Recently I was reading Mo Ryan’s review of TNT’s HawthoRNe when I saw this:
TNT's "The Closer" regularly gets ratings that broadcast networks -- not just NBC -- would kill for.
Let me get the drama out of the way: NO! MYTH! Not true. No way. Complete myth.
This isn’t a commentary on Mo (how can I not love a fellow fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?) and it’s definitely not a commentary on HawthoRNe (I’ve never seen it) and it’s not a commentary on The Closer, either, which I sometimes watch and enjoy. It’s a commentary on the notion that broadcast networks would kill for The Closer's numbers, because it simply isn’t true.
In fact, not even NBC would kill for The Closer’s ratings. I’m not even sure the CW would kill for The Closer’s ratings and under current management, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t. The Closer is many things, but a hit among young women is not one of them. In fact, it doesn't rate very well with younger people in general, which is why no broadcast network would be very interested.
In fairness to The Closer, if it were on broadcast television, say CBS, its numbers would surely be higher than they are on TNT. High enough to be renewed? That’s a hypothetical we will never know. What I do know for sure is that CBS wouldn’t kill for the numbers it actually pulls and neither would any of the other broadcast networks.
This past year The Closer ran five episodes during TV’s “regular season” (the episodes aired in late January and through February). Thanks to our friends at the Television Bureau of Advertising who publish a consolidated top 100 shows among the advertising-centric adults 18-49 during the regular television season (not in the summer, unfortunately), we can see how things stack up relatively speaking. Because of the way TVB’s site is designed, I can’t link you to the specific pages directly, but if you hunt around you can find the data, but I am including some of it below.
The episode of The Closer that aired on January 26, 2009 didn’t even make the consolidated top 100 shows with adults 18-49. Several cable shows did that week though:
| Rank | Air Date | Show | Adults 18-49 Rating |
| 43 | 1/26/2009 | WWE Raw | 2.1 |
| 47 | 1/29/2009 | Burn Notice | 2.0 |
| 79 | 1/27/2009 | Nip Tuck | 1.5 |
| 86 | 1/30/2009 | Monk | 1.4 |
| 94 | 1/30/2009 | Psych | 1.3 |
| 95 | 1/28/2009 | Meet the Browns | 1.3 |
| 98 | 1/27/2009 | The Office (TBS) | 1.1 |
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And here are couple of weeks worth of information for weeks where The Closer did appear in the consolidated top 100. I added in a couple of broadcast shows for those weeks just for comparative purposes.
| Rank | Air Date | Show | Adults 18-49 Rating |
| 25 | 2/15/2009 | NBA All Star Game | 3.4 |
| 28 | 2/14/2009 | NBA All Star Sat Night | 3.1 |
| 53 | 2/15/2009 | All Star Tip Off | 2.1 |
| 55 | 2/13/2009 | Dollhouse | 2.0 |
| 61 | 2/9/2009 | WWE Raw | 2.0 |
| 66 | 2/14/2009 | All Star Sat Night Tip | 1.8 |
| 67 | 2/12/2009 | Burn Notice | 1.8 |
| 72 | 2/11/2009 | Life on Mars | 1.6 |
| 83 | 2/13/2009 | Terminator: TSCC | 1.4 |
| 85 | 2/13/2009 | Monk | 1.4 |
| 88 | 2/13/2009 | Psych | 1.3 |
| 89 | 2/9/2009 | The Closer | 1.3 |
| 91 | 2/10/2009 | Nip Tuck | 1.3 |
| Rank | Air Date | Show | Adults 18-49 Rating |
| 43 | 1/26/2009 | WWE Raw | 2.1 |
| 47 | 1/29/2009 | Burn Notice | 2.0 |
| 79 | 1/27/2009 | Nip Tuck | 1.5 |
| 86 | 1/30/2009 | Monk | 1.4 |
| 94 | 1/30/2009 | Psych | 1.3 |
| 95 | 1/28/2009 | Meet the Browns | 1.3 |
| 98 | 1/27/2009 | The Office (TBS) | 1.1 |
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| Rank | Air Date | Show | Adults 18-49 Rating |
| 37 | 2/23/2009 | WWE Raw | 2.3 |
| 65 | 2/25/2009 | Life | 1.6 |
| 67 | 2/27/2009 | Dollhouse | 1.6 |
| 70 | 2/26/2009 | Burn Notice | 1.6 |
| 80 | 2/23/2009 | Jon & Kate Plus 8 | 1.4 |
| 90 | 2/23/2009 | The Closer | 1.2 |
| 91 | 2/27/2009 | Terminator: TSCC | 1.2 |
| 92 | 2/24/2009 | Nip Tuck | 1.2 |
| 99 | 2/23/2009 | Family Guy (TBS) | 1.0 |
That’s why I don’t understand why a network like The CW would program shows like TNT does. I will definitely improve their performances.
