The last pre-Olympics night for a while. FOX:  AMERICAN IDOL reached Hollywood and leveled out, up 0.1 from last week to 3.9. ABC:  THE MIDDLE dropped 0.1 to 2.2, and SUBURGATORY was down 0.1 to 1.7 from its last airing after a new Middle, although up 0.2 from last week when it followed a […]

  A deluge of holiday specials. 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). Ratings analysis follows the […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  THE WINTER OLYMPICS gained only 0.1 in adjusted numbers, bringing it to 5.0, more than a point behind Vancouver and more than 3 points behind Turin for the night.  (Don’t even ask about Salt Lake City.)  At least the afternoon adjustments gave the Games something, though–AMERICAN IDOL stayed at its awful, all-time […]

  CBS has reportedly closed a deal with Warner Bros Television to renew THE BIG BANG THEORY for 3 more seasons, which (pending renegotiation of expiring cast deals) would bring the show through Season 10.  This was a no-brainer for CBS, considering that Big Bang is by far the highest-rated non-NFL programming on broadcast television, […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  There were the usual 0.1 bumps (for THE MIDDLE, SUBURGATORY and MODERN FAMILY on ABC, and for SURVIVOR and CRIMINAL MINDS on CBS), and dips (CSI). but the more interesting point is what didn’t go up.  There was no afternoon joy for AMERICAN IDOL, setting things up for a potential record-breaking low […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  Both BAD TEACHER and BLACK BOX stayed where they were this morning.  As usual, THE BIG BANG THEORY came up 0.2, while THE MILLERS fell 0.1.  THE VAMPIRE DIARIES also climbed 0.1. THURSDAY CABLE:  TNT dominated again with the NBA PLAYOFFS, with a pair of 1.8 games.  (The night’s 3rd game, though, […]

  The pick-ups are mostly done, so today was a time for the networks to clean up after themselves with some decisions on existing shows: NBC canceled DRACULA and remains in negotiations on PARENTHOOD, with the big issue reportedly the network’s desire not just to order an abbreviated 13-episode season, but to guarantee each cast […]

  GALAVANT:  Winter-ish Sunday 8PM on ABC THE FACTS:  A fairy tale musical comedy from Dan Fogelman, the creator of the late, lamented (by some of us) The Neighbors, with an original score by multiple Oscar-winner Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.  It tells the tale of Prince Galavant, whose true love left him for the […]