What are you watching this summer?
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Brent
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x-y-no wrote:"Dollhouse" sounds interesting. I'll definitely give that one a try.
I'm really interested in Fringe and FOX must really think it's going to be big by giving it the post-House AND post-Idol timeslot.
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
I can't believe that 90210 is back again. I am glad Prison Break is back. 
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Brent
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lurker_from_nc wrote:x-y-no wrote:"Dollhouse" sounds interesting. I'll definitely give that one a try.
It'll be gone by midseason
What?? Fox hates Joss Whedon . . .look at Firefly . ..
Actually it's not premiering til January anyway.
(and FOX has only ordered 7 episodes)Here is my FALL ONLY watch list:
Mondays
8:00pm-Dancing with the Stars, Chuck(PROBATION), BBT/HIMYM(maybes)
9:30pm-Samantha Who?
Tuesdays
8:00pm-90210, Opportunity Knocks(Maybe)
9:00pm-Fringe, DWTS Results
10:00pm-Eli Stone
Wednesdays
8:00pm-Pushing Daisies, Old Christine
9:00pm-Private Practice, Do Not Disturb(Maybe)
10:00pm-Dirty Sexy Money, Lipstick Jungle(Maybe)
Thursdays
8:00pm-Ugly Betty, Survivor, The Moment of Truth
9:00pm-Grey's Anatomy, Kitchen Nightmares
10:00pm-Life on Mars
Fridays
8:00pm-Wife Swap, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
9:00pm-Don't Forget the Lyrics!
Sundays
8:00pm-The Amazing Race
9:00pm-Desperate Housewives
10:00pm-Brothers and Sisters(PROBATION)
ABC-14 Hours
FOX-5 1/2 Hours
CBS-3 1/2 Hours
NBC-2 Hours
The CW-1 Hour
Yikes... I'll be getting a DVR this summer I think.
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Brent wrote:
Yikes... I'll be getting a DVR this summer I think.
Also, see what will be available online. I finally got a used Mac Mini hooked up to my TV. So, I can watch my iTunes video downloads or watch streaming from the 'net on my TV set, instead of the laptop.
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Brent
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
The trailer for Fringe, WOW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpwNAXjQLBM
Reminds me a lot of Lost, complete with a plane crash, and it's from the same creator(J.J. Abrams). No island though.
Dollhouse looks interesting too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Qo4rCqgs0
This sounds exciting:
Fox chairman of entertainment Peter Liguori at Thursday's upfronts presentation unveiled a "Remote-Free TV" initiative, under which Fox will launch its two new dramas — J.J. Abrams' Fringe (premiering in late August) and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (coming at midseason) — with half the commercial and promo time of a typical series. That's right, no more than five minutes of ad/promo breaks per hour.
In the wake of increased competition from cable, Liguori wants "Remote-Free TV" to "be bold, to engage, to make audience lean forward."
BTW: Here is the complete fall schedule broken down by timeslot and network:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide.aspx?id=fall_2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpwNAXjQLBM
Reminds me a lot of Lost, complete with a plane crash, and it's from the same creator(J.J. Abrams). No island though.
Dollhouse looks interesting too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Qo4rCqgs0
This sounds exciting:
Fox chairman of entertainment Peter Liguori at Thursday's upfronts presentation unveiled a "Remote-Free TV" initiative, under which Fox will launch its two new dramas — J.J. Abrams' Fringe (premiering in late August) and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (coming at midseason) — with half the commercial and promo time of a typical series. That's right, no more than five minutes of ad/promo breaks per hour.
In the wake of increased competition from cable, Liguori wants "Remote-Free TV" to "be bold, to engage, to make audience lean forward."
BTW: Here is the complete fall schedule broken down by timeslot and network:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide.aspx?id=fall_2008
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Miss Mary
Re: What are you watching this spring?
Ptarmigan wrote:I can't believe that 90210 is back again. I am glad Prison Break is back.
That makes two of us! Jennie Garth is going to play the HS guidance counselor.
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Brent
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
Time may be running out for the CW network.
Two years after CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. combined their second-tier networks UPN and WB into the youth-oriented CW to pool young viewers prized by advertisers, the network's hopes of surviving are looking increasingly bleak.
Despite the buzz about "Gossip Girl," a prime-time soap opera about a group of rich kids on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the network has lost about 28% of its target audience of 18 to 34 year olds so far this season. Its ratings during this month's "sweeps" period -- the all-important measure upon which future advertising rates are set -- are down about 22%.
Advertisers eager to reach a young demographic initially clamored to sign on to the CW, but have since cooled to the network. Steven Kalb, director of broadcast media for media-buying firm MediaHub, owned by Interpublic Group, says there were high hopes for the network when last year's lineup was unveiled. Now, he says, "It has collapsed."
Part of the problem is that the CW's young audience is most prone to spend leisure time on the Internet. Last winter's Hollywood writers' strike, which forced scripted shows off the air for three months, hastened the defection of viewers to the Web.
Increasingly, people in the industry are asking whether this coming season is the CW's last chance. One person close to the situation confirms that without significant progress in the next year, at least one of the network's owners is likely to abandon the venture.
The defection of viewers recently led the network to suspend the free Web streaming of "Gossip Girl," angering some fans in the process. After several weeks of the experiment, ratings have remained essentially flat.
The CW's fall schedule, unveiled this week, suggests the network has few fresh ideas. It is debuting only three new shows, all designed to complement "Gossip Girl," which executives hope will find a larger audience come fall. The new offerings are: "90210," an updated version of the 1990s hit prime-time soap about rich kids in California, "Beverly Hills, 90210"; "Surviving the Filthy Rich," a drama about rich kids in Palm Beach; and the reality show "Stylista."
The network has made a series of radical moves in recent weeks to stem its financial losses and draw more attention from advertisers and viewers.
Last week, the CW said it was bringing in an outside production company, Media Rights Capital, to program three hours of Sunday nights, often the most-watched night on broadcast television but a poorly rated time period for the network. To take a slice of prime time and essentially cede it to another programmer is a rare event for a major network.
Also this spring, the CW elected to stop airing wrestling on Friday nights -- an admission that chasing a young male audience was no longer part of the network's mission. Wrestling had drawn high ratings, but advertising rates were lower because it draws an audience less desirable to advertisers. At its upfront presentation this week, the CW redefined its target audience as exclusively 18- to 34-year-old women.
The success of the venture is of importance for CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, who has been closely involved in every element of building and promoting the network.
Mr. Moonves sits on the executive board that overseas programming and marketing decisions at the CW. The network's president, Dawn Ostroff, is a longtime associate and protégé of Mr. Moonves, and he was instrumental in placing her at the helm of the network. Mr. Moonves declined to comment.
CW executives attribute the network's poor ratings performance not to a lack of viewers but to flaws in the system of measure. "Obviously, we would have liked to do better," Ms. Ostroff said this week. "Our young audience certainly knows how to get their content in different ways, and we have to figure out different ways to measure how they're getting it."
The CW has two strategies for this: work with Nielsen Media Research, the company that records ratings, to improve its methodology; and continue efforts to lure more and younger viewers to the network. Despite its stated demographic targets, the CW viewer's median age is 34, Ms. Ostroff says.
Nielsen says in a statement that although it believes its ratings "provide a fair picture of what younger viewers are watching," the audience is challenging to track. "We are working closely with the CW and all of our clients to continuously improve our measurement."
In the past two years, the CW has experimented with different ways of presenting advertisements to its young viewers, who are proficient with digital video recorders that allow them to fast-forward through commercials, and who have especially short attention spans.
The network introduced multipart commercials called "content wraps" in its first year; in its second year, it introduced ultra-short commercials it called "cwickies." Next year, the network is focusing its efforts on TV and Web integrations, says Executive Vice President of Network Sales Bill Morningstar.
Bruce Rosenblum, president of the Warner Bros. Television Group and a member of the CW's board, says he was disappointed the network had not managed to capture a larger audience. But he pointed to the strength of its distribution system and its new-series development as reasons for optimism.
Although the CW isn't profitable itself, it has helped its parent companies launch shows that can make money down the road on other platforms such as syndicated reruns and DVD sales, Mr. Rosenblum says.
Combined, UPN and the WB lost about $2 billion in the 11 years that spent on the air. It is unclear how the CW's losses compare, since neither company reports earnings for the small network. CBS and Warner Bros. incurred significant start-up costs when they launched the CW, including a multimillion dollar marketing campaign. CW draws about a quarter of the audience that CBS does.
Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, says that CBS's commitment to the network is open-ended and that the CW has suffered mostly from too-high expectations. "I honestly believe that we did not expect it would be as difficult as it was," she says.
Two years after CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. combined their second-tier networks UPN and WB into the youth-oriented CW to pool young viewers prized by advertisers, the network's hopes of surviving are looking increasingly bleak.
Despite the buzz about "Gossip Girl," a prime-time soap opera about a group of rich kids on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the network has lost about 28% of its target audience of 18 to 34 year olds so far this season. Its ratings during this month's "sweeps" period -- the all-important measure upon which future advertising rates are set -- are down about 22%.
Advertisers eager to reach a young demographic initially clamored to sign on to the CW, but have since cooled to the network. Steven Kalb, director of broadcast media for media-buying firm MediaHub, owned by Interpublic Group, says there were high hopes for the network when last year's lineup was unveiled. Now, he says, "It has collapsed."
Part of the problem is that the CW's young audience is most prone to spend leisure time on the Internet. Last winter's Hollywood writers' strike, which forced scripted shows off the air for three months, hastened the defection of viewers to the Web.
