2016-17 TV Season

UPDATED – NIELSENWAR UPFRONTS: ABC Fall Schedule

Posted May 17, 2016 by Mitch Salem

  ABC’s fall line-up is a mix of the audacious and the not-so-much. UPDATED with reactions to trailers, which are available here.     ABC needed to shake things up for next season, and to an extent it has, although even if things go well, there will be more to do.  It’s relying on its […]

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Articles

NIELSENWAR: Weekly/Season Charts Plus Early Weekend Cable News

Posted April 21, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  CBS had been riding high on the back of some special events like the NCAA Tournament and the How I Met Your Mother finale, but last week it crashed to earth, falling three-quarters of a ratings point from the previous week and into 2d place.  That left all the broadcast networks looking fairly dismal.  […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15 Trailer Review: ABC’s “How To Get Away With Murder”

Posted May 13, 2014 by Mitch Salem

    HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER:  Thursday 10PM on ABC THE FACTS:  The new wing to the Shonda Rhimes Thursday that’s about to be a cornerstone of the ABC line-up.  In case that name wasn’t enough, try this one:  Viola Davis, starring as a brilliant, enigmatic criminal defense attorney who teaches a law […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: More NBC Comedies

Posted May 9, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  NBC has perfected the art of releasing bits of information each day throughout pre-Upfront week, and today’s nuggets introduced a trio of additional new sitcoms.  It appears that at least 2 of these will be given small midseason runs of 6 episodes to see if they catch anyone’s fancy before potentially expanding. MISSION CONTROL:  […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: The CBS Schedule – Grid and Instant Analysis

Posted May 14, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  The big news at CBS is that the network is reducing its Monday comedy block to 1 hour, while leaving 2 sitcom hours on Thursday.  Consequently, the network is adding only one new half-hour in the fall.  (There was no last-minute pick-up for How I Met Your Dad, which until last week was regarded […]

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2015-16 TV Season

NIELSENWAR: The FOX Fall Schedule (with Trailer Reviews)

Posted May 11, 2015 by Mitch Salem

  FOX may be in 4th place for the season, but it has the hot hand right now, with Spring blockbuster Empire and surprise success The Last Man On Earth livening up its season.  It’s trying to build on those with an aggressive Fall schedule (new shows are in ALL CAPS, new timeslots are in […]

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Articles

NIELSENWAR: The Olympics Kick In, and The Woes of FOX

Posted February 10, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  We’re 3 days into the 18 of the WINTER OLYMPICS, and the games are already paying ratings dividends for NBC.  (However, it’s critical to note that the Olympics are like the NFL, only more so:  the rights and production costs are so massively expensive that high ratings don’t necessarily mean profits–and even slight underperformance […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: The Fox Schedule – Grid and Instant Analysis

Posted May 12, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  Just a day after NBC announced the end of its Thursday Must-See-TV block of comedies, FOX is breaking up its Animation Domination Sundays with a pair of live-action sitcoms.  There are plenty of changes to the FOX line-up on the way, and here’s a quick breakdown: MONDAY:  Matching the new Batman prequel GOTHAM with […]

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