Network Programmer conversation today:  “OK, Niagara Falls on a high wire worked–next time, let’s do someone walking on his hands across the Grand Canyon.” “Hopping across the Sahara Desert!”  “Swimming across the Atlantic Ocean–one hand tied behind his back.”  “Book it for Sweeps!” ABC:  MEGASTUNTS was a big hit for ABC last night, its 2.5 […]

FX scored big last night with the premiere of Anger Management, Charlie Sheen’s return to series television after leaving Two and a Half Men.  The premiere averaged a 2.1 rating with Adults 18-49 at 9 pm, and a second episode actually built to a 2.3 rating at 9:30.  The two episodes will be among the […]

More distortions by local coverage of NFL Preseason games, especially on CBS and FOX. 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 […]

NBC stumbles toward the Olympics. NBC:  AMERICA’S GOT TALENT continued to fall as it heads to its season finale, with a 2.6 that (barely) won its hours but was down from last week.  LOVE IN THE WILD edged up a bit to 1,3. FOX:  The cooking duo continues to thrive, as HELL’S KITCHEN/MASTERCHEF scored a […]

  SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL gave a jolt to Sunday TV. 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). […]

And so it begins.  As the competition turns away from the pool and the gymnastics arena to the track & field stadium, the nightly ratings begin to drift down.  Last night looks like an 8.1 rating with Adults 18-49 in the fast nationals for NBC prime time — still an enormous number for a Friday […]

No one watches TV on Labor Day. NBC:  The post-Olympics scheduling experiment reached its nadir, as STARS EARN STRIPES hit a new low 0.9 in its finale, and GRIMM‘s 1.4 was down 0.2 from last week and just even with its numbers on low-rated Friday last season.  (The network also aired some notably confusing promos […]

With three nights of official national ratings counted, CBS is in front with a 2.99 Adult 18-49 rating, down a dizzying 30% from the first three nights last fall (when CBS was a towering #1 at a 4.28 rating).  Remember, The Eye pulled a 10.7 rating for the season premiere of Two and a Half Men […]