Comments on: TV Ratings: Obama State of the Union Address & American Idol

By: Dario

Dario — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:36:53 +0000

Last week it got 1.4 for an original episode and now it got 1.1 for a rerun? Mercy has weird ratings…acctually NBC has weird ratings!

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:48:38 +0000

Uh, Ohiogirl…go back and look at most State of the Unions. The opposition party always sits and stays quiet during the speech. Not just Republicans during your Socialist President’s speech.

I would think you’d be more upset by Commie Obommie subtly threatening the separation of powers, and having his party stand and surround the Supreme Court…after he insulted them (a breach of protocol that has never occured in any other State of the Union speech).

By: Google please! Produce something

Google please! Produce something — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:27:15 +0000

[...] of adults 18-49 combining Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC viewers, according to preliminary results Friday on TVbythenumbers.com. Fox’s American Idol beat that with 9.5 percent all by [...]

By: Thoughts on The President « Diane's Blog

Thoughts on The President « Diane's Blog — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:31:38 +0000

[...] FOX received the highest ratings for televising the address with the success being attributed to the fact that it was shown on the same channel as American Idol. 24.75 million people tuned in to watch American Idol and only 9.74 million watched The President- on FOX. In fact, the address only generated a total of 30.69 million viewers compared to a total of 24.75 million for American Idol- You make a conclusion! [...]

By: ohiogirl

ohiogirl — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:31:22 +0000

ONE DEMO WAS SURE TO LOVE LAST NIGHTS’ STATE OF THE UNION

The State of the Union was an embarrassment. It makes me wonder if TV broadcasting of it is a good idea. Perhaps we should simply go back to radio coverage.
Why? Not because of our President’s speech. He was eloquent as always, which is refreshing considering other SOTU speeches we’ve been subjected to in the past.
I doubt the day will come when I totally agree with any politician, let alone a President, so the subject matter wasn’t the problem.
Embarrassing was the infantile way adult members of Congress used the occasion of an important speech to behave in an undignified and dis-respectful manner to their (like it or not)’Commander In Cheif’.
One would have thought half the room’s chairs had been plastered with Super-Glue.
I’ve always been impressed by the way our leaders come together for the SOTU and temporarily put political squabbles away for the
evening. For the sake of our Country, for national security, for simple courtesy’s sake.
My Mom always said “If you can’t play nice, don’t play at all”.
Some of these elected officials need to go home and let someone who respects our system come “play” in their place.
However, I’m sure one demographic was glued to their TV sets, enjoying every moment…our enemies.
Didn’t we once learn a quote from our textbooks saying “United we stand…divided we fall.” ? Where’s Washington keep the parachutes?

By: Cody

Cody — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:48:01 +0000

FOX NEEDS A BROADCAST NETWORK NEWS NOW!!!!!

By: AtCat

AtCat — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:45:32 +0000

I was surprised that FOX got most of the viewing on network TV for the State of the Union that night. I assume American Idol should always be a lead-in for anything Presidential?

By: forg

forg — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:38:57 +0000

The Daw says:
January 28, 2010 at 10:14 am

Two and a Half Men is still posting phenomenal numbers in originals…it recently reclaimed the 18-49 throne from Big Bang.

Not really, in the final numbers Big Bang Theory two weeks ago went up to 5.3, tying with 2.5 Men’s demo.

But I agree, 2.5 Men’s ratings are phenomenal, if we take a look of the ratings of shows three years ago aside from Idol of course, 2.5 Men is the one who stayed strong until now

By: Stefan

Stefan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:51:08 +0000

@ Patrick J. Murphy, who wrote
“Of course, BBT probably costs a third as much per episode to make as 2 1/2…”

I disagree. Even though I love 2 1/2 Men, it seems to be every bit as cheap to produce as, say, Old Christine. No exterior shots (no location shooting), everything goes on on one set… Not that I think TBBT is much more expensive, but it’s no cheaper than 2 1/2 men.

Although if you’re talking salaries for the actors – then you might be on to something.

By: Kell

Kell — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:30:28 +0000

NBC Still comes in 3rd. even when they have the same program as everyone else !!
-K

By: CdeLeo

CdeLeo — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:22:02 +0000

Last night I watched some reality. It’s called TACO HELL and it’s about a quasi-mexican fast food chain and what happens when half the staff doesn’t show up for work. Drama! Suspense! Nachos!
It was better than anything on NBC this season.

