Baseball threw FOX--sorry--a curveball, but there was plenty of bad news for everyone last night.
FOX: Since the playoff game lasted until 8:52PM eastern time, it isn't clear why FOX didn't just fill in the 8 minutes left in the hour and go straight to House at 9PM. But for whatever reason, they ran their full schedule, and the result was the lowest-rated TERRA NOVA to date, and a terrible HOUSE number that came in 3rd place for the hour and ran (in preliminary ratings) 40% off last week's season premiere. Also, a lot of angry DVR users.
ABC: As Mitch Metcalf has noted, the current ABC number is illusory, because it includes the hugely inflated rating for Detroit, which was actually watching ESPN's football coverage. But ABC fans should cherish these numbers while they last, because even with the inflation, DANCING WITH THE STARS was only even with last week, and CASTLE was down almost 10%. So there isn't any good news coming.
NBC: Can you say "catastrophe"? THE SING-OFF actually found a way to go down more than 20% from last week, and only close friends of Maria Bello watched the repeat of PRIME SUSPECT. It's worth noting that post-football, NBC expects Monday to be its marquee night of the week, with The Voice leading into Smash. They're certainly not doing anything to prepare the way.
CBS: Even The Network of Stability took a hit last night. The only drop that amounted to more than a blip, though, was the near-20% decline for HAWAII 5-0--but that show had a good excuse, as it was facing unscheduled competition from House.
CW: The network sells its advertising on the basis of Woman 18-34 rather than the Adults 18-49s that the other broadcast networks use, but still: the fact is that CW is still being outrated by many cable networks (which have the benefit of subscription fees to supplement their ad revenues). Last night, GOSSIP GIRL was down more than 30% from last season's average, and it's not clear how the economics of the network can continue to work this way.
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