Comments on: TV Ratings: Modern Family, Cougar Town rebound , Glee tops with young adults and teens

By: ScienceOfVT

ScienceOfVT — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:37:47 +0000

I can tell you now that unless The Middle dips below a 2.2 it will be here again next year. ABC executives really like it and if it were on after a new Modern Family than it could probably score at least a 3.0. With the ‘strong’ 2.4 following a repeat ABC will be looking at giving it a post Dancing With The Stars slot in the spring. I would bet on my house that The Middle will be here in a year’s time.

By: john

john — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:11:37 +0000

So You Think You Can Dance 2.1/6 5.68

tscc #’s move it to fridays fox hehehe
another example of the genius of fox exec’s

By: Production halted on ABC’s ‘Cougar Town’ because of a Courtney Cox family matter : starcasm.net

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:00:14 +0000

[...] Town, which has been up in ratings, is currently on [...]

By: Eduardo Peixoto

Eduardo Peixoto — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:35:19 +0000

Actually, Mercy had its best numbers since its premiere, tying in 18-49 demo the 2nd episode and 2nd best in overall viewers. I’m really crossing my fingers for Mercy, because it’s becoming such a great show, and I really see a big opportunity for this show to grow. However I don’t see SVU as a good companion to Mercy, ratings-wise.

Glee is doing great for Fox, from my point of view. With American Idol it won’t be much better, I bet in a 3.5/3.8 limit.

The comedies are impressing me, with Old Christine and Gary Unmarried holding on well for CBS. Cougar Town is also doing really good, despite being a lower performer compared to Modern Family.

By: Riff Rafferty

Riff Rafferty — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:09:13 +0000

Julia writes, “Riff, is that why shows like Moonlight and Without a Trace, which won, or were at least competitive in their timeslots on a regular basis were canceled? Because networks only care about timeslots?”

“Moonlight” wasn’t a time slot improvement. It also dipped in between its sandwich shows. And there were a ton of behind the scenes problems (including Joel Silver reportedly not even caring if it got a second season or not). And the fans are insane. They replaced it with shows that improved time slot retention from IT, so they made the right decision.

As far as comparing a freshman series with a show that had been on 7 years, oh, gimme a break. I already said on here that “Without a Trace” was the dumbest cancellation of last season and I stand by that. It focused on a subject close to my heart and I’m sorry it got replaced with that snorefest starring whatsherface from “ER.” But it was also an expensive show (yes, shocking, shows that have been on for 7 years being expensive) that CBS probably felt ran its course. I didn’t agree with them, but it was their prerogative to think so — especially since a lot of former fans were complaining about how bad it had gotten. If “Trace” were in its first year and had improved Tuesday 10:00 as much as it did last season, it would be on this season. Case closed.

Thirdly, convenient of you to compare CBS to NBC, as if they’re not apples and oranges. CBS has an embarrassment of riches and can afford to drop a hit here or there to cut costs. NBC was in that position in the mid ’80s when shows like “Blacke’s Magic,” “Aaron’s Way,” “Sara” and “All Is Forgiven” did well yet weren’t renewed. Now? They’re about, oh, 15 hits away from that position.

By: AJ

AJ — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:18:37 +0000

Happy to see The Middle doing so good and winning the timeslot.

By: igotid88

igotid88 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:54:41 +0000

why don’t they start The Middle at 8pm?

By: aznfratboy

aznfratboy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:27:55 +0000

Good to see Cougar Town back in the 3s, hope it gets renewed for a second season, it’s one awesome show.

LOL @ Modern Family repeat beating Hank first runs, and MF has what? A 6 episode or so vault only!

By: R.G

R.G — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:14:55 +0000

With Glee doing well with teens, does that mean many ads targeting teens would no doubt be on that show?

Well I’m glad Modern Family is doing well now, it could beat 10 million next week.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:33:26 +0000

My comment:

ABC-ABC’s comedy wednesday is doing better than well.MD repeat did better than Hank.That proves Kelsey Grammar isn’t big this year.Or any year.CT does well in demos.The Middle is doing well in demos too.

CBS-New Adventures of old Christine is better than Gary Unmarried in total viewers but GU is better than demos.Criminal Minds is getting better,CSI:NY the season is great.Great to see the numbers

By: baqinardo

baqinardo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:17:31 +0000

I hope abc will renew The Middle for 2nd season. The show just so damn funny.

