3 of the 4 major broadcast networks averaged under a 1.5 rating last week, a number that not so long ago meant instant cancellation.  CBS has been head-and-shoulders above the other networks for the past 2 weeks, but that’s because of the event programming of the How I Met Your Mother finale and the […]

  TUESDAY UPDATE:  With the Masters overrun removed, 60 MINUTES fell 0.2 from early numbers.  The rest of the adjustments were upward by 0.1:  ONCE UPON A TIME and RESURRECTION on ABC, THE AMAZING RACE and THE MENTALIST on CBS, and THE SIMPSONS and COSMOS on FOX. SUNDAY CABLE:  The Purple Wedding episode of GAME […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  2  BROKE GIRLS and THE VOICE both climbed 0.1, and that was it for the adjustments on original programming.  At 10PM, all the reruns were up 0.1. MONDAY CABLE:  WWE (USA) was as usual in the lead, although at 1.7 it was down 0.2 from last week.  On VH1, BASKETBALL WIVES was […]

Monday preliminary broadcast ratings:

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday April 12 and Sunday April 13, 2014. The 56 markets (out of 210 total) cover about 70% of the US television population.   PGA Golf: The Masters “Hello, Friends…” 4.4 rating CBS 3:00 pm Saturday 3rd Round (-30% […]

Sunday preliminary broadcast ratings: 60 Minutes and the CBS 7:00-7:30 half hour specifically inflated by 10 minutes of the end of Masters coverage from 7:00-7:10 pm (mostly the monumentally awkward and amazingly tense ceremony in “Butler Cabin,” where the Green Jacket is awarded).

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Strong overseas grosses for Captain America: The Winter Soldier has pushed Disney slightly ahead of Warner Brothers for worldwide box office to date (with each studio over $800 million so far this year).  Rio 2 has pushed Fox to over $700 million worldwide in 2014.  Sony, Universal and Paramount are next with about $500 million […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #15 of 2014 looks like $131 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, a significant downgrade from yesterday’s estimate but still 17% above the four-year average for this weekend ($112 million).  Rio 2 and Captain America 2 are supporting the box office, while two smaller films in the […]