Increasingly, people in the industry are asking whether this coming season is the CW's last chance. One person close to the situation confirms that without significant progress in the next year, at least one of the network's owners is likely to abandon the venture.
The defection of viewers recently led the network to suspend the free Web streaming of "Gossip Girl," angering some fans in the process. After several weeks of the experiment, ratings have remained essentially flat.
The CW's fall schedule, unveiled this week, suggests the network has few fresh ideas. It is debuting only three new shows, all designed to complement "Gossip Girl," which executives hope will find a larger audience come fall. The new offerings are: "90210," an updated version of the 1990s hit prime-time soap about rich kids in California, "Beverly Hills, 90210"; "Surviving the Filthy Rich," a drama about rich kids in Palm Beach; and the reality show "Stylista."
The network has made a series of radical moves in recent weeks to stem its financial losses and draw more attention from advertisers and viewers.
Last week, the CW said it was bringing in an outside production company, Media Rights Capital, to program three hours of Sunday nights, often the most-watched night on broadcast television but a poorly rated time period for the network. To take a slice of prime time and essentially cede it to another programmer is a rare event for a major network.
Also this spring, the CW elected to stop airing wrestling on Friday nights -- an admission that chasing a young male audience was no longer part of the network's mission. Wrestling had drawn high ratings, but advertising rates were lower because it draws an audience less desirable to advertisers. At its upfront presentation this week, the CW redefined its target audience as exclusively 18- to 34-year-old women.
The success of the venture is of importance for CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, who has been closely involved in every element of building and promoting the network.
Mr. Moonves sits on the executive board that overseas programming and marketing decisions at the CW. The network's president, Dawn Ostroff, is a longtime associate and protégé of Mr. Moonves, and he was instrumental in placing her at the helm of the network. Mr. Moonves declined to comment.
CW executives attribute the network's poor ratings performance not to a lack of viewers but to flaws in the system of measure. "Obviously, we would have liked to do better," Ms. Ostroff said this week. "Our young audience certainly knows how to get their content in different ways, and we have to figure out different ways to measure how they're getting it."
The CW has two strategies for this: work with Nielsen Media Research, the company that records ratings, to improve its methodology; and continue efforts to lure more and younger viewers to the network. Despite its stated demographic targets, the CW viewer's median age is 34, Ms. Ostroff says.
Nielsen says in a statement that although it believes its ratings "provide a fair picture of what younger viewers are watching," the audience is challenging to track. "We are working closely with the CW and all of our clients to continuously improve our measurement."
In the past two years, the CW has experimented with different ways of presenting advertisements to its young viewers, who are proficient with digital video recorders that allow them to fast-forward through commercials, and who have especially short attention spans.
The network introduced multipart commercials called "content wraps" in its first year; in its second year, it introduced ultra-short commercials it called "cwickies." Next year, the network is focusing its efforts on TV and Web integrations, says Executive Vice President of Network Sales Bill Morningstar.
Bruce Rosenblum, president of the Warner Bros. Television Group and a member of the CW's board, says he was disappointed the network had not managed to capture a larger audience. But he pointed to the strength of its distribution system and its new-series development as reasons for optimism.
Although the CW isn't profitable itself, it has helped its parent companies launch shows that can make money down the road on other platforms such as syndicated reruns and DVD sales, Mr. Rosenblum says.
Combined, UPN and the WB lost about $2 billion in the 11 years that spent on the air. It is unclear how the CW's losses compare, since neither company reports earnings for the small network. CBS and Warner Bros. incurred significant start-up costs when they launched the CW, including a multimillion dollar marketing campaign. CW draws about a quarter of the audience that CBS does.
Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, says that CBS's commitment to the network is open-ended and that the CW has suffered mostly from too-high expectations. "I honestly believe that we did not expect it would be as difficult as it was," she says.
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Miss Mary
Re: What are you watching this spring?
FYI - the entire Monday night CBS sitcom lineup - Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement - are all season finales.
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Brent
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
From tvguide.com:
Two weeks after talks between AFTRA — the union representing TV and radio actors — and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers began, negotiations have stalled over issues relating to new media projects and ownership of clips.
Earlier this month, talks between producers and the Screen Actors Guild also broke down over DVD residuals and new media projects.
In a letter to union members, AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said the current stumbling block may not have a "quick or easy" resolution and reiterated that members will not give up control of clips.
AMPTP is proposing the creation of an online library from which users can download clips for a fee. While the producers see this as a way to cut down on piracy, AFTRA sees it as a loss of actors' consent rights beyond the use of clips for promotional purposes.
AFTRA's contract with producers expires June 6.
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
Brent wrote:
AMPTP is proposing the creation of an online library from which users can download clips for a fee. While the producers see this as a way to cut down on piracy, AFTRA sees it as a loss of actors' consent rights beyond the use of clips for promotional purposes.