By: 728huey

728huey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:45:33 +0000

>>>Total viewers really do matter very little, but it’s not true that they do not matter at all. The nets use all sorts of metrics to combine the varying demos with total viewers when they try and trumpet their shows to ad buyers. This doesn’t mean ad buyers care about them, but some people at the nets do. Remember, some of the people running these networks are not the brightest pennies in the pond. It is true that people can fail upward.

As for Mercy, however, its total viewer numbers are meaningless. Yeah, if you are DWTS, or something like it, and your total viewers can flirt with 20 million, that can help you overcome weaker demos with some (emphasis on the SOME) advertisers, but winning the hour with under 8 million viewers is nothing to crow about. No one is paying a premium for that.

But some ads are actually targeted at older buyers. This does happen, especially when those older buyers are rich. A lot of the drug companies especially target older viewers, and so those companies do look at total viewers and the over 49 crowd. There actually are products aimed at older people exclusively. That means that a show with 15-20 million viewers can get by with only decent, or even mediocre, demos. That show would not be Mercy, however, which is targeted at younger female viewers and is not drawing them. And the extra older viewers it is drawing are just not a large enough block to mean jack shit to ad buyers.<<<<

But with NBC's current struggles, they need as many viewers at they can possibly get. If Mercy can build up to 8 or 9 million viewers, it has a really good chance of coming back next season regardless of the demos.

Plus a network can rely on demos to their detriment. ABC canceled George Lopez because its 18-49 demos went way down from the previous seasons, even though its overall ratings went down only slightly and was equivalent to According To Jim. It was replaced by that dreadful piece of boring crap called Cavemen, whose ratings made George Lopez look like Grey's Anatomy in comparison.

By: vsaint

vsaint — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:28:31 +0000

weds 8pm is such a blackhole, 8:30pm gets better, but still.
2.5 wins the hour by a mile.

By: bob

bob — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:17:39 +0000

Good for The Middle. For a sitcom on ABC, a 2.4 should get a renewal if it stays there.

I could of sworn Gary Unmarried was a 2.2 zombie that would never really go up or down. I stand corrected, last week a 2.4, this week a 2.5(might tick down in finals) but a 2.4 is also good enough for a CBS WEDNESDAY comedy renewal.

Modern Family looks good, and a 3.2 for cougarttown is no need for panic mode, its still fine. Overall, a great night for comedies!

By: forg

forg — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:09:36 +0000

Yay, The Middle climbed to 2.4. Very pleased with the numbers of Modern Family and Cougar Town. The interview with Janet Jackson performed below my expectations I thought it could be on par with the 20/20 Rihanna interview.

Gary’s numbers are good, Old Christine climbed a bit but still low. I hope it manages to survive for another season.

Glee’s is very consistent, with Idol I think the show could pull pull 3.5-4.0.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:30:08 +0000

I think I can see CBS swapping Christine & Gary next season.

By: TG

TG — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:48:45 +0000

Gary Unmarried, Mercy, and Criminal Minds had its best episodes of the season so far. Christine was outrageously funny towards the end. I was disappointed with CSI: NY but at least its numbers were really good.

NBC needs to really move SVU out of there because I keep missing it. Why not put Trauma there like somebody mentioned before.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:31:43 +0000

My reviews for last nights shows:

New Adventures of Old Christine–8/10
The Middle–8.5/10
Modern Family–8/10
Cougar Town–9/10
Glee–9.5/10
Mercy–9/10

Do you think taht if Old Christine will be picked up by ABC in CBS cancels it, like last year?

I hope Glee will get a big boost when it starts airing after American Idol.

I hope Mercy gets renewed for a second season, it went up a lot this week and it is really turning into a great show!

Its good to see The Middle go up this week, now that Hank is no longer pulling it down. It might just get a second season renewel if it continues to grow.

By: Tommy

Tommy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:29:46 +0000

Ok, 8PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays are both not options for Fringe. FOX will not replace Idol with it, that’s just crazy, crazy, crazy talk to the extreme. And Post Idol will go to stronger FOX produced shows, (Glee, Human Target, and whatever the name is of the other new show.) Point being, Fringe will not be moving to those nights. Mondays are out too, since they won’t give up House at 8PM, they won’t trough Lie to Me to Thursdays because it’s produced by FOX. Sundays are out because of the Animated shows, so that leave you with 2 options, Thursdays and Fridays. Fridays are not really an option for Fringe, because it’s too expensive.

