| Scoreboard for Weds. May 7, 2008 |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Viewers (million) | 14.43 | 11.01 | 7.74 | 6.51 | 3.05 |
| Rating/Share: Adults 18-49 | 5.0/14 | 2.7/7 | 2.2/6 | 2.1/6 | 1.5/4 |
Let there be no doubt: worst May Sweeps EVER. How bad? Two words: Wife Swap. ABC's Wife Swap won the 18-49 demographic for the 8pm hour with a 2.5/8 (rating/share). If Carl Sagan were still alive he'd be asking, "How can it be so?"
American Idol was on, so FOX won the night even though Idol has billions and billions fewer viewers this year. OK, although Sagan was not exaggerating about the billions, I am, but you knew that. It only lost about 6 million viewers. Last year it pulled 28.20m, this year 22.39m. It's 18-49 base is eroding too it had a 10.8/28 in the demo last year, but this year only an 8.0/21. Still, Bill Gorman will not be asking "American Idol: Renew or Cancel?" anytime soon.
FOX's comedy lineup of ‘Til Death and Back to You is struggling a bit. Only Back to You could even pull a 2.0 in the 18-49 demo. And Just a 2.0. With almost three million fewer viewers America's Next Top Model was able to pull off a 2.0 in the 18-49 year old demographic for the 8pm hour. Go Tyra! But that other show on the CW, the one we apparently imported from Holland, Farmer Wants a Wife lost half of those 18-49 year olds for the CW.
In the 8pm hour Deal or No Deal faced off with The Price is Right and in the 8pm hour, Deal Won! Barely, but a win is a win. Deal and TPIR both had 7.59 million viewers from 8pm-9pm but Deal just edged TPIR out in 18-49 viewers : 1.9/5 versus 1.8/5. Sucks to be Drew. Other than that CBS had a pretty good night with Criminal Minds and CSI: NY. CSI: NY bested NBC's Law & Order at 10pm by almost 4 million viewers. The race was tighter in the 18-49 demographic but CSI: NY still won with a 3.3/9 vs. L&O's 2.9/8.
Fewer cared about Barbara Walters' Journey, but I was surprised it was able to net a 2.0 in the 18-49 demo. I'd have bet $20 against that. Go Babs!
The DVR will be working overdrive tonight as I plan to do something I almost never do: watch CBS' CSI. The crossover episode of CSI written by the folks at Two and Half Men airs tonight at 9pm and is appropriately titled "Two and a Half Deaths". Mostly though, I'm looking forward to LOST.
Wednesday night's details:
| Time | Network | Show | Viewers (Millons) | 18-49 Rating/Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | CBS | The Price is Right | 7.59 | 1.8/5 |
| NBC | Deal or No Deal (8p-10p) | 7.22 | 1.9/5 | |
| ABC | Wife Swap | 6.98 | 2.5/8 | |
| CW | Americas Next Top Model | 3.98 | 2.0/6 | |
| FOX | 'Til Death | 6.04 | 1.9/6 | |
| 8:30 | FOX | Back to You | 6.89 | 2.0/6 |
| 9:00 | CBS | Criminal Minds | 12.85 | 3.1/8 |
| CW | Farmer Wants a Wife | 2.11 | 1.0/3 | |
| ABC | Supernanny | 5.14 | 1.9/5 | |
| FOX | American Idol | 22.39 | 8.0/21 | |
| 10:00 | ABC | Barbara Walters' Journey | 7.40 | 2.0/6 |
| NBC | Law & Order | 8.76 | 2.9/8 | |
| CBS | CSI: NY | 12.58 | 3.3/9 |
Nielsen Ratings Source: Nielsen Media Research. Full night's results available via Marc Berman/Mediaweek.
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You look at a day like today and you must wonder what has happened to television. there was nothing on but reality, formula sitcoms, and formula procedurals. the 3 lowest brow, least respected genres in television. It looks like television has devolved until you look at tonight where you have NBC’s single camera sitcoms and ABC’s lost. shows that push the boundaries of storytelling in television. Thursday night includes some of the best produced well written shows of all time.
Television today, creatively, is simultaneously better and worst than it has ever been.
wife swap won its time slot, this is a sad day for TV
You look at a day like today and you must wonder what has happened to television. there was nothing on but reality, formula sitcoms, and formula procedurals. the 3 lowest brow, least respected genres in television. It looks like television has devolved until you look at tonight where you have NBC’s single camera sitcoms and ABC’s lost. shows that push the boundaries of storytelling in television. Thursday night includes some of the best produced well written shows of all time.
Television today, creatively, is simultaneously better and worst than it has ever been.
wife swap won its time slot, this is a sad day for TV
You look at a day like today and you must wonder what has happened to television. there was nothing on but reality, formula sitcoms, and formula procedurals. the 3 lowest brow, least respected genres in television. It looks like television has devolved until you look at tonight where you have NBC’s single camera sitcoms and ABC’s lost. shows that push the boundaries of storytelling in television. Thursday night includes some of the best produced well written shows of all time.
Television today, creatively, is simultaneously better and worst than it has ever been.
wife swap won its time slot, this is a sad day for TV
I find it disturbing that Farmer Wants a Wife even got a 2.1.