.
Even if the actors' get a cut of the fee??? *shakes head*
I don't understand this . . .People are willing to pay, like real money, to download shows, clips and extras . . and it's totally frustrating. . .
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Brent
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
lurker_from_nc wrote:Brent wrote:
AMPTP is proposing the creation of an online library from which users can download clips for a fee. While the producers see this as a way to cut down on piracy, AFTRA sees it as a loss of actors' consent rights beyond the use of clips for promotional purposes.
.
Even if the actors' get a cut of the fee??? *shakes head*
I don't understand this . . .People are willing to pay, like real money, to download shows, clips and extras . . and it's totally frustrating. . .
I am really just fed up with everything. I can't believe they will go on strike less than 5 months after the writers strike ends. Do they not realize what damage this is doing to the TV industry?
Part of me still thinks it's not gonna happen but certainly it's not looking good. I'm glad some shows are filming some episodes for fall now, at least the networks are more prepared than they were for the writers strike(which really kind of snuck up on everyone).
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
http://www.variety.com/VR1117986172.html
Fox wins TV season crown Strike, DVRs cause record ratings drop
By RICK KISSELL
'American Idol'
Fox's 'American Idol' saw some ratings erosion, but the net was the only broadcaster up overall vs. last season.
A dominant Fox is set to be crowned the winner of the 2007-08 television season, one that the broadcast biz -- and perhaps even Fox -- would just as soon forget.
The writers strike, along with the rising popularity of DVRs and the increased availability of programming on multiple platforms, conspired to make this season the lowest-rated on record for the broadcasters. There was also a dearth of breakout hits, with no new show emerging as the biz's savior.
Of course, the broadcasters have been losing audience share to cable for years -- but this season saw the most troubling year-to-year declines yet.
In a season when overall television usage among young adults was up slightly, the top five English-language broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW) will finish down 10% in adults 18-49 rating (14.1 vs. 15.6). And their overall audience average (41.5 million viewers) is off 7% from the 2006-07 campaign (44.8 million), according to Nielsen.
By comparison, ad-supported cable saw a 9% increase in 18-49 rating (17.4 vs. 15.9) and 7% in total viewers (51.6 million vs. 48.1 million).
"The strike made this year an anomaly," said Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori. "But we all should look at what happened to those viewership levels and be shocked into being more aggressive about our thinking. No one knows what will happen with summer viewing and into the fall."
With just three days to be counted in the season (which ends tonight), Fox led all networks with a 4.2 rating/11 share in adults 18-49, followed by ABC and CBS (tied at 3.0/8), NBC (2.8/8), Spanish-language Univision (1.5/4) and CW (1.1/3).
Fox, which benefited from airing the Super Bowl this season, is up 5% vs. last season -- it's the only network showing gains. CBS, which had aired the Super Bowl a year ago, is down the most (19%), while ABC and CW are off 14% and NBC 10%.
For the first time, Fox will also finish the season as the most-watched network overall, with its 11.1 million viewers beating out traditional leader CBS (10.5 million). The Eye, which has won most weeks down the stretch, likely would have captured its sixth straight total-viewers crown if not for the writers strike.
Working from a smaller base, MyNetwork made some strides in its second season, rising 33% in 18-49 (0.4 vs. 0.3) and 36% in total viewers (1.13 million vs. 835,000).
The biggest story of the season, of course, was the three-month writers strike, which sapped any momentum the nets were building in the fall. Auds were also reluctant to return to hit shows in the spring, with virtually every top hit posting ratings declines.
The rise in DVR playback was another big story, with the residents of one in four homes now with the ability to watch programs on their own timetables.
One result is that hits in crowded timeslots like Thursday at 9 -- where "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI" and "The Office" all toil -- typically see their "live-plus 7" rating (all DVR playback within a week) shoot up by about 20% vs. their averages reported in the next-day Nielsens.
For Fox, the 2007-08 season reps its fourth consecutive victory in the advertiser-friendly demo of adults 18-49. The net has been remarkably consistent in recent years, with this year's 4.2 rating a tick above the 4.1 rating it had maintained the previous three years.
It has also seen its overall primetime audience grow now with each of the last four seasons.
"I feel proud of a group out there, from scheduling and planning to marketing and programming, that did a solid job keeping the network vibrant and robust amidst the strike," Liguori said. "You strip the Super Bowl away and 'American Idol' away, and the network is still No. 1 by a good margin. That shows the strength of our network across seven nights a week."
The performance and results editions of Fox's "American Idol" remained the top-rated programs in both adults 18-49 and total viewers, even though the show at long last began to show mortal-like signs of ratings erosion.
Fox's "House" is running neck and neck with ABC's "Desperate Housewives" as the season's top-rated scripted program in 18-49.
It's also worth noting that the net prevailed for the season even without its traditional second-half Monday anchor, "24" -- a casualty of the writers strike.
Though Fox had its share of first-year bombs, it ended the season with the two top-rated new programs in lie-detector reality show "Moment of Truth" and sci-fi drama "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
ABC had a winning fall, thanks in part to some promising newcomers, but the writers strike and the arrival of Fox's "American Idol" sapped much of its momentum.
Despite ratings declines, the net's core vets, "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Dancing With the Stars," remain top-10 fixtures. ABC is returning all three of its frosh Wednesday hours in the fall ("Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money") as well as top new comedy "Samantha Who."
At CBS, crime dramas and reality vet "Survivor" continue to gradually lose ratings steam, but the net was buoyed by the strong performance of its Monday comedy block.
"Two and a Half Men," which once again stands as TV's top-rated half-hour, was up slightly vs. its year-ago average. Also contributing were solid laffers "How I Met Your Mother" and "Rules of Engagement" as well as newbie "The Big Bang Theory."
"Big Bang" is the only Eye rookie to return next fall. Vampire drama "Moonlight," which generated more buzz than most new shows, was canceled after so-so numbers in its run on Fridays.
NBC finished in fourth place for a fourth straight season, although it finished within striking distance of both ABC and CBS. Top shows included "Heroes," "The Office" and "Law & Order: SVU," while its best rookie success came with Monday's light drama "Chuck," a show that was kept off the sked in the second half of the season by the writers strike.
"The Office" was up slightly year to year despite moving to a tougher timeslot.
One of the Peacock's quieter weapons was weight-loss skein "The Biggest Loser," which delivered hefty ratings -- even when it opposed "American Idol" for the first time.
CW had a rough sophomore season, with its year-to-year comps decimated by the loss of vets "Gilmore Girls" and "Reba."
Net seemed to stabilize as the season went on, though, and ended well with its Monday combo of rookie "Gossip Girl" and vet "One Tree Hill." In addition to "Gossip Girl," the net also added another credible piece in comedic drama "Reaper," but it continues to struggle in comedy, cutting "Aliens in America" after its low-rated inaugural season.
* * *
Looking at the final full week of the season, Fox won for the 19th consecutive week in adults 18-49 (3.5 rating/10 share), as "American Idol" had a strong week. CBS won in total viewers for a fourth straight week (10.3 million).
Even during a frame that included season finales on other nets, "Idol" ruled easily as its Wednesday results show (9.2/22 in 18-49, 24.86m) and Tuesday performance show (9.0/25, 24.77m) were the top-rated programs.
Rounding out the top five in 18-49 were the season finale of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (6.2/16, 16.84m) and the penultimate segs of the season for ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (6.1/15, 15.55m) and Fox's "House" (5.9/14, 15.02m).
Also of note, CBS saw some year-to-year gains for the 43rd "Academy of Country Music Awards" (2.9/8 in 18-49, 11.73m), which benefited by shifting from Tuesday (where it faced "American Idol" a year ago) to its new night, Sunday.
NBC's "The Office" had a strong finale (4.2/10 in 18-49, 8.21m), up 7% in 18-49 vs. last year's season-ender.
And on cable, MTV's "The Hills" had a strong finish to its season (2.3/6, 3.78m), racking up a big 5.6/14 in women 18-34.
Fox wins TV season crown Strike, DVRs cause record ratings drop
By RICK KISSELL
'American Idol'
Fox's 'American Idol' saw some ratings erosion, but the net was the only broadcaster up overall vs. last season.
A dominant Fox is set to be crowned the winner of the 2007-08 television season, one that the broadcast biz -- and perhaps even Fox -- would just as soon forget.
The writers strike, along with the rising popularity of DVRs and the increased availability of programming on multiple platforms, conspired to make this season the lowest-rated on record for the broadcasters. There was also a dearth of breakout hits, with no new show emerging as the biz's savior.
Of course, the broadcasters have been losing audience share to cable for years -- but this season saw the most troubling year-to-year declines yet.
In a season when overall television usage among young adults was up slightly, the top five English-language broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW) will finish down 10% in adults 18-49 rating (14.1 vs. 15.6). And their overall audience average (41.5 million viewers) is off 7% from the 2006-07 campaign (44.8 million), according to Nielsen.
By comparison, ad-supported cable saw a 9% increase in 18-49 rating (17.4 vs. 15.9) and 7% in total viewers (51.6 million vs. 48.1 million).
"The strike made this year an anomaly," said Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori. "But we all should look at what happened to those viewership levels and be shocked into being more aggressive about our thinking. No one knows what will happen with summer viewing and into the fall."
With just three days to be counted in the season (which ends tonight), Fox led all networks with a 4.2 rating/11 share in adults 18-49, followed by ABC and CBS (tied at 3.0/8), NBC (2.8/8), Spanish-language Univision (1.5/4) and CW (1.1/3).
