> DISCLAIMER: These initial impressions are based on the clips (usually 3-5 minutes) released by the networks to use in their Upfront presentations and for promos.  They’re chosen to sell the show, not to accurately represent it.  So take the reactions below with a large satchel of salt–we may well feel differently about these shows […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  After a news special at 0.38 and a rerun at 0.28, 20/20 was steady at 0.23. CBS:  A news special at 0.21 was followed by GREATEST @HOME VIDEOS at 0.21 and reruns at 0.11/0.12. NBC:  A rerun at 0.17 was followed by DATELINE at 0.29. FOX:  WWE SMACKDOWN jumped 0.21 to […]

FOX won the first night of summer with a 2.4 preliminary rating with Adults 18-49 for the two-hour premiere of So You Think You Can Dance from 8-10 pm.  This is down a disappointing 27% from last summer’s 3.3-rated premiere on the same night.  (The decline is certainly not unprecedented given the rough spring on network television.) […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  The season premiere of CLAIM TO FAME was at 0.40, up 0.04 from last season’s premiere.  The season premiere of THE BACHELORETTE was at 0.35, down a whopping 0.37 from last year. CBS:  Reruns at 0.28/0.24/0.19/0.17. NBC:  AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR ticked up to 0.35, THE WALL dropped 0.06 to 0.32, and […]

>FOX narrowly won Thursday night, with CBS back in a close second place, returning with original episodes of its line up after a two week break for college basketball.  Lest there be any doubt about ABC’s Missing or NBC’s Awake, both slipped again this week.  Stick another fork in the two midseason dramas.     […]

NBC does the other networks a favor. NBC:  AMERICA’S GOT TALENT didn’t air last night in favor of a FEAR FACTOR special, which shot a hole in the network’s ratings for the night.  Fear only managed a 1.3, and that pulled AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR down to 1.4, off half a ratings point from its last […]

>CBS had a good night with the NCAA basketball tournament, averaging a preliminary 2.2 rating with Adults 18-49 from 8-11 pm and beating the 1.5 rating from last year’s comparable night.  Credit goes to a thrilling upset by 15th-seed Lehigh over 2nd-seed Duke in the Southern region.  CBS’s coverage of the climax of that game […]

CBS won another week with NCAA basketball tournament games throughout the week and a lot of repeats on the other networks.  NBC’s The Voice returned to the schedule this week, putting NBC in a virtual three-way tie with ABC and FOX (with only four-hundreths of a rating point separating second from fourth place). Weekly Rating Mar […]