The repetitive nature of the summer ratings have me so looking forward to the return of full schedules in the fall. Remember what that’s like? When CBS runs more than Big Brother, and The CW offers more than one burn-off episode of Easy Money. It was another week very much like so many of the previous weeks. Each of the big four networks has its summer reality tent-pole, and not a lot more. Meanwhile, over on cable, more good news for True Blood, Warehouse 13, and the Real Housewives. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of the year where it becomes painfully obvious just how lacking the summer television schedule is.  Hopefully, you’re getting some nice weather in the exchange. The good news is that the summer television season is now half over. We can now start counting down the weeks until the fall premieres. As for the numbers, things mostly held to form. Although, there were a few interesting additions on the schedule this week. Hell’s Kitchen, Dating In The Dark, and Ruby And The Rockits all had premieres, while Samantha Who? and Kings had finales. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s really starting to look that way, and I find it rather surprising. Did anyone  see it coming? I like Mark Feuerstein and everything, but my best guess was that the show would enjoy modest success and work as a nice companion to the bigger hit, Burn Notice. So far, that’s just not the case. Last week, Burn Notice (5.8m/1.9) was back to usual levels, but Royal Pains (6.5m/2.1) was up, again. Where will it stop? Meanwhile, on the broadcast networks, it was more of the same. Lots of repeats, and much of the original programming left something to be desired where the numbers were concerned. Read the rest of this entry »

That didn’t take long. When Conan debuted on the Tonight Show, his premiere soundly defeated Letterman. Of course, as expected, the curiosity of the premiere wore off immediately, and the numbers began to drop. Things really got interesting last week as we started seeing the first signs that the late night war is back on. In week 2 for Conan, Letterman actually managed to win a couple nights in the overnight household ratings. NBC is quick to point out that Conan is still tops in the younger demos.

While that is true, it’s worth noting that the last time Letterman managed to top Leno in the overnights was some eight months ago. Considering that the late night shows operate on scales of years, it’s way too early to declare a winner. However, it all does serve to make the late night ratings race, one which Leno had pretty much owned for years, very interesting again. Elsewhere this week, more good news for cable, from The Closer, Burn Notice, and Royal Pains. Back on the networks, The Bachelorette and I’m A Celebrity squared off again, the dancing kids were winners for FOX, and even without Lebron, the NBA was very good to ABC. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve talked about it before, but it’s worth bringing up again as we kick off the summer viewing season. The various CBS crime shows don’t get all the sexy press coverage that things like Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, or Heroes do, but they still manage to compete very well in new episodes. Where they really shine though, is in repeats.

This past week saw CBS as the most watched network, despite only having three hours of non-repeat programming. Even better, with only repeats, they were able to win the demo on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. If you really want to see the power of CBS crimetime, an NCIS repeat on USA was the highest rated scripted show on cable last week, trailing basketball and wrestling. Even better, NCIS was number 6 in the top 20 cable programs. Cable watchers do love their Gibbs. Read the rest of this entry »

And just like that, finale season is upon us. Over the next few weeks, all of our favorite shows will be pulling out all the stops and heading off into the summer break, with hopes of returning for another go in the fall. Some of them, no doubt, will be disappointed in that regard. Aside from the marriages, pregnancies, and lives left hanging in the balance, finales are interesting from a ratings perspective because they provide the possibilities of a numbers boost. One last data point to point to as you make the case that this show shouldn’t be canceled. NBC got the ball rolling last week as Chuck and Heroes both fired off their finale salvos. The results were something less than stellar. The news was better for Fringe, the NCIS spinoff, and the CW Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »

It was another up and down week for numbers, where we saw some shows rebound (Heroes, Lost), while others continue to raise eyebrows (Better Off Ted, Samantha Who?, CSI). Through it all, the most intriguing story is again the FOX Friday night. Prison Break took over where Terminator:TSCC left off, literally and figuratively. What does that mean for Dollhouse? Elsewhere, ABC has a strange mess on their hands with a handful of both comedies and dramas that are all returning mediocre numbers at best, with no clear standouts. How do you decide what to keep? Read the rest of this entry »