NETWORK FINALS:  There were no changes from Friday’s preliminary network ratings.         Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  ESPN’s NBA doubleheader was at 0.79/0.63, preceded by COLLEGE FOOTBALL bowl games at 0.33/0.22.  Discovery’s GOLD RUSH dropped 0.07 to 0.59, with pre-show THE DIRT at 0.21, […]

> Previously… On ALCATRAZ:  San Francisco cop Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones), whose partner was recently killed, finds herself embroiled in a mysterious case in which an Alcatraz inmate from 40 years ago, apparently long dead, has turned up not having aged a day and committing new murders.  Rebecca learns that all the Alcatraz prisoners who […]

      NETWORK FINALS:  The reruns of THE GOLDBERGS, AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE, ELF: BUDDY’S MUSICAL CHRISTMAS and SVU all lost 0.1 in final numbers.         Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  ESPN took the lead on Wednesday cable, with a Kentucky vs. Louisville COLLEGE BASKETBALL game at 0.76, […]

  SUNDAY UPDATE:  In final FINAL numbers, THE ACADEMY AWARDS gained an extra 0.2 to 13.1, which although tiny as a percentage of total rating, was gratifying to the Academy and ABC, because it pushed the telecast 0.1 above last year’s Seth MacFarlane-hosted show in 18-49s (it was already comfortably up in older-skewing total viewers).  […]

  The summer’s unscripted Big 3 stayed in command last night. FOX:  MASTERCHEF was the highest rated show of the night with a 2.3, up 0.1 from last week. CBS:  BIG BROTHER rose 0.2 to 2.2, which was also up a tick from last year’s parallel night. NBC:  AMERICA’S GOT TALENT held at its season […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  The season premiere of AMERICA’S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS was at 0.34.  CELEBRITY JEOPARDY dropped 0.05 to 0.37, CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE fell 0.11 to 0.36, and THE ROOKIE ticked down to 0.30. CBS:  The network had the late national NFL game, so 60 MINUTES rocketed to 1.33.  The season premiere of […]

  CBS was, for the most part, very CBS in its choice of new series for next season, with a pair of spin-offs, some additional procedurals, one retread sitcom and another that fits right into the network’s multi-camera family comedy sweet spot.  The biggest surprise was the omission, at least for now, of How I […]

Ratings for the Top 25 original cable telecasts Tuesday: