BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  Airing against the NFL Playoffs, the network ran a night of reruns at 0.41/0.42/0.31/0.18. CBS:  The network had the afternoon NFL Playoffs game, giving the line-up a mammoth 10.69 lead-in.  Compared to December 12, the last time CBS had the late game, 60 MINUTES rose 0.27 to 1.65.  After that, the […]

> FROM OUR MUSIC CORRESPONDENT ALICEN SCHNEIDER: Every few months I send out a sampler of songs that I’m excited about.   It originated from a number of people continuously asking me what was floating my boat, and oftentimes I couldn’t articulate an answer on the spot, due to the circumstances of the moment when they […]

STUDIO SCORECARD. The studio rankings for worldwide box office remain the same this week, with Sony, Universal and 20th Century Fox having the most productive weeks.  Sony benefited from the domestic and especially overseas revenue from The Smurfs 2, while Universal was helped by the release of 2 Guns and the continued overseas grosses for Despicable Me 2.  Even […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  With the WINTER OLYMPICS airing, most of the other networks were in rerun mode.  Here that meant 0.53/0.49/0.44/0.24. CBS:  60 MINUTES was at 0.39, and BIG BROTHER: CELEBRITY EDITION was at 0.47.  Reruns followed at 0.23/0.20. NBC:  The WINTER OLYMPICS were at 2.01, the highest mark thus far, but still way […]

>It’s ABC’s turn to have their fast national ratings for Monday programming inflated by Monday Night Football.  KMBC in Kansas City is carrying the Chargers-Chiefs game in prime time instead of the ABC line-up.  So assume Scared Shrekless, Dancing with the Stars and Castle will go down a tenth of a point in the official […]

  OPENINGS:  NIGHT SCHOOL (Perfect World/Universal) had a surprising 18% Saturday bump (by comparison, both Central Intelligence and Girls Trip dropped 4% on their first Saturdays), suggesting that it’s appealing to a family audience.  That pushed the weekend to $28M, still not in the top rank of Kevin Hart openings ($34-35M for Get Hard, Ride […]

“Say the name of the highest rated program of the week.  Say it.” “Breaking Bad.” “You’re Goddamn right.” AMC’s extraordinary drama Breaking Bad tops the list of broadcast and cable programs for the week.  The first of the final eight episodes of the landmark series scored a 2.9 rating with Adults 18-49 Sunday, including viewers […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  THE BACHELOR rose a tenth to 0.77.  THE GOOD DOCTOR returned from hiatus at 0.38, down 0.11 from its last airing on November 22. CBS:  The line-up aired for the first time since January 24, with THE NEIGHBORHOOD down 0.11 to 0.61, BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA down 0.03 to 0.55, NCIS down […]