Pending updates from the official national ratings for the weekend, we expect CBS to win the week of January 2-8, 2012 comfortably. NBC will finish in second place, thanks to a Saturday night prime time NFL playoff game, which bailed out its week. The numbers below reflect final ratings for Monday-Thursday and adjusted fast nationals for Friday-Sunday (our estimates of what we think the NFL and other live programming will go up to in the official nationals tomorrow.) ABC has to be disappointed by its weak third-place showing because most of its schedule was back in originals this first week in January (unlike most of the competition). FOX, which had mostly originals, can't be too surprised or upset -- it didn't have the NFC wild card in early Sunday prime time like it did last January, and the network will get back in gear when American Idol jump starts the schedule and ushers in original episodes of the rest of the line up later this month.
Estimated Prime Time Weekly Averages
CBS NBC ABC FOX CW
Jan 2-8, 2012 3.0 2.7 2.2 1.4 0.6
Jan 3-9, 2011 2.3 3.1 2.3 2.8 ---
Last year, NBC won this week with a slightly higher Saturday wild card game but mostly because of much better performance on Tuesday and Wednesday nights (with healthier Biggest Loser, Parenthood and L&O SVU franchises). CBS benefited from having the late Sunday playoff game this year (FOX had it last year) but also had more original series on this week and fewer marginal specials (Live to Dance and People's Choice Awards).
The Sked: Estimated Weekly Prime Ratings -- January 2-8
THE SKED: Broadcast Ratings September 12-18
The week before the big network Premiere Week has NBC in first with about a 2.7 Adult 18-49 rating for the week and the other three major broadcasters at about a 1.7 rating. NBC was helped by another very good Sunday Night Football game (Atlanta defeating Philadelphia in a close contest and the return of Michael Vick to Atlanta) as well as the finale of America's Got Talent and a solid preview of the comedy Up All Night.
ABC stayed in the game thanks to the finale of Wipeout and a terrific 3 rating on Saturday night for college football. FOX had the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday at about a 4 rating against NFL football's 9+ rating. The exact number for the Emmy Awards will be available tomorrow after the time zones are tabulated correctly. FOX followed NBC's lead of broadcasting the awards show live in the West at 5 pm PT and replaying the telecast at 8 pm PT (ratings of both feeds in effect are combined). NBC pioneered this format with the Golden Globes and did it again last year when it had the Emmys.
CBS also tied for second for the week with good performances by the Survivor premiere, Big Brother finale, Big Bang Theory repeats (which bodes extremely well for its premiere this week), and a football-delayed 60 Minutes on Sunday. Finally, The CW, with its early premieres of its dramas, almost tripled its weekly average from a 0.3 in the summer to a 0.8 this week.
The new season gets under way TONIGHT with multiple Monday premieres. We will repost our Monday ratings projection later this afternoon.
Estimated Non-Official Weekly Network Averages
Adult 18-49 rating
Week of ABC CBS NBC FOX CW
June 13 1.2 1.1 2.0 1.6 0.3
June 20 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.4 0.3
June 27 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.2 0.3
July 4 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 0.3
July 11 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 0.3
July 18 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5 0.3
July 25 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 0.3
Aug 1 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.3
Aug 8 1.35 1.45 1.22 1.80 0.3
Aug 15 1.28 1.41 1.64 1.81 0.3
Aug 22 1.45 1.67 1.77 1.17 0.3
Aug 29 1.41 1.30 1.25 1.07 0.3
Sep 5 1.38 1.53 3.80 1.52 0.3
Sep 12 1.71 1.67 2.72 1.67 0.8
The second chart below lists the hit network shows by night (those programs at or near a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating or higher).
ABC Bachelor Pad 1.9
Tue: NBC America's Got Talent 3.8
NBC Parenthood premiere 2.2
ABC Wipeout 2.0
NBC Up All Night preview 3.7
NBC Free Agents preview 2.1
CBS Survivor premiere 3.4
CBS Big Bang Theory repeat 8:30 2.6
Sat: ABC NCAA FB OKLAHOMA-FLORIDA ST 3.0
Sun: NBC NFL PHI-ATL 9.4 (est. from fast national)
FOX Primetime Emmy Awards 4.0 (est. from fast nationals)
CBS 60 Minutes 2.6 (7:30-8:30 est. from fast nationals)
THE SKED: WEDNESDAYS This Fall
At ABC, we have raised the ratings projection for Suburgatory and Revenge but reduced Happy Endings one-tenth of a rating point each. The net effect on ABC's Wednesday night average is minimal. CBS ratings projections are the same as we issued in May, as the three shows are returning, known quantities. On NBC we have raised Up All Night, thinking the heavy promotion and tinkering with the series' workplace arena are positives. Free Agents has the same projection, meaning its fall-off from Up All Night will be even steeper and prompt a quicker call to the bullpen. FOX is basically the same as the May projections, with X-Factor a solid but not dominant force.