By: William Hughes

William Hughes — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:12:49 +0000

Joe, The Networks are still in the Twentieth Century. While The Major Broadcast Networks and the Cable News Networks go all-out to televise the President, they are blind to the fact that there are so many other choices for people to watch. 40 years ago, as a Child, I resented it when the Networks would pre-empt “MY Show” to cover a Presidential Speech. There wasn’t much I could do, as there were only a handful of Independant Stations (Which seldom carried anything interesting in Primetime as far as I was Concerned) you could turn to If watching the President was not your cup of Tea. Today however, it’s a whole differant story! The Choices for Viewers are Incredible. Cable and Satellite Stations Galore! One thing hasn’t changed though. (At least in my Opinion) They still do not have anything to show that interests me. However, in Addition to Cable, people can find something they might like on The Internet, or if push comes to shove, Home Video.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:00:30 +0000

I love how American Idol and Football get more viewers than the Presidents SOTU address. Just shows why our country is failing…LOL. I wonder if we are ever in another World War or Civil War again if they’ll be a truce time during Idol every week.

By: Mark D.

Mark D. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:48:23 +0000

What a boring night for television

By: rob

rob — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:15:13 +0000

American Idol went up to 9.5. Modern Family repeat went up to 2.0!

By: Eduardo Peixoto

Eduardo Peixoto — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:14:52 +0000

Glad to see Mercy posting good repeat numbers. Ok, decent numbers at least. And sad for no new episode of my favorite series.

By: American Idol President Wins The Night | Spread Rumors

American Idol President Wins The Night | Spread Rumors — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:42:03 +0000

[...] helped him do it just a little, we think. Last night, the State of the Union won the night in the ratings, which is easy to do when your only competition is yourself. However, FOX got the highest number of [...]

By: Master Moron

Master Moron — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:41:39 +0000

Yes! CBS in fourth place! Is this the first time this year that that has happened? I know that CBS only did so badly due to the State of the Union address, but a lose is a lose.

By: American Idol President Wins The Night | Celebrity Gossip

American Idol President Wins The Night | Celebrity Gossip — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:40:35 +0000

[...] night, the State of the Union won the night in the ratings, which is easy to do when your only competition is yourself. However, FOX got the highest number of [...]

By: » American Idol President Wins The Night

» American Idol President Wins The Night — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:12:08 +0000

[...] night, the State of the Union won the night in the ratings, which is easy to do when your only competition is yourself. However, FOX got the highest number of [...]

By: Boris

Boris — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:27:18 +0000

X-R.G. says:

“Not that it matters….but hasn’t TRADITIONALLY the State Of The Union Address happen on Tuesday nites?”

I don’t have the energy to go through the whole batch, but not especially:

LBJ 1/22/66 (Weds.)
LBJ 1/10/67 (Tues.)
LBJ 1/17/68 (Weds.)
LBJ 1/14/69 (Tues.)
Nixon 1/22/70 (Thurs.)
Nixon 1/22/71 (Fri.)
Nixon 1/20/72 (Thurs.)

By: Acey

Acey — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:07:45 +0000

@X-R.G. I recall Marc Berman saying on his podcast that it was sked for next Tuesday, but they moved it to last night to not interfere with Lost’s premiere. Take it for what it’s worth.

By: Acey

Acey — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:04:52 +0000

What does “aired out of pattern” mean? I’m in the mountains but watch FOX Rochester so Idol was at 6 pm, then SOTU at 7.

By: X-R.G.

X-R.G. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:05:38 +0000

As long As AI has over 15 million total viewers…I don’t see this Music talent search ever to go off the air…I’m enjoying it still…”"” Pants on the Ground “” “” Pants on the Ground…”"”Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground…I think this years AI was found already…!!!! Although I didn’t like the guest judges…especially the young girl singers that sat in…what spoiled little girls! – I think they need to grow up!

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:01:50 +0000

Blabla, others, I wouldn’t draw any conclusions on the SOTU ratings from these numbers quite yet, they are entirely approximate because of the live event, but, of course, Robert’s already written that several times.

By: X-R.G.

X-R.G. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:01:14 +0000

Not that it matters….but hasn’t TRADITIONALLY the State Of The Union Address happen on Tuesday nites?

By: D.J.

D.J. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:56:48 +0000

P.S. Can’t wait for the cable news numbers from Wednesday night… even though we know what the result will be, anyway…

By: Blabla

Blabla — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:56:39 +0000

notice how NBC went up @ 9 and everyone else dropped.

By: D.J.

D.J. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:56:09 +0000

Anyone know approximately what time the sitcom reruns in the 10:30 interval started, and were they joined in progress?

By: Obama’s TV ratings drop 22% « Don Surber

Obama’s TV ratings drop 22% « Don Surber — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:42:57 +0000

[...] TV By The Numbers reported that last night’s State Of The Union address drew 40,767,134 viewers on 9 networks. [...]

By: mayorofsmpleton

mayorofsmpleton — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:42:39 +0000

In other words, it may not mean much in the longrun but for a bubble show — doing well in repeats can only help.

