
The final game of the NBA finals where the Boston Celtics wrapped up their 17th championship led all shows for the week. Followed by the premiere of America’s Got Talent.
But although these are the ratings that everyone wants to see, it’s the 18-49 numbers that really matter most. Which is why I am again paying homage (via the picture to your left) to the force of nature that is Gordon Ramsay You’ll note that save FOX’s Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader every show that does not have an 18-49 ranking is a show that airs on CBS.
Million Dollar Password was a solid performer for CBS, but unfortunately for CBS, "the password is...old people." Though number 12 on the list overall it was not one of the top 33 highest rated shows among 18-49 year olds (note: each week we get access to the top 25 shows in the 18-49 demographic, and sometimes due to ties on the 18-49 rating, we get more – this week it was 33).
Univision had as many show’s in this week’s 18-49 top twenty as CBS, three. And although both America’s Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance draw more total viewers, Hell’s Kitchen drew more 18-49 year olds than any other program outside the NBA final game. But then again, it’s summer and the NBA game was the only program for the week to clear the 10 million mark.
Wake me up when it’s September.
Nielsen Top Twenty Shows by viewers for the week ending 06/22/08:
| Rank | Shows | Net | HH RATING (LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) | # OF HOMES (LIVE+SD) (000) | # Viewers (LIVE+SD) (000) | 18-49 Rank |
| 1 | NBA FINALS ON ABC-GM 6(S) | ABC | 10.7 | 19 | 12,085 | 16,879 | 1 |
| 2 | AMERICA'S GOT TALENT | NBC | 7.8 | 13 | 8,788 | 12,777 | 3 |
| 3 | 60 Minutes (R) | CBS | 6.2 | 12 | 6,947 | 9,098 | |
| 4 | TWO AND A HALF MEN (R) | CBS | 5.8 | 10 | 6,597 | 8,948 | 8 |
| 5 | SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU | FOX | 5.3 | 9 | 6,033 | 8,871 | 5 |
| 6 | SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED | FOX | 5.4 | 9 | 6,147 | 8,855 | 4 |
| 7 | DEAL OR NO DEAL 6/17(S) | NBC | 5.5 | 10 | 6,232 | 8,717 | 20 |
| 8 | HOUSE-MON 9P (R) | FOX | 5.5 | 9 | 6,161 | 8,625 | 6 |
| 9 | DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED | NBC | 5.3 | 9 | 6,005 | 8,337 | 16 |
| 10 | HELL'S KITCHEN | FOX | 5.1 | 8 | 5,759 | 8,253 | 2 |
| 11 | Dateline SUN 9PM | NBC | 5.5 | 9 | 6,214 | 8,240 | 13 |
| 12 | MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD | CBS | 5.4 | 9 | 6,069 | 8,199 | |
| 13 | CSI: NY (R) | CBS | 5.5 | 10 | 6,176 | 8,036 | |
| 14 | CSI: MIAMI (R) | CBS | 5.5 | 10 | 6,228 | 7,985 | 21 |
| 15 | CSI (R) | CBS | 5.2 | 9 | 5,860 | 7,855 | 26 |
| 16 | SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER | FOX | 5.1 | 10 | 5,752 | 7,846 | |
| 17 | COLD CASE (R) | CBS | 4.9 | 8 | 5,483 | 7,250 | |
| 18 | Criminal Minds (R) | CBS | 4.9 | 8 | 5,496 | 7,250 | |
| 19 | Bones-MON 8P (R) | FOX | 4.6 | 8 | 5,207 | 7,135 | 18 |
| 20 | BACHELORETTE, THE | ABC | 4.9 | 8 | 5,576 | 7,047 | 9 |
Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved
All numbers above based on live plus same day DVR viewing.






Looks like Swingtown did not make the top 20 with a bunch of Reruns. Looks like a short lived series.
Bryan, you might be correct but unfortunately being limited to publishing 20 shows does not tell the full story. Swingtown tied for 24 on a HH ratings basis, and was #22 in the 18-49 demo based on 18-49 viewers. That places it way ahead of all the CBS shows with missing 18-49 data in the demo, including Million Dollar Password.
Here’s a data point, CBS just ordered 6 more episodes of Million Dollar Password and it has averaged a 1.9 rating for adults 18-49.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573064.html?rssid=193
Swingtown has averaged a 2.4 rating for adults 18-49. Any wagers now on it’s chance of being renewed?
Here’s a data point, CBS just ordered 6 more episodes of Million Dollar Password and it has averaged a 1.9 rating for adults 18-49.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573064.html?rssid=193
Swingtown has averaged a 2.4 rating for adults 18-49. Any wagers now on it’s chance of being renewed?
Here’s a data point, CBS just ordered 6 more episodes of Million Dollar Password and it has averaged a 1.9 rating for adults 18-49.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573064.html?rssid=193
Swingtown has averaged a 2.4 rating for adults 18-49. Any wagers now on it’s chance of being renewed?
If I had to bet right now, I’d bet against Swingtown. Fortunately I don’t have to! Password is inexpensive programming and exactly the kind of thing you can order “6″ of.
Your tendency to rely on season-to-date is problematic for shows that have only been on a few times: 2.8, 2.3, 2.1, it does average out to 2.4, but the trend isn’t good.
But, it’s summer. 25 out of the top 33 shows for the week had a 2.5 or worse in the demo and 20 of them were in the 2.0-2.2 range. For comparative purposes, in this week Swingtown did worse (though only by 3000 viewers) than a rerun of CSI: Miami in the demo.
If I had to bet right now, I’d bet against Swingtown. Fortunately I don’t have to! Password is inexpensive programming and exactly the kind of thing you can order “6″ of.
Your tendency to rely on season-to-date is problematic for shows that have only been on a few times: 2.8, 2.3, 2.1, it does average out to 2.4, but the trend isn’t good.
But, it’s summer. 25 out of the top 33 shows for the week had a 2.5 or worse in the demo and 20 of them were in the 2.0-2.2 range. For comparative purposes, in this week Swingtown did worse (though only by 3000 viewers) than a rerun of CSI: Miami in the demo.
I’m with Robert betting against Swingtown. Right now it’s ratings are OK for summer (though just barely), but I think it’s going to continue to drop.
I’m with Robert betting against Swingtown. Right now it’s ratings are OK for summer (though just barely), but I think it’s going to continue to drop.
Swingtown is dead, pretty much. It’s got to be expensive to produve and 6 million viewers just isn’t going to cut it. MDP is cheap to produce, so even if it does a sub-2.0 in adults, it’s still passable.
Swingtown is dead, pretty much. It’s got to be expensive to produve and 6 million viewers just isn’t going to cut it. MDP is cheap to produce, so even if it does a sub-2.0 in adults, it’s still passable.
Swingtown is dead, pretty much. It’s got to be expensive to produve and 6 million viewers just isn’t going to cut it. MDP is cheap to produce, so even if it does a sub-2.0 in adults, it’s still passable.
Swingtown is losing viewers every week.
Swingtown is losing viewers every week.