I wish that our “Mythbusting” could end like Adam and Jamie’s with the “what the hell, just blow everything up” segment.
sadly, we have no budget for pyrotechnics!
But it would make things so much more interesting around here
Ooh, that one looks too unhappy…how about
Holly, if you can talk Bill into upgrading his iPhone a year earlier than he plans and blowing the old one up instead of giving it to his kids to use as an iPod touch, I’ll film the whole thing with his new iPhone
Please Bill! Pretty please!
I’m not even entirely sure where this myth comes from because even when you look at it purely from a total audience perspective it doesn’t make the much sense. The suggestion that any of the networks outside of The CW (and maybe NBC) would kill for a show that pulls 7 million viewers (although its less during the regular season I believe) doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me and not just because total audience isn’t important. Sure outside of CBS the networks probably wouldn’t turn their nose up at the promise of 7 million viewers but that’s not such a big number that they’d be dying to have it, maybe add 4 or 5 million more to that audience and we’d have a deal.
An audience of 11/12+ million people I can see the networks wanting, 7 million not so much.
You know, whenever I see the title The Closer, I always pronounce it in my head wrong. Why does the English language have so many words that are spelled the same, but pronounced differently?
^Because it’s a bastard language that hides out in alleys mugging other languages and rummaging their pockets for spare vocabulary.
Even in the summer none of the networks would take “The Closer” numbers? Even CBS?
I guess NBC wouldn’t kill for Jon & Kate Plus 8′s premiere numbers?
Alex, I think lately its not uncommon for people to see cable results and do some comparisons to broadcast. While not uncommon, (particularly when it comes to picking on NBC) it doesn’t make it any less incorrect.
Though it is true that Royal Pains on USA has been beating up on NBC’s The Listener, the reality is still that at its best, Burn Notice and Royal Pains pull lower 18-49 numbers than the average episode of Chuck.
Jim, at this point, TLC would kill for those numbers, but particularly in the demos, NBC will do much better and have more consistency with America’s Got Talent.
@So Cal, on Monday night The Closer would have been CBS worst performing show in the demos. If repeats of CSI Miami pull a 2.0, why would CBS take it?
47 1/29/2009 Burn Notice 2.0
Would they kill for Burn Notice then? Taking into consideration lower cost of the show compared to similar brodcast network shows.
^Except part of what makes it lower cost is that minumums for actors, writers, producers, and possibly crew (not sure on that) are lower for cable than for broadcast. If it were on broadcast, there wouldn’t be as big of a cost difference.
Robert: “sadly, we have no budget for pyrotechnics!”
What, you can’t find some Flash?
See what I found in thirty seconds of Google?
http://flashden.net/item/explosion-effect-in-flash-8/14288
Hey, if you guys want to fund a new iPhone for me, I’ll be happy to sacrifice mine for the cause.
It reminds me a lot of radio in the mid 90′s chasing ad-revenue without care for the customer. Radio is dying now because we no-longer listen. Broadcast is dying to look at the ratings year to year. The 18-49 will migrate to Hulu in 10 years and what will be left for broadcast except paid programming, reality TV and local news.