After a summer of wondering what the result of NBC just giving up on the 10 PM hour would be, we now have our first look at the numbers. Jay Leno started with a bang (over 18 million viewers), and then quickly started the slow grind to reality. The week also saw the premieres of One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Biggest Loser, The Beautiful Life, SNL: News, Parks & Rec, The Office, Community, Bones, and Fringe. Some of those were more successful than others. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not sure when the “official” start to the new television season is supposed to be. The schedules really get crazy next week, but personally, I consider it last week. We finally have some premiere numbers to start talking about. Not a lot of them, but the ones we did see were rather interesting. And interesting on both sides of the coin. Some shows had reason to celebrate (Glee, Vampire Diaries), while others have cause for concern (90210, Melrose Place). Others (SYTYCD, Next Top Model, Supernatural) fell somewhere in the middle. Over on cable, the week was very good for FX and the crew down at Sons Of Anarchy HQ. Read the rest of this entry »

Finally. The weather turned to complete crap in my little burg this weekend, which can only mean one thing: Fall TV premieres are on the horizon! Next week we’ll have numbers for the new seasons of 90210, Melrose Place, Next Top Model, So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, Vampire Diaries, and Supernatural(!). Until then, we have one last reality-heavy week to look at. There is a small bonus though … we did get our first look at Glee, Fringe, and Medium in their new time slots. They were repeat airings, but interesting just the same. Over on cable, more records as Bravo and Food had great months, and the NFL scored for ESPN. Read the rest of this entry »

Seriously, what the heck is going on with True Blood? Where do all of these people keep coming from? The show managed to set another series high this week, with 5.3 million viewers. That alone is cause for celebration. Even better, the DVDs continue to sell like hotcakes. In its 13th week of release, the season was still the number one TV show. That set has now racked up over $40 million in sales. It’s crazy. But that was just one of the many stories from cable last week. We also saw huge numbers for the Wizards of Waverly Place movie, records for Warehouse 13 and Burn Notice, and new seasons announced for Leverage and Drop Dead Diva. Over at the networks … well, we’re getting close to the fall premieres. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s another week where the ratings news from cable is much more interesting than anything happening on the networks. The big story was the premiere of Project Runway (finally) on Lifetime, but there was plenty more fun to be had. Also getting in on the premiere game was Mad Men, Kourtney and Khloe, Hoarders, Ghost Hunters, and Flipping Out. There were also finales for Hawthorne, and Saving Grace. All that, plus records for True Blood, and the Degrassi kids. The networks countered with Octomom, and Shaq Vs. But not Shaq vs. Octomom, although I wouldn’t rule that out at this point. Read the rest of this entry »

The big news in ratings this week wasn’t another series high for True Blood, the further decline of Defying Gravity, or even the return of Millionaire. Instead, it was the announcement that several big media and advertising companies are joining forces to create an alternative to Nielsen. My kneejerk reaction? The announcement is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Well, then again, I suppose it signifies that the networks are pissed about shrinking audiences. Unfortunately, finding a new way to measure shrinking audiences won’t do anything to fix the problem. Read the rest of this entry »

You know spies — bunch of bitchy little girls. And this week in the ratings post, our favorite spies were beaten by some little girls. It was very close though, if that makes the shot to the ego a little easier to take for Sam and Michael. Those two were the headlines for what was a big week on cable. Also clocking in with records were True Blood, Warehouse 13, Kendra, Nurse Jackie, and Tori & Dean. Back on the networks, there weren’t really a lot of records to be had. Reality continued to rule with good outings from America’s Got Talent, Hell’s Kitchen, and So You Think You Can Dance. Read the rest of this entry »