Oh where or where has my SpongeBob spreadsheet gone? Oh where oh where can it be?
Nielsen has been spotty with updating the spreadsheets lately with the normal way that we access the data. I don't think Nielsen treats us any worse than The Modesto Bee, but we don't get better treatment either! I didn't see any weekly cable ratings on the Modesto Bee either, but they did rerun a Contra Costa Times story comparing 30 Rock to Will & Grace that focuses on ratings that you might enjoy.
Unsurprisingly, Monday Night Football led all cable viewing for the week ending October 26, 2008, with the Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots game garnering 10.8 million. According to the USA Today (which has a SpongeBob -less list) the Wizards of Waverly Place took the number two spot, followed by The O'Reilly Factor and both airings of WWE Raw. A couple of more O'Reilly Factors, more Wizardly airings, iCarly, college football , House reruns on USA, High School Musical (1 & 2) and Suite Life on Deck also placed.
One of these days, we'll get the spreadsheet and whip up an easy-to-read table, but in the meanwhile you can hop over to the USA Today's ratings charts. Scroll down for the cable results...
Update: Ok, the spreadsheet showed up. My first thought is: "Wow, I can't believe the anti-SpongeBob bias of the USA Today!"
I'd say that they are factoring out everything but new airings of shows, but, it included House reruns. My best guess is it is factoring out non first-run episodes aimed at young children. Either way, its list was SpongeBob-free this week and we have three of the yellow and porous one's airing in the top ten, and five in the top 20!
Here's the absorbent, SpongeBob-laden version of Nielsen's top cable shows for the week ending October 26, 2008:
| Rank | Shows | NET | DAY(S) | Live+SD HH rating | Viewers Live+SD (000) |
| 1 | NFL REGULAR SEASON L (BRONCOS/PATRIOTS) | ESPN | MONDAY | 7.0 | 10,822 |
| 2 | WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE | DSNY | SUNDAY | 3.0 | 4,920 |
| 3 | SPONGEBOB | NICK | SATURDAY | 2.7 | 4,685 |
| 4 | WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE | DSNY | SUNDAY | 2.9 | 4,587 |
| 5 | SPONGEBOB | NICK | SATURDAY | 2.7 | 4,418 |
| 6 | THE OREILLY FACTOR | FOXNC | WEDNESDAY | 2.9 | 4,390 |
| 7 | SPONGEBOB | NICK | SATURDAY | 2.8 | 4,354 |
| 8 | WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE Raw) | USA | MONDAY | 2.5 | 4,320 |
| 9 | WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE Raw) | USA | MONDAY | 2.5 | 4,238 |
| 10 | THE OREILLY FACTOR | FOXNC | THURSDAY | 2.8 | 4,171 |
| 11 | SPONGEBOB | NICK | SATURDAY | 2.4 | 4,109 |
| 12 | S WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLAC(S)-10/26/2008 | DSNY | SUNDAY | 2.6 | 3,991 |
| 13 | iCarly | NICK | SATURDAY | 2.3 | 3,978 |
| 14 | HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 | DSNY | THURSDAY | 2.5 | 3,969 |
| 15 | BACK AT THE BARNYARD | NICK | SATURDAY | 2.5 | 3,949 |
| 16 | HOUSE | USA | SUNDAY | 2.4 | 3,941 |
| 17 | HOUSE | USA | SUNDAY | 2.5 | 3,939 |
| 18 | COLL FTBALL-SAT PRIME L (ALABAMA/TENNESSEE) | ESPN | SATURDAY | 2.4 | 3,939 |
| 19 | SPONGEBOB | NICK | SATURDAY | 2.5 | 3,918 |
| 20 | THE OREILLY FACTOR | FOXNC | MONDAY | 2.7 | 3,884 |
Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2008 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved
