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August 14, 2012
 

The Sked: NBC’s Post-Olympic Reality

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Written by: Mitch Metcalf
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So much for an Olympic after-glow.  After 17 nights of near double-digit young adult ratings, NBC averaged a 1.8 Adult 18-49 rating last night.  After significant on-air promotion during the London Olympics, the two-hour premiere of Stars Earn Stripes sputtered to a 1.7 rating from 8-10 pm, while the season premiere of Grimm scored a 2.0 rating.  Stars Earn Stripes will probably go down to a 1.5 or lower in the next few weeks, given the normal pattern of new show launches.    

But the Grimm rating is somewhat encouraging.  The 2.0 rating represents a solid increase from the season finale on Friday, May 18 (1.6 rating) and signals the show is indeed headed for a sophomore bump this season.  

FOX returned to its winning form on Mondays with the premiere of Hotel Hell posting an okay 1.9 rating at 8 pm and Hell’s Kitchen scoring an impressive 2.7 rating at 9 pm.  The night averaged a 2.3 rating.

CBS finished in third place from 8-11 pm with a 1.3 rating from the regular schedule of repeat comedies and Hawaii Five-O.

ABC struggled to a 1.1 rating with original reality programming: a 1.2 rating for Bachelor Pad from 8-10 pm and a 0.7 rating for Glass House at 10 pm.

These results are very reminiscent of the last Monday before the Olympics started.  On July 23, FOX won the night with a 2.7 rating (original episodes of Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef), NBC was in second place with a 1.8 rating (Fear Factor and American Ninja Warrior), and CBS and ABC trailed with a 1.3 rating (both with schedules identical to last night’s).  After a big event like the Super Bowl, Academy Awards or Olympics, life returns to normal and pre-existing viewing patterns generally resume.



About the Author

Mitch Metcalf
MITCH METCALF has been tracking every US film release of over 500 screens (over 2300 movies and counting) since the storied weekend of May 20, 1994, when Maverick and Beverly Hills Cop 3 inspired countless aficionados to devote their lives to the art of cinema. Prior to that, he studied Politics and Economics at Princeton in order to prepare for his dream of working in television. He has been Head of West Coast Research at ABC, then moved to NBC in 2000 and became Head of Scheduling for 11 years.