| Scoreboard for Tue. May 27, 2008 |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Viewers (million) | 8.35 | 7.99 | 6.83 | 4.69 | 1.40 |
| Rating/Share: Adults 18-49 | 3.4/10 | 1.8/5 | 2.1/6 | 1.5/4 | 0.6/2 |
It was a horserace in terms of total viewers, with FOX winning by a nose over CBS. But FOX dominated in the 18-49 age demographic beating out its closest demo competitor, NBC, by 76% and CBS and ABC by more than 100%.
Moment of Truth made its second season debut and drew in less viewers than a repeat of NCIS (7.28m vs. NCIS' 9.67) but handily won the 18-49 demo (3.1/10 vs. 1.8/6). That led-in to my guiltiest pleasure (or in the top 20) Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen. I'd wondered how it would do without the American Idol lead-in and it did a little better than I expected. This show can certainly stand on its own, especially in the demo drawing in 9.41m and a 4.4/12 in the age demo, a substantial increase over its lead-in Moment of Truth.
I know I often write that lead-in doesn't really matter much, but if your lead-in is a football game or American Idol, it does matter more simply because the numbers are so big. With American Idol as a lead-in, HK benefits by getting people who fell asleep with their TVs turned on and the people who went into their own kitchens to discuss the Idol results. No Idol = no numbers for those people. The drop-off wasn't nothing either. Last week 11.44m tuned into Hell's Kitchen and it did a 5.2 in the 18-49 demo. It represents a 15% drop in the 18-49 demographic, but I was actually anticipating as much as a 30% drop. The show is standing on its own very well.
Please don't send me any Hell's Kitchen spoilers. I got distracted last night watching a long physics lecture via YouTube on my iPhone. Yes, a person can have a love of science and still love Hell's Kitchen.
As for the rest of the night other than According to Jim (I think, and who cares, repeat, no repeat, its ratings stink!) and one of the episodes of NBC's Most Outrageous Moments (its ratings also stink!), and the aforementioned FOX shows, everything else was a repeat.
Somewhat interesting was that in the Tuesday 10pm "death slot" which theoretically should be even more deadly in the summer, a repeat of 48 Hours Mystery outperformed the typical airing of Jericho, pulling in 8.31m viewers and a 2.3/7 in the 18-49 demo.
Tuesday night's details:
| Time | Net | Show | Viewers (Millons) | 18-49 Rating/Share |
| 8:00 | FOX | Moment of Truth | 7.28 | 3.1/10 |
| CBS | NCIS (Repeat) | 9.67 | 1.8/6 | |
| NBC | Most Outrageous Moments | 6.13 | 1.8/5 | |
| ABC | According to Jim | 5.03 | 1.8/5 | |
| CW | Beauty and the Geek (Repeat) | 1.29 | 0.6/2 | |
| 9:00 | ABC | Samtha Who? (2 repeats) | 5.27 | 1.6/4 |
| CBS | The Unit (Repeat) | 5.99 | 1.2/3 | |
| FOX | Hells Kitchen | 9.41 | 4.4/12 | |
| CW | Reaper (Repeat) | 1.5 | 0.6/2 | |
| NBC | Law & Order: SVU (Repeat) | 7.08 | 2.1/6 | |
| 10:00 | CBS | 48 Hours Mystery (Repeat) | 8.31 | 2.3/7 |
| ABC | Boston Legal (Repeat) | 4.34 | 1.3/3 | |
| NBC | Law & Order: SVU (Repeat) | 7.29 | 2.5/7 |
Nielsen Ratings Source: Nielsen Media Research. Full night's results available via Marc Berman/Mediaweek.
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I actually watched the According to Jim season finale and I could feel my IQ dropping.
Does it matter that Hell’s Kitchen’s 15% falloff occurred when it was apparently the only new episode airing on any network? i.e., had the other networks been airing original programming, might Hell’s Kitchen’s numbers have been worse?
Still, given that Gordon Ramsay is up to two reality shows on Fox a year (possibly even three if they run another season of Hell’s Kitchen before the end of the year), we aren’t going to hear the end of cussing, garbage can kicking, and food throwing in the kitchen for quite some time!
Outlander, for a variety of factors from repeats to people being on vacation there were less people watching TV last night. in light of everything, HK’s performance last night, especially in the 18-49 demo, seems incredibly strong.
Ouch! Talk about hurting the “Jericho” fans while they are still suffering………………
Jon, HK was the #10 show in the entire 2007-8 season for adults 18-49. Why would it surprise you that it was tops for the night against 100% rerun competition?
Both AI and HK are game/reality shows… That's what blows my mind.
ATJ is a nice middle-America where it's kinda just on in the background (haven't seen more than 15 minutes in 3 years, tho).
HK and AI – I've seen maybe 30 mins total of these two this year – have fervent followings that absolutely astonish and amaze me… they're both crap (just my opinion, of course).
A coupla things…
ATJ – With AmerId the # 1 show in the land, why would anyone be surprised that Jim would get renewed (and prosper, apparently, in it's own way).
Samantha gets hurt by the lead-in.
Hell's Kitchen top show of the night… huh??? (not a watcher or hater – just a huhher?).
When comparing ratings on reruns, the episode that is rerun is as important as anything else other than the initital following. Good individual episodes will bring people back the same way that a DVR might get watched more than once.
Just got out of the hospital after 7 days for a scheduled surgery… whaddI miss?
JonV, you can question taste, and that's fine, but viewers = dollars. Why American Idol is popular may be a philosophical question, but its popularity mints money.
I get that ATJ does well for ABC in syndication and that the syndication is a high margin business, but it hardly seems the best way to maximize the broadcast network opportunity for the longer-term.
HK, was definitely the top show in the 18-49 demo by a wide margin. No “huh” at all for me
Jon, HK was the #10 show in the entire 2007-8 season for adults 18-49. Why would it surprise you that it was tops for the night against 100% rerun competition?
Both AI and HK are game/reality shows… That's what blows my mind.
ATJ is a nice middle-America where it's kinda just on in the background (haven't seen more than 15 minutes in 3 years, tho).
HK and AI – I've seen maybe 30 mins total of these two this year – have fervent followings that absolutely astonish and amaze me… they're both crap (just my opinion, of course).