By: Parenthood

Parenthood — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:14:08 +0000

Yeah, Fringe would do better than currently than it is on another night. It would do great on Tuesdays with no lead-in. In fact, if roles were reversed, Lie To Me would do worse off than Fringe in the Thursday timeslot.

By: Theoacme

Theoacme — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:06:46 +0000

Hmmm – 2.0 demo at NBC = the new 3.0

And just think – what could SVU do with a decent lead-in?

Mercy’s 4 week trend is not good, compared to Trauma’s – but Trauma was so low, it was looking up at a snake’s belly – on a plane

By: Sammy01

Sammy01 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:05:40 +0000

fox should put fringe at 8pm wednesday, its getting killed where it is and ‘dance’ aint exactly storming the ratings on an easier night.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:58:52 +0000

Great post moraliste!

By: Mellie

Mellie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:52:09 +0000

mercy was hilarious last night with the real housewife of new jersey!! i really think this show deserve so much.

By: moraliste

moraliste — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:45:34 +0000

I think both Christine and Cougartown are examples of money and power talk, bullshit walks. Their shows have been nurtured, given good press and the best possible time slots, ( speaking of Christine earlier in its run.) They are so-so. Without seeing Glee, but knowing what a talent Jane Lynch (? ) is and what a decent concept it is, it has to be better than Cougartown. The Cougars just aren’t that funny. But Acc to Jim and Scrubs have been on a long time, for reasons nobody ( meaning Dorothy in Kansas) can figure out. If anyone posting here can give me a reason for Scrubs being renewed that doesn’t have to do with the power couple Christa and her husband the producer, please tell me. Don’t beg the question by saying, 18-35 year old women like it. They like it because it was given a great time slot and incredibly generous press. They like it because they can’t help but like it. I’m sorry,but a certain % of human beings can be counted on as being as predictable as Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man.That’s the % of sure things Hollywood cement ponds and Ferraris are made of.

By: Hot Pocket

Hot Pocket — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:22:45 +0000

I think the whole Middle getting pulled down by Hank is a myth. When Hank was getting above 6 million viewers, The Middle was barely touching 6.5 million viewers. It has more to do with finding a comedy that was compatible with it, Hank and The Middle might’ve two different audiences which is why I would like for ABC to opening up another block focusing just on the traditional sitcoms when they start airing Accidentally on Purpose.

By: Luke

Luke — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:15:44 +0000

Modern Family deserves all the successes in the world. I love that it ends every episode with the family together.

By: Schmoker

Schmoker — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:51:55 +0000

Total viewers really do matter very little, but it’s not true that they do not matter at all. The nets use all sorts of metrics to combine the varying demos with total viewers when they try and trumpet their shows to ad buyers. This doesn’t mean ad buyers care about them, but some people at the nets do. Remember, some of the people running these networks are not the brightest pennies in the pond. It is true that people can fail upward.

It does say something about the state of network TV, however, when the biggest new hit of the season can’t even draw ten million viewers. I know that doesn’t mean much of anything when it is getting solid demos, but I’m not talking money for a second. I’m just talking about network total viewership levels, which have just shrunk dramatically in the last five years. When even a hit show can’t draw double digits in total viewers, it just looks weird when you see it in print.

By the way, I’m just talking about the Big Three and their Little Sister. I know that overall viewing is up, but the drastic drop in broadcast network viewing is staggering.

By: DuMont

DuMont — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:43:49 +0000

After three weeks of the November Sweep, FOX continues to hold on to the A18-49 lead, while CBS has the viewer crown.

2009-10 November Sweep
21 Days (20 finals, 1 prelim)
Rank Net A18-49 P2+
—-
1. FOX 3.5 9,887,000
2. ABC 2.9 10,042,000
3. CBS 2.8 11,162,000
4. NBC 2.5 7,461,000
5. UNI 1.3 3,414,000
6. CW 1.1 2,389,000
7. ION 0.3 909,000

Broadcasters can take heart in continued year-over-year improvement vs the first three weeks of last years November Sweep with P2+ viewers up +4%, households up +3% and A18-49 down a mere -1%. The three networks driving the year-to-year improvement are FOX (up +32% in A18-49, +45% in households and +48% in P2+), CW and ION, while the other nets are down in single digits (ABC, CBS) or double digits (NBC, UNI) on a year-to-year basis.