Fox, which benefited from airing the Super Bowl this season, is up 5% vs. last season -- it's the only network showing gains. CBS, which had aired the Super Bowl a year ago, is down the most (19%), while ABC and CW are off 14% and NBC 10%.
For the first time, Fox will also finish the season as the most-watched network overall, with its 11.1 million viewers beating out traditional leader CBS (10.5 million). The Eye, which has won most weeks down the stretch, likely would have captured its sixth straight total-viewers crown if not for the writers strike.
Working from a smaller base, MyNetwork made some strides in its second season, rising 33% in 18-49 (0.4 vs. 0.3) and 36% in total viewers (1.13 million vs. 835,000).
The biggest story of the season, of course, was the three-month writers strike, which sapped any momentum the nets were building in the fall. Auds were also reluctant to return to hit shows in the spring, with virtually every top hit posting ratings declines.
The rise in DVR playback was another big story, with the residents of one in four homes now with the ability to watch programs on their own timetables.
One result is that hits in crowded timeslots like Thursday at 9 -- where "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI" and "The Office" all toil -- typically see their "live-plus 7" rating (all DVR playback within a week) shoot up by about 20% vs. their averages reported in the next-day Nielsens.
For Fox, the 2007-08 season reps its fourth consecutive victory in the advertiser-friendly demo of adults 18-49. The net has been remarkably consistent in recent years, with this year's 4.2 rating a tick above the 4.1 rating it had maintained the previous three years.
It has also seen its overall primetime audience grow now with each of the last four seasons.
"I feel proud of a group out there, from scheduling and planning to marketing and programming, that did a solid job keeping the network vibrant and robust amidst the strike," Liguori said. "You strip the Super Bowl away and 'American Idol' away, and the network is still No. 1 by a good margin. That shows the strength of our network across seven nights a week."
The performance and results editions of Fox's "American Idol" remained the top-rated programs in both adults 18-49 and total viewers, even though the show at long last began to show mortal-like signs of ratings erosion.
Fox's "House" is running neck and neck with ABC's "Desperate Housewives" as the season's top-rated scripted program in 18-49.
It's also worth noting that the net prevailed for the season even without its traditional second-half Monday anchor, "24" -- a casualty of the writers strike.
Though Fox had its share of first-year bombs, it ended the season with the two top-rated new programs in lie-detector reality show "Moment of Truth" and sci-fi drama "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
ABC had a winning fall, thanks in part to some promising newcomers, but the writers strike and the arrival of Fox's "American Idol" sapped much of its momentum.
Despite ratings declines, the net's core vets, "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Dancing With the Stars," remain top-10 fixtures. ABC is returning all three of its frosh Wednesday hours in the fall ("Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money") as well as top new comedy "Samantha Who."
At CBS, crime dramas and reality vet "Survivor" continue to gradually lose ratings steam, but the net was buoyed by the strong performance of its Monday comedy block.
"Two and a Half Men," which once again stands as TV's top-rated half-hour, was up slightly vs. its year-ago average. Also contributing were solid laffers "How I Met Your Mother" and "Rules of Engagement" as well as newbie "The Big Bang Theory."
"Big Bang" is the only Eye rookie to return next fall. Vampire drama "Moonlight," which generated more buzz than most new shows, was canceled after so-so numbers in its run on Fridays.
NBC finished in fourth place for a fourth straight season, although it finished within striking distance of both ABC and CBS. Top shows included "Heroes," "The Office" and "Law & Order: SVU," while its best rookie success came with Monday's light drama "Chuck," a show that was kept off the sked in the second half of the season by the writers strike.
"The Office" was up slightly year to year despite moving to a tougher timeslot.
One of the Peacock's quieter weapons was weight-loss skein "The Biggest Loser," which delivered hefty ratings -- even when it opposed "American Idol" for the first time.
CW had a rough sophomore season, with its year-to-year comps decimated by the loss of vets "Gilmore Girls" and "Reba."
Net seemed to stabilize as the season went on, though, and ended well with its Monday combo of rookie "Gossip Girl" and vet "One Tree Hill." In addition to "Gossip Girl," the net also added another credible piece in comedic drama "Reaper," but it continues to struggle in comedy, cutting "Aliens in America" after its low-rated inaugural season.
* * *
Looking at the final full week of the season, Fox won for the 19th consecutive week in adults 18-49 (3.5 rating/10 share), as "American Idol" had a strong week. CBS won in total viewers for a fourth straight week (10.3 million).
Even during a frame that included season finales on other nets, "Idol" ruled easily as its Wednesday results show (9.2/22 in 18-49, 24.86m) and Tuesday performance show (9.0/25, 24.77m) were the top-rated programs.
Rounding out the top five in 18-49 were the season finale of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (6.2/16, 16.84m) and the penultimate segs of the season for ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (6.1/15, 15.55m) and Fox's "House" (5.9/14, 15.02m).
