USA Network's Burn Notice bested the NBC broadcast mother ship on Thursday night, when a new episode of Burn Notice on USA bested a repeat of ER on NBC according to TVWeek.com:
USA officials weren't certain whether this was the first time a USA show beat NBC, the once-dominant broadcaster, in prime time, but it appeared unlikely it ever happened on a Thursday night at 10 p.m., long home to many of NBC's strongest series.
"Burn Notice" registered its highest ever audience among adults 18 to 49, registering a 2.0 rating. It was up 6% from last week, when the show returned with new episodes. In total viewers it rose 5% to 5.38 million viewers, compared with 4.53 million for "ER" (1.7 in 18-49).
My enjoyment of Burn Notice is fairly well documented, but the numbers so far for the second half of season two have been very impressive. Like many, I've been wondering out loud since last summer why NBC just doesn't stick Burn Notice on the broadcast network (NBC Universal also owns USA Network on cable). Reports like this will probably make the chorus singing that tune even louder, but a part of me is glad NBC hasn't done it since I fear it would somehow screw up the show!
What are the chances of Burn Notice switching to NBC, especially if the ratings continue to grow? If it continues to grow, it’s going to starting beating some of NBC’s other shows. It would certainly fit well with Chuck, IMO. Now that’s my dream tv show night =P
VYuci, why would they want to take a show that is a success story on cable and risk having it completely fail on broadcast?
no way Burn Notice will have good numbers on NBC, Dexter and Monk bombed on CBS and NBC with the strike.
why would they want to take a show that is a success story on cable and risk having it completely fail on broadcast?
We’re talking about NBC! Because they are NBC the likelihood that they would screw it up seems higher.
Cool, though I agree with Julia, I believe Burn Notice has a much wider general audience appeal than Dexter (I’m a big fan of Dexter, but it’s definitely not for everyone) and wider appeal than Monk. I don’t know if those examples prove anything as far as crossing over goes. But I don’t remember L&O: CI doing great on NBC either.
I thought Dexter did reasonably well on CBS after the strike, although it was censored, right?
Vader, even the opening credits sequence was censored. Going from memory (which is risky) its total viewer numbers weren’t bad but its 18-49 numbers were bad.
NBC’s problem is not the number of the shows, not with Leno coming to take over the 10pm slot. It’s problem is the quality of said shows…
Actually, it premiered with 2.2 in the demo but it went downhill from there.
And even this season 2.2 is hardly something to celebrate.
Well it is the best show on USA, so it’s about damn time it showed up MONK and PSYCHE. It makes those shows look like crap. I don’t think BURN NOTICE would do well on NBC, put it on CBS though and it would have 15 million viewers minimum every episode if not hovering near 18 million.
I agree with you, Mr. Seidman. I worry that if NBC would try BN on broadcast, something somehow would get way screwed up. In discussion with a friend today, we pondered how any broadcast net would handle the detailed criminal activities as Burn Notice portrays them. It’s a (fictional) handbook on how to bug people and blow things up sometimes. If the show was on a major network, it may not be long before someone blew themselves up trying something they saw on “Burn Notice…” lawsuit follows. IMHO, the nets would not allow the series to be written in such a descriptive fashion as it is today. A network version would be a watered-down version. The series just wouldn’t be nearly as fun then!
@Nick C, CBS really wouldn’t know how to handle BN either. They aren’t doing well with more cutting-edge programming, i.e., anything that deviates from the traditional “good guy gets bad guy” format. Exhibit A: the disappointing results of Dexter. Exhibit B: Moonlight. Exhibit C: Jericho. Exhibit D: Shark. Exhibits E, F, and G: Smith, 3 Lbs., and Cane. Those last three were critically panned too, but in general…CBS will stick to “solve crime, rinse, repeat” until viewership drops on that specific format.
Dexter was something that CBS aired for filler.
Its really for their sister network Showtime and with a very strong season they really don’t need to put Dexter on CBS again.
I have to admit airing it on CBS got me hooked on the serial killer who kills the killers.
Burn Notice going to NBC…nahhh its doing great on USA. Its not a mass show.
CBS is doing great with crime drama…every show however has its differences.
NCIS on the light side and the CSI’s on the darker side.