By: Re-State of the Union – Show and Tell - Wilmington Star News - Wilmington, NC - Archive

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:41:16 +0000

[...] a sample size of a little over 500 viewers. The full numbers aren’t in, but according to an early morning report by Nielsen, the address averaged 30.69 million viewers and a 9.1/25 rating share with adults 18-49 across ABC, [...]

By: samantha

samantha — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:35:00 +0000

I though repeats only factored in to season averages if they air in their orignal air spot. So for LUX only repeats at 9 on Monday will count towards its averages?! Repaeting ouside of origoanl time slots are a good thing in the long run, it’ll keep LUX’s average higher than it would be if they repeated at Monday 9pm!

By: mike

mike — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:33:07 +0000

know it’s not uncommon for the CW to air repeat episodes of there shows the same week they air them for the first time, but normally these reapeat airings are lucky to draw a million viewers. The repeat numbers for LUX the first two weeks have been pretty good. I wonder how the CW will use these in evaluating the future of this show.

thats what im wondering to george. Hopefully they see this as a good thing for the future of the show i enjoy it

By: Patrick J. Murphy

Patrick J. Murphy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:32:07 +0000

The Daw says:
January 28, 2010 at 10:14 am
Two and a Half Men is still posting phenomenal numbers in originals…it recently reclaimed the 18-49 throne from Big Bang.

That’s not exactly the best news, given that Two and a Half Men has been on 3 years longer. It should be dominating The Big Bang Theory. But clearly CBS made another correct move because the Monday schedule this year is even more successful than last year.

Of course, BBT probably costs a third as much per episode to make as 2 1/2, so I’m thinking the Nerd Quartet has some serious ROI going for the Eye Network.

By: mayorofsmpleton

mayorofsmpleton — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:26:59 +0000

Comments on repeats not being important are ridiculous. Networks love shows that repeat well. Part of why WB canceled ANGEL was because it repeated poorly. Repeats also usually factor into season averages.

By: FOX Draws Most Viewers Among Broadcast Nets for State of the Union | Hot Trends

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:24:52 +0000

[...] has more info, but here are the early total viewer numbers for the broadcast networks. We’ll have [...]

By: George

George — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:22:34 +0000

I know it’s not uncommon for the CW to air repeat episodes of there shows the same week they air them for the first time, but normally these reapeat airings are lucky to draw a million viewers. The repeat numbers for LUX the first two weeks have been pretty good. I wonder how the CW will use these in evaluating the future of this show.

By: The Daw

The Daw — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:14:23 +0000

Two and a Half Men is still posting phenomenal numbers in originals…it recently reclaimed the 18-49 throne from Big Bang.

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:05:32 +0000

It will be interesting to see if Two and a Half Men’s ratings start to take a small nosedive following all this bad news for Charlie Sheen. It’s weird how people can’t stand Tiger Woods right now but Sheen is somehow catching a break (somewhat).

By: Trent

Trent — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:57:35 +0000

Interesting to see Cougar Town beat Two and a Half Men

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:38:38 +0000

Chris, thus all the disclaimers about numbers for live events being very approximate. For more detail see the “Fast Affiliate Ratings” definition near the bottom of the post.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:35:59 +0000

Considering us out here on the west coast saw the State of the Union BEFORE American Idol, I wonder how that skewed the ratings for the SOTU in WA, ID, OR, CA, UT, and AZ.

By: samantha

samantha — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:31:35 +0000

I wouldnt say a 0.6 rating for LUX was a good thing, I’d say that those adults who watched a teen drama instead of the state of the union address should probably get their priorities in order! Sad that there are people out there who dont care about their country!

By: The Daw

The Daw — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:23:45 +0000

It’s definitely a good CW repeat number, but the show (if I remember corerctly) repeated decently last week and then dropped for the 2nd original airing on Monday. Good repeat numbers are nice, but they only are truly valuable if they are drawing fresh, interested viewers who could be converted into audience for the original airing on Monday. Otherwise, it’s just filler TV that could be replaced by original programming.

By: rob

rob — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:17:58 +0000

Repeats of ABC comedies are beating repeats of CBS comedies. GOOD!

Very good repeat #s for Life Unexpected.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:12:08 +0000

Heck, it could be like “Melrose Place” and just completely bombing! Don’t rain on my parade.

By: Acey

Acey — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:11:14 +0000

I wish Lux the best. It’s actually a pretty good show. With my favourite CBS dramas in repeats, I found myself most looking forward to Lux this week.

By: Tar

Tar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:08:49 +0000

shows in their first 2 or 3 episodes are still new people are curious so they repeat well GG is in its third season not alot of people who’ve never seen the show will check out an episodes in the middle of season 3

By: John

John — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:01:01 +0000

Now if NBC could get him on every night they’d do OK.