An important note: the ratings estimates are for original episodes across the entire Fall (from mid-September through mid-December). Generally, a series will premiere at a high level and then settle into a more normal number by week four-six. The important number to look at as the season unfolds is the average-to-date column at the far right. By the time episode four rolls around, look at the average of episodes one-four and you should have a pretty good idea how the fall -- and the entire season -- will sort out. CW shows are not currently estimated because we have incomplete historical data for the network's time periods. CW estimates should be available later this season or early next season.
WEDNESDAY FALL 2011 Estimates Episode Rating
May Sep #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 Avg
ABC
800 The Middle 2.7 2.7 9/21
830 Suburgatory 2.3 2.4 9/28
900 Modern Family 4.6 4.6 9/21
930 Happy Endings 3.0 2.9 9/28
1000 Revenge 2.2 2.3 9/21
CBS
800 Survivor 3.6 3.6 9/14
900 Criminal Minds 3.7 3.7 9/21
1000 CSI 2.6 2.6 9/21
NBC
800 Up All Night 1.9 2.1 9/14
830 Free Agents 1.6 1.6 9/14
900 Harry's Law 2.2 2.2 9/21
1000 L&O SVU 2.3 2.3 9/21
FOX
800 X-Factor 3.3 3.3 9/21
900 X-Factor 3.7 3.7
930 Hate My Teenge 2.6 2.5 11/30
CW
800 H8R n/a n/a 9/14
900 Next Top Model n/a n/a 9/14
Click below to read the UPDATED RATINGS PROJECTIONS for the other nights of the week:
THE SKED: MONDAYS This Fall
In one week, the curtain goes up on the new television season. To get you ready for the madness of Premiere Week on broadcast television, we have summarized the ShowBuzzDaily ratings estimates for MONDAYS this Fall. The first column in the chart below includes the original estimates from late May (after the network upfront presentations to advertisers), while the second column includes some tweaks we have made based on the quality of the pilot, our sense of how the series will hold up over time, and reaction to on-air promotion and marketing over the summer.
The main change in our estimates for Monday nights is the reduction of the expected rating for ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Reaction to the casting for this cycle has been rather muted. While we don't expect ratings to crash, the overall numbers should be down a touch. Most of the lost audience ends up on The Sing-Off on NBC according to our estimates, although the NBC numbers remain soft. We have raised the estimates for most of the CBS comedies given the extra attention the addition of Ashton Kutcher has received for Two and a Half Men, as well as the strong promotion for 2 Broke Girls. On FOX, we have reduced the ratings estimate for Terra Nova. While we continue to think the time-traveling, prehistoric family drama will open well, we continue to feel the series is vulnerable and unsustainable.
An important note: the ratings estimates are for original episodes across the entire Fall (from mid-September through mid-December). Generally, a series will premiere at a high level and then settle into a more normal number by week four-six. The important number to look at as the season unfolds is the average-to-date column at the far right. By the time episode four rolls around, look at the average of episodes one-four and you should have a pretty good idea how the fall -- and the entire season -- will sort out.
MONDAY FALL 2011 Estimates Episode Rating
May Sep #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 Avg
ABC
800 Dancing 3.7 3.6
900 Dancing 4.4 4.2
1000 Castle 2.6 2.6
CBS
800 How I Met 3.3 3.3
830 2 Broke Girls 3.0 3.2
900 2.5 Men 4.1 4.2
930 Mike & Molly 3.4 3.6
1000 Hawaii Five-O 2.7 2.7
NBC
800 The Sing-Off 2.2 2.3
900 The Sing-Off 2.4 2.5
1000 Playboy Club 2.1 2.1
FOX
800 Terra Nova 2.7 2.5
900 House 3.4 3.3
CW
800 Gossip Girl n/a n/a
900 Hart of Dixie n/a n/a
Click below to read the UPDATED RATINGS PROJECTIONS for the other nights of the week:
THE SKED: New Fall Show On-Air Promotion -- Update through Sep 11
With network on-air promotion activity tracked in hit summer shows (those near or above a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating) for about seven weeks since mid-July, the networks' promotional priorities are summarized below.
As we head into Premiere Week starting Monday, September 19, NBC has put the vast majority of on-air promotion time in recent days toward Up All Night, which gets an early preview this Wednesday (September 14) at 10:00 pm after the season finale of America's Got Talent. Up All Night is now up to 840 promotional seconds within hit summer programs on NBC, still clearly the #1 new show priority for the network. Free Agents follows Up All Night on Wednesday at 10:30 and has received only 200 seconds since mid-July. NBC is obviously hoping Free Agents benefits from a pumped-up lead-in, but comedy at 10:30 has always proved difficult as people rapidly turn off the television and prepare for bed during the 10 pm hour. Look for a steep drop at 10:30, although the final verdict on both comedies can't be determined until they have settled into their regular 8:00 and 8:30 pm time periods for several weeks.
