Weekly Ratings Way Off the Normal Pace for Broadcast Networks

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THE WEEK.  For the recently completed week ending Sunday (February 11-17, 2013), FOX won with a preliminary 2.11 adult 18-49 rating in prime time, down from last week’s 2.25 rating but still ahead of the horrible performances by the other networks.

CBS will fall to second place with a preliminary 1.89 adult 18-49 rating, down from last week’s Grammy-boosted 3.32 rating.  Returning to its regular Sunday line-up (after several weeks of NFL playoffs, Super Bowl and Grammys) was painful, but also the State of the Union bumped CBS’s strong Tuesday schedule this week.

ABC will be in third place with a 1.76 for the week, down from a 1.88 last week.

NBC remains in fourth with a 1.27 weekly rating, about the same as last week’s 1.24.

Looking at the four major broadcast networks together, the total 7.03 rating for the week is a stunning 35% below the same week last year (10.82).   (Since early January, the four-network rating has been down 14% from the same period last year, a more severe rate than the -8% decline between September and December.)  Two weeks in a row the weekly four-network rating has been 35% behind the similar week the previous year — perhaps an aberration or possibly an early sign of continued turbulence in the late winter and spring.

SEASON TO DATE through 21 weeks (with adjusted fast national ratings for the last three nights):

CBS moved down slightly to a 2.66 season to date rating in prime time (now up a marginal 0.4% from the same period last year).

NBC dropped to a 2.34 adult 18-49 rating in prime time (now down 5% from the same period last year).

FOX remains in third place with a 2.18 (down 23%).

ABC is in fourth with a 1.83 (down 11.5%).

Collectively, the four networks total a 9.02 rating (down 10% from 10.01 for the same period last year).

The CW is averaging a 0.56 in prime so far this season (down 6%).