Also of note, CBS saw some year-to-year gains for the 43rd "Academy of Country Music Awards" (2.9/8 in 18-49, 11.73m), which benefited by shifting from Tuesday (where it faced "American Idol" a year ago) to its new night, Sunday.
NBC's "The Office" had a strong finale (4.2/10 in 18-49, 8.21m), up 7% in 18-49 vs. last year's season-ender.
And on cable, MTV's "The Hills" had a strong finish to its season (2.3/6, 3.78m), racking up a big 5.6/14 in women 18-34.
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Brent
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b138260 ... wives.html
The odds have caught up with CSI.
For the first time in five years, the Vegas-set crime show will not finish a season as TV's most-watched scripted show.
The 2007-08 season ends Wednesday night.
Desperate Housewives, much maligned for its own ratings slippage over the past couple of years, should finish the season on top among scripted shows, with 18.2 million viewers.
The odds have caught up with CSI.
For the first time in five years, the Vegas-set crime show will not finish a season as TV's most-watched scripted show.
The 2007-08 season ends Wednesday night.
Desperate Housewives, much maligned for its own ratings slippage over the past couple of years, should finish the season on top among scripted shows, with 18.2 million viewers.
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
QUICK TAKE FOR TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2008 (NATIONAL LIVE + SAME DAY PROGRAM RATINGS)
Released by ABC
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick Take for Tuesday, May 20, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
On the Final Tuesday of the TV Season, ABC Turns in its Strongest Performance on the Night in 6 Months with Viewers and Young Adults
In its Sixth-Season Finale, ABC's "DWTS" Overcomes an "Idol"-Driven Fox and CBS' 2-Hour "NCIS" Season Closer to Win its Slot in Viewers and Adults 18-49
Hitting Season-Highs on the Evening, "DWTS Results" Generates ABC's Top Numbers in the 2-Hour Time Period Since November and 2nd Highest This Season
Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
Posting its top numbers on the night in 6 months (since 11/27/07), ABC earned second place to Fox on the final Tuesday of the season in Total Viewers (16.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11).
"Dancing with the Stars Results" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
In its sixth season finale, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" produced season-high numbers on the night and posted a convincing victory its 2-hour time period in both Total Viewers (19.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/15). The show topped all 4 half-hours in Viewers, and after overcoming an "Idol"-fueled "Hell's Kitchen" at 9:30 p.m. in Adults 18-49, ranked No. 1 in each of its final 3 half-hours in the key young adult sales demo. Also worth noting from 9:00-10:00 p.m., "DWTS" topped the second hour of CBS' 2-hour season finale of "NCIS" by 1.4 million viewers (19.1 million vs. 17.7 million). Surging from its lead-in and gaining audience throughout its telecast, the finale grew by 2.4 million viewers (18.7 million to 21.1 million) and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 to 5.8/16) Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi won the ABC dance competition this season, becoming just the second woman to win the mirror ball trophy in the show's history.
Generating top Tuesday numbers of its sixth season, "Dancing with the Stars" attracted ABC's second-highest numbers in the time period this season, its best results since November since 11/27/07.
On all 9 of its telecasts on the night during its sixth season, "DWTS" qualified as Tuesday's second-most-watched TV show to "American Idol."
Released by ABC
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick Take for Tuesday, May 20, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
On the Final Tuesday of the TV Season, ABC Turns in its Strongest Performance on the Night in 6 Months with Viewers and Young Adults
In its Sixth-Season Finale, ABC's "DWTS" Overcomes an "Idol"-Driven Fox and CBS' 2-Hour "NCIS" Season Closer to Win its Slot in Viewers and Adults 18-49
Hitting Season-Highs on the Evening, "DWTS Results" Generates ABC's Top Numbers in the 2-Hour Time Period Since November and 2nd Highest This Season
Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
Posting its top numbers on the night in 6 months (since 11/27/07), ABC earned second place to Fox on the final Tuesday of the season in Total Viewers (16.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11).
"Dancing with the Stars Results" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
In its sixth season finale, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" produced season-high numbers on the night and posted a convincing victory its 2-hour time period in both Total Viewers (19.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/15). The show topped all 4 half-hours in Viewers, and after overcoming an "Idol"-fueled "Hell's Kitchen" at 9:30 p.m. in Adults 18-49, ranked No. 1 in each of its final 3 half-hours in the key young adult sales demo. Also worth noting from 9:00-10:00 p.m., "DWTS" topped the second hour of CBS' 2-hour season finale of "NCIS" by 1.4 million viewers (19.1 million vs. 17.7 million). Surging from its lead-in and gaining audience throughout its telecast, the finale grew by 2.4 million viewers (18.7 million to 21.1 million) and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 to 5.8/16) Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi won the ABC dance competition this season, becoming just the second woman to win the mirror ball trophy in the show's history.
