Articles

February 2, 2012
 

The Sked: WEDNESDAY RATINGS February 1

More articles by »
Written by: Mitch Metcalf
Tags: ,

>The last night before the February sweep begins.  FOX wins yet again by programming originals, although American Idol is now pacing 34% behind last year’s ratings.  Tonight original episodes will fill each network’s schedule as the February sweep begins.

             Nightly Adult 18-49 Rating
Wednesday    FOX    CBS    ABC    NBC
02.01.2012   4.4    1.9    1.5    1.5
02.02.2011   5.4    3.1    3.1    2.3

FOX’s American Idol drifted down again, this week to a preliminary 5.9 rating with Adults 18-49.  Compared to the same episode last year, Idol is down 34% in one year.  At 9 pm, a special episode of Howie Mandel’s reality comedy Mobbed scored a 2.9.  Last year on this night, FOX averaged a 5.8 for the night, with a 9.0 for American Idol at 8 pm followed by a 2.6 for Human Target.      

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks
FOX Wed      High Low  12.28 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25 2.01 
American Idol7.4  5.9                  7.4  6.5  5.9* 
Touch        3.9  3.9                       3.9 
X Factor     4.4  2.5  —   — 
Hate Teenage 2.8  1.8  —   —

CBS averaged a 1.9 rating for the night.  At 8 pm, Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials scored a 2.1, followed by repeats of the 9 and 10 pm dramas.  Last year on this night: Live to Dance (0.9), Criminal Minds (2.3) and Blue Bloods (1.6).  

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks 
CBS Wed      High Low  1228 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25 2.01
Survivor     3.6  3.1  —   —   —   —   —   —
Criminal Min 4.1  3.2  2.4R 2.0R —   3.2  3.7  2.1R
CSI          3.3  2.5  2.1R 1.7R —   2.8  3.4  1.5R

NBC’s “Happy Hour” of female comedy bounced back a bit (both Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea? scoring a 1.7 — remember those were original episodes not repeats, however).  A special SVU repeat at 9 pm rated only a 1.1, while the regularly scheduled 10 pm SVU repeated at a 1.6 rating.  Last year on this night NBC stunted its way to a 2.6 rating from 8-11 pm: Minute to Win It (2.4) from 8-10 pm and an original Law & Order SVU (2.9).         

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks 
NBC Wed      High Low  1228 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25 2.01
Up All Night 2.4  1.5  1.0R 1.0R
Free Agents  1.3  1.0  
Whitney      2.1  1.4            2.0  1.6  1.4  1.7*
Chelsea      2.3  1.4            2.3  1.7  1.4  1.7*

Harry’s Law  1.4  1.1  0.5R 0.8R 1.2  1.1  —   —
L&O SVU      2.4  1.8  0.9R 1.1R 2.0  1.8  1.4R 1.6R

ABC tied for third place with NBC with a 1.5 rating for a night of repeats.  Last year on this night, ABC averaged a 2.2 rating: The Middle (1.7), The Middle (1.8), Modern Family (3.5), Cougar Town (2.7) and Off the Map (1.9).   

              Season        Last  Six  Weeks 
ABC Wed      High Low  1228 01.4 1.11 1.18 1.25 2.01
The Middle   3.2  2.5  1.3R 3.0  2.9  2.5  1.5R 1.2R
Suburgatory  3.4  2.5  1.4R 2.9  2.9  2.5  1.4R 1.2R
Modern Fami  6.1  4.5  1.9R 5.7  5.1  5.1  2.5R 2.7R
Happy Ending 3.5  2.7  1.2R 3.2  3.0  2.9  1.7R 1.9R
Revenge      3.4  2.1  0.6R 2.5  2.4  2.5  0.9R 0.9R

###



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.