So much for front-loading. The preliminary Saturday number for THE AVENGERS (Disney), as reported by Deadline, is genuinely extraordinary.  If it holds up, Avengers will have one of the best 2d day holds of a mega-opening film in history, and be well on its way to the best opening weekend ever.  The current […]

Wow.  USA vs Ghana on ESPN Monday just missed averaging 10 million viewers over the course of the entire telecast.  This is double what the USA matches did in 2010 from South Africa, and the demographic ratings (almost 6 ratings with young men) are excellent.  The other two matches earlier in the day Monday are […]

  CW only programs 10 hours per week , but with its many bubble shows and outright failures, it’s generating plenty of activity.  Today it ordered 5 new dramas, and renewed bubble shows HART OF DIXIE and NIKITA.  Dixie‘s return isn’t a tremendous surprise, since it often outperforms its companion show Gossip Girl (itself currently […]

  Halloween seemed to hurt some networks more than others. DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary live+same day 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 the end of group play at the World Cup, let’s take a closer look at the countries, other than the US, that are earning the highest ratings to date on ABC and ESPN during the tournament.   Group Stage Ratings by Featured Nations (among ESPN & ABC matches) Persons 2+ Demo Ratings Adult 18-49 […]

          GO ON:  TUESDAYS 9PM ON NBC   WHAT IT’S SAYING:  Chandler Bing… um, Matthew Perry is back!  Still sarcastically quipping to hide his deeper feelings after all these years.   WHAT IT’S REALLY SAYING:  Also back:  Dear John.  With a dash of a (less bizarre) Community, as the oddball grief […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  As it did last week, RECKLESS lost 0.1 in final numbers, down to a woeful 0.6.  BIG BROTHER and WIPEOUT each gained 0.1. SUNDAY CABLE:  HBO’s TRUE BLOOD led the night with 1.7, up 0.1 from last week.  Considering the offbeat nature of THE LEFTOVERS, it held fairly well in its 2d […]

      The crazier SCANDAL has gotten, the better it’s been.  Although the Shonda Rhimes soap only had a 7-episode run this Spring, it’s managed to find its footing quickly.  The first few episodes were forgettably glib, scandal-of-the-week hours that were far-fetched and overly jocular (the worst was the one about the Supreme Court […]