SHOTS FIRED:  Wednesday 8PM on FOX – Potential DVR Alert As issue-oriented network dramas go, FOX’s new SHOTS FIRED is considerably less ascetic than ABC’s American Crime.  That show is a worthy saga that wears its seriousness like a hairshirt, while Shots, created by Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood (she wrote and directed […]

> Oops.  The weekend forecasts were way too high for the sequels Sherlock Holmes 2 and Alvin and the Chipmunks 3.  The holiday season that was supposed to save 2011 (or at least make the year a little less embarrassing) is shaping up to be a major disappointment.  This weekend (when the box office should […]

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday December 21 and Sunday December 22, 2013. The 56 markets (out of 210 total) cover about 70% of the US television population.   College Football Early Bowls 2.3 rating ABC 3:30 Las Vegas Bowl Fresno State vs USC […]

>A quiet week on cable with no program topping a 2 rating with Adults 18-49.  With Walking Dead and Jersey Shore ending their seasons, the true granddaddy of lowest common denominator programs, WWE on USA, leads the pack this week with an okay 1.8 rating.  AMC’s Mad Men returned to the Sunday at 9 pm […]

> See A Word About Busted Pilots We round out our survey of some of the more notable busted pilots of the season with the distinctive POE, produced by Warner Bros Television for ABC and written by Chris Hollier (a former writer for Kyle XY).  Unfortunately, this pilot stands for the proposition that “distinctive” doesn’t […]

NOTE: Last year’s college football Saturday prime time premiere (Wisconsin vs Alabama, also on ABC, on 9.5.2015) averaged a 2.7 adult 18-49 rating in both the fast nationals and official nationals.  This year’s USC-Alabama game averaged a 2.4 adult 18-49 rating from 8-11 pm ET in the fast nationals, and the official rating will probably […]

  NCIS dominated as Tuesdays waited for the return of THE VOICE. DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews (women 18-49, men 18-49 and adults 50+ shares) and total viewership (thousands of people over the age of 2). […]

  With a franchise like GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2 (Marvel/Disney), profitability isn’t at issue.  Guardians 2 carries around $350M in worldwide production/marketing costs, and it will be in hailing distance of financial success by Sunday.  The question is how the given installment ranks in terms of similar mega-competition and expectations.  Preliminary numbers at […]