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Previously... 2005 2006 2007 January 3 January 10 January 17 January 24 January 31 February 7 February 14 February 21 February 28 March 6 March 13 September 15 Opinions expressed in the Numbers Game do not necessarily reflect those held by Game Show Newsnet as a whole.
Copyright Statement |
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What Happens When You Give People
What They Want? We PROMISE that someone will win a million dollars…well not our site, per se, but the networks. And lo and behold, we saw the money fly out in early September. First from Deal Or No Deal and then from Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader. But is that good for ratings? How do the numbers affect the shows after that momentous occasion? And how does The Biggest Loser fare? We'll find out as we spend another week looking at the numbers. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 DEAL OR NO DEAL (NBC) We give out the money - and then the
numbers go away. In fairness, the show wins it's timeslot, so I can't be
too harsh on it, but it won't win it’s timeslot next week once Dancing
With The Stars shows up. Fortunately, it won't be there - Heroes moves
in next week, so they can deal with the problem as DOND bounces all over
the schedule for the next month. Speaking of bouncing, this show bounces to the end of the week. As it dropped over 20% of it's audience from last week to this week, I shudder to think what the damage is going to be when it moves to Friday. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 THE BIGGEST LOSER (NBC)
The numbers here, however, are very good. Not only is the 7.81 million one of the better numbers for this series, but the 3.1 for 18-49 is one of the best numbers for the show and of the shows for the week (check out all of the other 18-49 numbers to see what I mean). This looks like a nice start for the veteran program. BIG BROTHER 10 (CBS) CBS has announced a renewal for the show. The numbers for a Summer show are strong indeed. And now that they see what Big Brother does (or doesn't do) in the Winter, hopefully they'll keep it in the Summer. Of course, there will be no writer's strike years from now to make that possibility happen…we hope. WIPEOUT (ABC) It's still getting a well-deserved renewal, but what happened when it went up against Winter competition? The numbers took a hit. Memo to ABC: This is what's going to happen if the show strays out of the Summer months, so make sure it doesn't do that. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (NBC)
AGT, however, looks strong, regardless of the season. With only 2 weeks left to go, and with a not-as-strong Wednesday field, expect AGT to rack up the numbers before they take a siesta for a few months. AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (CW)
That 4 is more like what we're used to seeing. Now that 90210 has lost a ton of steam, ANTM is still the highest rated show on the CW. And it still rules the roost on those female demographics. We'll see what happens as the weeks progress. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (NBC)
It's lower than usual, but it's still a very nice number for NBC in that congested Thursday night slot. This is the last night for AGT there, as the comedies return to take over the slot. But the comedies are not Must See TV anymore. That moniker belongs to Gray's Anatomy and CSI. HOLE IN THE WALL (FOX) It's bad enough that the number is under a 5. It's going to get worse once fresh episodes of Survivor and My Name is Earl get there next week. The official watch for something to take over that Thursday Night 8pm slot is on… GORDON RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES
(FOX) While we're at it, Kitchen Nightmares is struggling against repeats of CSI and Gray's Anatomy. REPEATS. When the new episodes show up, I expect it to get slaughtered. Which is why, if I'm a FOX executive, I switch out these shows with Friday's... FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?
(FOX) Last season, the show was commanding 9's and 10's on Thursday night. It's still winning it's timeslot on Fridays, but it's only commanding a little more than half the numbers it got when it was on Thursdays. And the fault is clearly on the day, as less people watch TV in general on Fridays. If I'm FOX, and since I know this will get more than a 5 on Thursdays, I make the switch. Now. DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS (FOX)
And I move this show into the 9pm slot on Thursdays. There's no reason why this show should be on Fridays when it scored double the result from Thursdays last season. FOX was fixing something that wasn't broken. Move both shows to Thursdays, and then move Hole In The Wall/Moment of Truth and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares over to Fridays, where if Hole/Ramsay get the same numbers, it's not as bad for FOX than if they score 4's and 6's on Thursdays. Just admit you goofed, swap the shows, and move on. AMERICA'S TOUGHEST JOBS It doesn't matter where this show goes. With a 3.34 rating, it's toast and a fresh victim for Augustus, our resident game show zombie. It will finish out the season on Fridays, but don't expect a renewal. And that ends the show watch for this week. Next week, the monsters come back to roost. Dancing With The Stars, Survivor and The Amazing Race show up to reclaim time period dominance. Opportunity Knocks debuts and gets a power slot with DWTS. How will these shows do - and what will happen to the shows already in those time slots? We'll check out the numbers in 7. Gordon Pepper is convinced that he has America's Toughest Job. E-mail him at gordon@gameshownewsnet.com. |
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