As The Joker would say:  Here… We… Go. After weeks of semi-starts and special “previews” of new shows racking up big numbers against minimal competition, the real 2012-13 TV season gets underway tonight.  Each day this week (except Saturday, which in TV terms doesn’t exist). we’ll look at the hour-by-hour battles to come, our […]

        NETWORK FINALS:  THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL adjusted to 5.0, up 0.2 from last week’s game.  Elsewhere, GREY’S ANATOMY gained 0.1 in final numbers.         Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  The NFL Network end of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL was at 1.62, up 0.14 from last […]

        NOTE:  Over time, we’ll be publishing posts like this for the gap period in which ShowbuzzDaily wasn’t operational.  Those posts will not have analysis.           Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart   Top 50 Original Cable Telecasts with Demographic Detail Top 150 Original Cable Telecasts To search for […]

>On an otherwise typically sluggish Friday night of broadcast television, one program topped a 2 rating: ABC’s 20/20 from 10-11 pm, smartly pegged to the enormous $640 million MegaMillions jackpot.  The news magazine trotted out stories of past lottery winners, busted fortunes, and the math and “winning strategies” behind the bouncing lottery balls.   The timely […]

> FX’s Elmore Leonard-inspired crime drama JUSTIFIED really hit its stride in its second season last year, and now it’s back, trying to build on that very solid success. WHERE WE LEFT OFF:  The redoubtable Mags Bennett (Emmy-winner Margo Martindale) has gone to her grave, and so has her corrupt sheriff son.  (Her other son, […]

      NETWORK FINALS:  We didn’t have text for this morning’s preliminary numbers, so here’s a bit more detail than the afternoon usual. For all but CW, the night was mostly devoted to the VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, which was strongest on NBC, and that network also had the highest-rated post-debate commentary half-hour at 1.4. […]

CBS does FOX a favor. FOX:  With CBS in reruns last night, AMERICAN IDOL didn’t have to face fresh episodes of Big Bang Theory or 2 1/2 Men.  That allowed Idol to tie last year’s 5.6 Thursday premiere (which had to contend with a new Big Bang), although it doesn’t bode well for next week, […]

  The only original programming on any broadcast network last night was CBS’s annual KENNEDY CENTER HONORS special, which was up 0.3 from last year to 1.2, enough to tie it with the preceding NCIS rerun as the highest-rated show of the night.  The rest of the networks were in rerun mode, including marathons of […]