NETWORK UPDATE: Nielsen announced this morning that there have been systematic problems with their ratings since March, which weren’t noticed through the months of low summer viewing, but became obvious once the fall season began. Although Nielsen didn’t address the issue directly, the assumption is that this is the explanation (you can read the entire Nielsen statement at TV By the Numbers) for ABC’s streak of afternoon ratings increases, most of which will now be adjusted back down to overnight levels. As proof that this is the problem Nielsen was explaining, this afternoon, for what may be the first time this entire season, the adjustments didn’t change ABC’s morning ratings at all. The only changes were 0.1 increases for BONES and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. In addition, the CBS telecast of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL adjusted up to 5.4, half a point below last week’s game.
Ratings in key demosfor the Top 25 original cable telecasts Thursday (plus a few other lower-rated but noteworthy programs):
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL also dominated cable last night, and the NFL Network simulcast, unlike CBS’s coverage, was up from last week, by 0.11 to 1.34. BLACK JESUS (Adult Swim) followed, down 0.05 to 0.78 (the same network’s TIM & ERIC’S BEDTIME STORIES rose 0.03 to 0.40). and then PROJECT RUNWAY (Lifetime), up 0.03 to 0.70. The night’s 2 episodes of PAWN STARS (History) were stable at 0.64/0.55. On MTV, RIDICULOUSNESS and SNACK-OFF were both within 0.01 of last week at 0.44 and 0.25. The same was true of BRAXTON FAMILY VALUES (We) at 0.43. ESPN’s COLLEGE FOOTBALL coverage tumbled 0.64 from last week to 0.41.
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