Generating top Tuesday numbers of its sixth season, "Dancing with the Stars" attracted ABC's second-highest numbers in the time period this season, its best results since November since 11/27/07.
On all 9 of its telecasts on the night during its sixth season, "DWTS" qualified as Tuesday's second-most-watched TV show to "American Idol."
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Brent
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
First pilot reviews!!!!!!!!!!
FRINGE
Every once in a while a pilot comes along that is so perfect, such a shining indication of what the final series will be, so perfectly cast and directed, that it's impossible to look away ... That pilot, ladies and gentlemen, is definitely FOX's phenomenal science-tinged drama Fringe ... In a nutshell, Fringe is The X-Files for the new millennium: eerie, gripping, and still haunting even after the final credits have rolled, albeit containing a humor that never existed in that series ... Ultimately, Fringe is spellbinding television, flawlessly setting up both an intricate overarching mythology (another J.J. Abrams specialty) as well as the possibility for self-contained procedural storytelling, a rare combination and one that will undoubtedly work for the series in the long run...
Read the entire review at http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2008/0 ... ringe.html
LIFE ON MARS
Overall, I was deeply disappointed by Life on Mars' pilot episode. The original had such spark, creativity, and vision--from the overarching plot to the set design, costumes, and visual look of every shot--while the US version seems fairly... generic. It's dully colored puddle of an episode that looks to have been shot on a soundstage and has none of the nail-biting tension, subtle satire (of British cop series like The Sweeney, among other things), or the psychological drama of the brilliant original ... No, Life on Mars seems more like mass-produced, microwavable fare; it's boxed macaroni and cheese: loaded with calories and fat but no soul.
Read the entire review at http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2008/0 ... -mars.html
While The Futon Critic HATED Eleventh Hour which has the plum post-CSI spot on CBS.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080521
FRINGE
Every once in a while a pilot comes along that is so perfect, such a shining indication of what the final series will be, so perfectly cast and directed, that it's impossible to look away ... That pilot, ladies and gentlemen, is definitely FOX's phenomenal science-tinged drama Fringe ... In a nutshell, Fringe is The X-Files for the new millennium: eerie, gripping, and still haunting even after the final credits have rolled, albeit containing a humor that never existed in that series ... Ultimately, Fringe is spellbinding television, flawlessly setting up both an intricate overarching mythology (another J.J. Abrams specialty) as well as the possibility for self-contained procedural storytelling, a rare combination and one that will undoubtedly work for the series in the long run...
Read the entire review at http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2008/0 ... ringe.html
LIFE ON MARS
Overall, I was deeply disappointed by Life on Mars' pilot episode. The original had such spark, creativity, and vision--from the overarching plot to the set design, costumes, and visual look of every shot--while the US version seems fairly... generic. It's dully colored puddle of an episode that looks to have been shot on a soundstage and has none of the nail-biting tension, subtle satire (of British cop series like The Sweeney, among other things), or the psychological drama of the brilliant original ... No, Life on Mars seems more like mass-produced, microwavable fare; it's boxed macaroni and cheese: loaded with calories and fat but no soul.
Read the entire review at http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2008/0 ... -mars.html
While The Futon Critic HATED Eleventh Hour which has the plum post-CSI spot on CBS.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080521
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Re: What are you watching this spring?
Brent wrote:First pilot reviews!!!!!!!!!!
FRINGE
Every once in a while a pilot comes along that is so perfect, such a shining indication of what the final series will be, so perfectly cast and directed, that it's impossible to look away ... That pilot, ladies and gentlemen, is definitely FOX's phenomenal science-tinged drama Fringe ... In a nutshell, Fringe is The X-Files for the new millennium: eerie, gripping, and still haunting even after the final credits have rolled, albeit containing a humor that never existed in that series ... Ultimately, Fringe is spellbinding television, flawlessly setting up both an intricate overarching mythology (another J.J. Abrams specialty) as well as the possibility for self-contained procedural storytelling, a rare combination and one that will undoubtedly work for the series in the long run...
Read the entire review at http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2008/0 ... ringe.html
LIFE ON MARS
Overall, I was deeply disappointed by Life on Mars' pilot episode. The original had such spark, creativity, and vision--from the overarching plot to the set design, costumes, and visual look of every shot--while the US version seems fairly... generic. It's dully colored puddle of an episode that looks to have been shot on a soundstage and has none of the nail-biting tension, subtle satire (of British cop series like The Sweeney, among other things), or the psychological drama of the brilliant original ... No, Life on Mars seems more like mass-produced, microwavable fare; it's boxed macaroni and cheese: loaded with calories and fat but no soul.
Read the entire review at http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2008/0 ... -mars.html
While The Futon Critic HATED Eleventh Hour which has the plum post-CSI spot on CBS.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080521
I'm withholding judgement until the pilots pop up on certain sites for download . ..
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