18-49)
1/29/08 - (NOT AGAINST IDOL (9-10)) 9.7 Million Viewers (3.9 Mil for
18-49)
The Biggest Loser is still holding it's own against Idol from 8-9. What
it needs to be concerned about is that 10% drop from 9-10. Still, it's
doing very well and the 9-10 edition beat out both The Donald and The
Hulkster this week.
Now this is where we'd end the show,
but as I said earlier, this edition is SUPERSIZED. Weeeeee!
Starting with - Syndication. Crosswords will get a renewal, despite not
even averaging a 1.0 for the whole year. Congratulations to the show for
getting a renewal, but barely breaking a 1.0 means that if you want to
see this in a major metropolitan area next year, you'll probably be
looking for it amongst the Ronco Rotisserie and the Magic Bullet
infomercials at 3 am. As for Temptation not clearing a 0.6…if it gets
renewed, it's only because it's the cheapest show currently on TV to
produce.
Now, on to what the networks have in store for us in February…
ABC
- (Out of 22 hours)
JANUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 13 Hours (2.5 Hours of repeats)
Game Shows - 2 Hours
Other Reality - 4 Hours
Other - 3 Hours (Saturday Night Movie)
FEBRUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 10.5 Hours (3.5 Hours of repeats)
Game Shows - 2.5 Hours
Other Reality - 6 Hours
Other - 3 Hours (Saturday Night Movie)
The extra half hour is due to the expansion of Dance War. While ABC
still has mostly Scripted entertainment, that supply is starting to
shrink, with only 7 hours of non-repeat programming left. If the strike
continues, expect to see more supersized Extreme Makeover and News
Shows, as ABC has not given into the Game Show bug…yet.
CBS
- (Out of 22 Hours)
JANUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 14 Hours (7 Hours of Repeats)
Game Shows - 4 Hours
Other Reality - 2 Hours
Other - 2 Hours (Crime Time Repeats)
FEBRUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 15 Hours (10 Hours of Repeats)
Game Shows - 5 Hours
Other Reality - 0 Hours
Other - 2 Hours (Crime Time Repeats)
OUT - Power of 10
IN - Big Brother, Survivor, The Price is Right
CBS is the network that's hurting the most with a strike going on.
Almost half of it's shows are repeats (and if you add Dexter in there as
a repeat from Showtime and 2 repurposed hours on Saturday night, that's
more than half of it's programming). Survivor and The Price is Right
should rack up the numbers, but even when it's doing well in the Summer,
Big Brother usually doesn't break a 10. The fact that CBS is spending 3
primetime hours on it must be very unsettling.
FOX
(Out of 15 Hours)
JANUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 8 Hours (3.5 hours of repeats)
Game Shows - 5 Hours
Other Reality - 2 Hours
FEBRUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 7 Hours (3.5 hours of repeats)
Game Shows - 6 Hours
Other Reality - 2 Hours
FOX, by far, is the network that's the most well-off. In fact, since the
repeats on Friday is doing better than most of their first-run
programming has been, if you are a regular viewer of FOX, you may not
even realize that a strike is happening. Then again, when you have
American Idol eating up a ton of programming hours, a lot of your strike
ills are taken care of. Add 5th Grader, Lyrics, and Moment of Truth in
the mix, and you have the network that should easily take the #1 slot in
May. This may be the only network that doesn't care whether or not the
strike ends…at least until the American Idol finale.
NBC
(Out of 22 Hours)
JANUARY
Scripted Entertainment called Law and Order - 5 Hours
Scripted Entertainment not called Law and Order - 6 Hours (5 hours of
repeats between them)
Game Shows - 5 Hours
Other Reality - 2 Hours
Other - 4 Hours (Are You Ready For Some Football?..or…Are You Ready for
Repurposed weekly shows on Sunday?)
FEBRUARY
Scripted Entertainment called Law and Order - 3 Hours
Scripted Entertainment not called Law and Order - 7 Hours (3 hours of
repeats between them)
Game Shows - 7 Hours
Other Reality - 2 Hours
Other - 3 Hours (NBC Saturday Night Repeat-o-Repurposing-o-Rama)
In - My Dad is Better than Your Dad, Amne$ia
Last month, I said that the major gamble into reality will either pay
off or be a disaster. So far, it has definitely paid off, to the tune of
consistent wins in time slots that don't have 'American Idol' in it. The
successes also allow them to save what's left of their scripted
programming to air now, so like FOX, it seems like there is no strike.
Ben Silverman's plan has paid off mightily and it looks like NBC made
the right choice when they appointed him the NBC President. Can they
continue this plan through May?
The CW
(Out of 13 Hours)
JANUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 8 Hours (2 hours of repeats)
Game Shows - 3 Hours (2 hours of repeats)
Other - 2 Hours (Smackdown)
FEBRUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 9 Hours (5 hours of repeats)
Game Shows - 2 Hours (1 hour of repeats)
Other - 2 Hours (Smackdown)
In - America's Next Top Model,
Girlicious
The CW is starting to hurt.
Yes, they have Tyra, but they also have Girlicious. More importantly,
they have almost 50% of their shows as repeats. Hopefully, Tyra's gang
will bring the network back, but the numbers have been disappointing for
the CW. Crowned didn't do it any favors.
MyNetwork TV
(Out of 12 hours)
JANUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 0 Hours
Game Shows - 1 Hour (a repeat at Meet My Folks)
Other Reality - 6 Hours
Other - 5 Hours (Movies, Various)
FEBRUARY
Scripted Entertainment - 0 Hours
Game Shows - 1 Hour
Other Reality - 6 Hours
Other - 5 Hours (Movies, Various)
In - Paradise Hotel 2
How is this network still on the air?
So there's the big, 2 hour super-stuffed edition of The Numbers Game.
Next week, we see how 'Super' Tuesdays are and why we'll be hearing a
lot more politics on the air than usual (and no, it's not because the
networks feel that the public should be more enlightened in a
presidential election year). Join us in 7 days.
Gordon Pepper is stuffed. E-mail him some Kaopectate at
gordon@gameshownewsnet.com. |