By: makulit

makulit — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:33:11 +0000

So that proves it! Kelsey Grammer was pulling Patricia Heaton down. Hahaha! Didn’t they have a show last season that got axed?

Hooray for The Middle! Hope it keeps it up.

By: Christian

Christian — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:18:39 +0000

For some reason Gary Unmarried and Old Christine always go down in finals so I won’t be surprised to see GU and The Middle tied!

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:18:30 +0000

I’m pretty shocked that Old Christine out-performed a re-run of Modern Family… shocked and delighted!

By: Christian

Christian — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:16:34 +0000

@ODG09, don’t make such assinine assertions without at least trying to back it up with evidence. Show me when an iCarly rerun had more than 6.2 million viewers. Come on, I double dog dare you!

By: rodshooter

rodshooter — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:15:46 +0000

One of the things that’s interesting is that the CBS comedies are up in the demo this year. Gary is consistently getting a 2.5. The block is slowly growing but I think if CBS can find a booster its numbers will be off the roof.

You got to get the viewers first before you raise the demos so this is a good sign for Mercy. NBC should move Trauma to Wednesdays after Mercy and put SVU on Mondays where it can get out of Criminal Mind’s shadow.

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:12:39 +0000

CBS has to be happy with the comedy hours numbers. I mean Christine was first in adults and a close second in total viewers. And Gary builds on Christine which is what every network wants. their numbers might be low compared to other nights but on wednesdays they win their hour.

NBC has to be happy at mercy because it won in total viewers. I know that means nothing to them, but still its something. it means people are actually watching, so that means it could grow.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:11:57 +0000

Really happy to see The Middle up.. deserves to stay on the air

By: OpeningDayGuy09

OpeningDayGuy09 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:07:13 +0000

This is kind of a bad sign that Modern Family is a bad to mild repeater. I was expecting a little better than that for Modern Family. Shoot iCarly does better than that on cable.

The story of the night had to been Mercy’s growth. Those who said this show was a grower is right. NBC might have a little star on its hands.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:58:18 +0000

To me I see a very close battle between the 8:30 comedies!! Gary Unmarried and The Middle (Watch Gary Live and Record Middle) have almost the same amount of viewers. Mebe if CBS gets rid of Gary then ABC can pick it up for next season and put it in the 8pm slot. Which I would Love and the fact that ABC makes the show!!!

By: Larryville Slim

Larryville Slim — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:56:38 +0000

WHoooooossssshhhh!

By: Mumbo

Mumbo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:24:59 +0000

Glee is the model of consistency.

Mercy went up a few ticks I see, and that rerun rating for MF is pretty impressive. Looks like it helped The Middle quite a bit. Burn on Hank.

By: Michael J

Michael J — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:18:02 +0000

I’m not watching it! The “Janitor” from Scrubs was a deal breaker for me.

By: Julia

Julia — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:16:40 +0000

Actually, it looks like I’m not watching The Middle anymore. They took it off Hulu.

Edit: This could be a reason to write something about how horrible abc.com’s player is, though.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:54:26 +0000

Robert – you need to follow @TravisYanan on Twitter. You can find the link to the Friday finals there…

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:53:40 +0000

Hey just wondering did u guys get the finals for friday night? i just want to know did medium rise to a 2.0.

By: wowza

wowza — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:53:28 +0000

GLEE is the best show on TV…..amazing writing and cast…. it will be a huge contender come emmys. It premiered to numbers this season where it stayed throughout….not much a drop at all. Shows fans love it. With more fans from idol, this one will last a while.

By: Julia

Julia — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:51:11 +0000

Except I am watching it. God dammit I need a job!

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:49:39 +0000

am I sensing a “Why I’m Not Watching ‘The Middle’” post?

By: kenny

kenny — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:49:03 +0000

Yay! for The Middle they deserve it, such a funny show, glad for Modern Family Cougar Town as well.

Mercy did really good I think, I mean i’m not a fan of NBC shows, but Mercy deserves a little credit 2.0 for NBC now is very good

By: Julia

Julia — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:48:56 +0000

tdot, as others have complained, it’s a bad rip-off of Malcolm in the Middle. But it’s told from the mother’s POV, not the middle child. And in this case, the mother is not the wonderful Jane Kaczmarek, but Patricia Heaton.

By: tdot

tdot — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:46:39 +0000

I guess ABC has somewhat found the comedy block that it’s been looking for
I guess I’ll hafta give the Middle a try
the promos reminded me of Malcolm in the Middle kinda