LOST! 30 Rock! The Office! Great night for TV.
I know that Robert’s just mocking the typical media take on the sweeps ratings, but in reality, since the mid-80s when broadcast primetime began its long term decline, I’d bet that *every* May sweeps has been the “worst ever”
I know that Robert’s just mocking the typical media take on the sweeps ratings, but in reality, since the mid-80s when broadcast primetime began its long term decline, I’d bet that *every* May sweeps has been the “worst ever”
I know that Robert’s just mocking the typical media take on the sweeps ratings, but in reality, since the mid-80s when broadcast primetime began its long term decline, I’d bet that *every* May sweeps has been the “worst ever”
if it’s any consolation at least Univision’s “Al Diablo con los Guapos” bested Wife Swap in the 18-34 demographic ! (2.3/8 vs. 2.1/7). And “Fuego en La Sangre” beat everything BUT American Idol at 9pm in the 18-34 demo.
if it’s any consolation at least Univision’s “Al Diablo con los Guapos” bested Wife Swap in the 18-34 demographic ! (2.3/8 vs. 2.1/7). And “Fuego en La Sangre” beat everything BUT American Idol at 9pm in the 18-34 demo.
if it’s any consolation at least Univision’s “Al Diablo con los Guapos” bested Wife Swap in the 18-34 demographic ! (2.3/8 vs. 2.1/7). And “Fuego en La Sangre” beat everything BUT American Idol at 9pm in the 18-34 demo.
Univision – Wow…
This is something everyone was talking about when the ‘fragmenting thing’ was first noticed many years back. With Hispanic and increasing cable programming, this was exactly where we were headed.
For every viewer lost from the ‘Big 4 and 1/2′ networks, there are 1.05 viewers watching something else somewhere else because they found a show that ‘speaks to them’..
We may have to completely change the way we look at the ratings to get the full picture.
Univision – Wow…
This is something everyone was talking about when the ‘fragmenting thing’ was first noticed many years back. With Hispanic and increasing cable programming, this was exactly where we were headed.
For every viewer lost from the ‘Big 4 and 1/2′ networks, there are 1.05 viewers watching something else somewhere else because they found a show that ‘speaks to them’..
We may have to completely change the way we look at the ratings to get the full picture.
Univision – Wow…
This is something everyone was talking about when the ‘fragmenting thing’ was first noticed many years back. With Hispanic and increasing cable programming, this was exactly where we were headed.
For every viewer lost from the ‘Big 4 and 1/2′ networks, there are 1.05 viewers watching something else somewhere else because they found a show that ‘speaks to them’..
We may have to completely change the way we look at the ratings to get the full picture.
i think idols ratings will increase the next two weeks. i think it just took a temporary dive this week (i mean the performance show). and to be fair. idol Always loses viewers in may because people just arent as interested in the good singers as they are in the bad ones. last year’s top 2 performance show got about 25 million but then the viewers always come back for the auditions next year.
i think idols ratings will increase the next two weeks. i think it just took a temporary dive this week (i mean the performance show). and to be fair. idol Always loses viewers in may because people just arent as interested in the good singers as they are in the bad ones. last year’s top 2 performance show got about 25 million but then the viewers always come back for the auditions next year.
i think idols ratings will increase the next two weeks. i think it just took a temporary dive this week (i mean the performance show). and to be fair. idol Always loses viewers in may because people just arent as interested in the good singers as they are in the bad ones. last year’s top 2 performance show got about 25 million but then the viewers always come back for the auditions next year.
Jon, I agree completely. Unfortunately short of us buying the data (not going to happen, and even if we did, they’d not let us publish ALL of it) or someone feeding it all to us including all the cable data, we can’t give that full picture. I imagine it would be a heck of a lot more interesting than what we are able to provide.
Last night for the EIGHT “broadcast networks” Nielsen reports at 9pm, the share of televisions that were on and tuned to them, even with American Idol’s 21% share, was 53%. So we’re almost always missing at least half of the big picture.
Amy, I agree that Idol will pick up towards the finale, but getting back to 30 million is looking “iffy”.
Jon, I agree completely. Unfortunately short of us buying the data (not going to happen, and even if we did, they’d not let us publish ALL of it) or someone feeding it all to us including all the cable data, we can’t give that full picture. I imagine it would be a heck of a lot more interesting than what we are able to provide.
Last night for the EIGHT “broadcast networks” Nielsen reports at 9pm, the share of televisions that were on and tuned to them, even with American Idol’s 21% share, was 53%. So we’re almost always missing at least half of the big picture.
Amy, I agree that Idol will pick up towards the finale, but getting back to 30 million is looking “iffy”.
Jon, I agree completely. Unfortunately short of us buying the data (not going to happen, and even if we did, they’d not let us publish ALL of it) or someone feeding it all to us including all the cable data, we can’t give that full picture. I imagine it would be a heck of a lot more interesting than what we are able to provide.
Last night for the EIGHT “broadcast networks” Nielsen reports at 9pm, the share of televisions that were on and tuned to them, even with American Idol’s 21% share, was 53%. So we’re almost always missing at least half of the big picture.
Amy, I agree that Idol will pick up towards the finale, but getting back to 30 million is looking “iffy”.