I think this has happened before in Primetime, and will happen again
Monk>Friday Night Lights
Great episode this week. One of my faves. That fortune cookie scene at the beginning killed me (with laughter). And this quote is pure win: “Nothing turns a woman on more than when something goes boom.” I know someone on another show who would testify to that!
Clutz – The series is already “watered down” to the extent that Michael doesn’t mention every single detail all the time anyway. This is in order to keep actual criminals from trying some of these things. I heard that they leave out one step when listing them in order to prevent that.
Though someone probably could still end up blowing themselves up if they didn’t know what they were doing anyway…
Clutz, they leave out multiple steps in their devices. However the devices are real and would actually work which is cool. It is still a “solve a crime,” show but in the “help the victim,” format. Like most CBS shows it stars a lot of old people. There isn’t one regular on the show under 40 I don’t think. Anwar may be lying about her age if she claims to be under 40. It’s perfect for CBS and would likely do extremely well there. It tests really high with the 35+ crowd.
With no dog in the fight, I must say I see no reason NBC should not try Burn Notice. I’ve never seen it; the promo made it look like just another glitzy crime show to me, like a poor man’s CSI:Miami. Detailed criminal activity? So what. That’s probably the hook, anyway. And since when is quality ever an issue on television? In a deep recession, the number of shows you own already in production is the only issue. That’s why ABC keeps showing Jim, CBS is bringing back crummy Rules of Engagement, and NBC is still considering LJ. And the scripted pilots this fall I believe are at an alltime low. Nobody can afford them. ( Isn’t that also why Whedon’s show has been delayed? )
Really i think that the top USA shows should get a shot at a primetime NBC slot like a Wed or Thursday Night. Not on a friday or saturday casue those are horrible days for ratings
Wed- Monk and WWE Raw
Thur- Burn Notice
NBC should get at least one shot, even if its not a full time thing just try it for one week because those are the top rated shows on USA Network. Last week WWE Raw was the only show to break the Presidential Stuff of CNN and other stations and they recieved a second hour of 6.2 million viewers and their 1st hour got around 5.2 or 5.4 mill viewers and now Burn Notice is getting 5.3 million viewers and Monk is in the early 5′s so these shows would be top NBC shows on the right night
@Nick C, I’m sure they don’t do literal “How to” segments on Burn Notice. I guarantee that the current format is still WAAAY too risky for CBS. It’s not Navy. It’s not FBI. It’s not a standard crime investigation unit. The leads on Burn Notice are good guys, but seriously troubled, sometimes criminals themselves. Again, I point to Exhibits A through G as cases where CBS has misstepped in developing series which center on seriously troubled protagonists. I don’t count falling in love with your coworkers, seeing a madam, or going through marital issues as “seriously troubled,” by the way. I really doubt they would try it again, until there’s absolutely zero Nielsen mojo left in the acronym-named-procedural format. As for Anwar’s age, I’m insulted that you would accuse her of lying for no reason other than to sell her to CBS!!!!
@jay, you raise a good point about the economics over quality. However, NBCU is making sufficient profit on the USA cable outlet, among others – so why risk anything that’s going well on cable in an attempt to satisfy broadcast network’s needs? NBCU could end up suffering on two fronts in that decision. This is epescially true when they have no need to fill the 10p.m. EST time slot with scripted programming – Leno’s booked. The deal is done.
@Rich, good point on Thursday night. I’d say BN may be do-able at 10p.m., but that won’t happen on NBC. Only a watered-down version would make broadcast airwaves in an 8 or 9p.m. slot. I’d hate to see BN suffer from such treatment.
Bottom line: Burn Notice belongs exactly where it is – on USA
Clutz, I don’t think you’ve ever even watched the show. Criminals? The chick is an IRA member, but the guy is a CIA agent who got burned and Bruce Campbell’s character is retired FBI. The show doesn’t push any lines at all. It’s basically THE EQUALIZER but with spies.
Nick, I watch every week. These good guys count among their tools money laundering, impersonating a high-end car theft ring, impersonating an oil baron’s son, a drug buyer, etc….wiretapping, breaking and entering. Those things are perfectly legal, then, when you are no longer employed in law enforcement or intelligence agencies on the up-and-up? When’s the last time a CSI lead used one of these techniques and got away with it?