ABC continues to heavily push Revenge (now up to 735 promotional seconds since mid-July). This kind of massive bombardment can often boost the rating of the first episode, but if the show does not live up to the advertising, the audience declines in weeks two through four can be massive, making all the promotional activity a waste of time. In fact, regardless of how much marketing support a new show gets, it is wise to not pay undue attention to the premiere telecast. As noted above, weeks two through four (and sometimes six) provide the best indication of how a show will fare throughout the fall and the entire season, if the new show makes it that far.
CBS continues to place almost equal bets on Person of Interest and Unforgettable (each with 500-540 promotional seconds). Please note, the promo totals for each show are not directly comparable across networks because the number of hours measured for each network varies. (That is, some networks have more hit-level hours than others do.) Nonetheless, the promo-second counts are indeed comparable within a network's list of shows.
FOX on-air promotion tallies are unchanged from last week due to DVR error.
In Hit Summer Shows since July 19
Terra Nova 610
NBC Up All Night 840++
Whitney 615+
Prime Suspect 550
Playboy Club 450
Sing-Off 445+
Free Agents 200
CBS Person of Interest 540+
Unforgettable 500+
2 Broke Girls 360+
A Gifted Man 230
How Be Gentleman 170
ABC Revenge 735++
Charlie's Angels 375
Suburgatory 360
Pan Am 315
Once Upon a Time 120
Last Man Standing 105
Note: New fall series not listed
have not been promoted in hit summer
shows during this date span.
To see the list of shows in which
promotion activity is tracked, see
the Summer Broadcast Ratings update.
For reports on all the new network series (and even busted pilots), go to THE SKED PILOT REPORT!
THE SKED: Summer Broadcast Ratings Sep 5-11
The NFL season kicked off Thursday, and NBC was the prime beneficiary this week. The Peacock carried the season opener on Thursday night and the premiere of Sunday Night Football, with both games delivering about a 10 rating with young adults. NBC will average close to a 4 rating for the week, thanks to the two prime time football games and the second-to-last week of America's Got Talent episodes. ABC was close to its summer averages, airing mostly its normal schedule, while CBS and FOX will average over a 1.5 rating for the week. CBS benefited from a Sunday night special about the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 (a 3.6 rating for two hours -- a particularly solid number versus the NBC NFL game), and FOX was boosted by a solid NFL runover of the 4 pm game (a 7.2 rating for a half hour at 7:00 pm Sunday).
Estimated Non-Official Weekly Network Averages
Adult 18-49 rating
Week of ABC CBS NBC FOX CW
June 13 1.2 1.1 2.0 1.6 0.3
June 20 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.4 0.3
June 27 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.2 0.3
July 4 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 0.3
July 11 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 0.3
July 18 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5 0.3
July 25 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 0.3
Aug 1 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.3
Aug 8 1.35 1.45 1.22 1.80 0.3
Aug 15 1.28 1.41 1.64 1.81 0.3
Aug 22 1.45 1.67 1.77 1.17 0.3
Aug 29 1.41 1.30 1.25 1.07 0.3
Sep 5 1.38 1.53 3.80 1.52 0.3
The second chart below lists the hit network shows by night (those programs at or near a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating or higher).
ABC Bachelor Pad 1.9
Tue: NBC America's Got Talent 3.1
ABC Wipeout 2.0
Thu: NBC NFL NO-GB 10.9
CBS Big Brother 2.4 Sun: NBC NFL DAL-NYJ 10.0 (est. from fast national)
FOX NFL 7:00-7:30 7.2
FOX The OT 4.4
CBS 9/11: 10 Years Later 3.6
FOX The Simpsons 2.4
FOX The Family Guy 2.0
THE SKED: Summer Broadcast Ratings Update Aug 29-Sep 4
Well, preseason NFL football was fun while it lasted. The broadcast week just concluded (August 29-September 4) saw network weekly ratings come crashing down to earth. FOX wilted to a summer low 1.1 weekly average, with only one hour of Hell's Kitchen above a 2.0 young adult rating. CBS and NBC saw similar declines without football. ABC actually won the week with only a 1.4 rating, a number supported by the opening college football Saturday night game (LSU at Oregon). The game averaged a 2.6 in the fast nationals, and we are estimating that number will rise to a 2.8 (or 2.9) when the west coast numbers are correctly accounted for in the nationals. (In telecasts live to all time zones, the Pacific and Mountain viewing is not correctly measured in the fast nationals because of the unusual network feed pattern.)
Estimated Non-Official Weekly Network Averages
Adult 18-49 rating
Week of ABC CBS NBC FOX CW
June 13 1.2 1.1 2.0 1.6 0.3
June 20 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.4 0.3
June 27 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.2 0.3
July 4 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 0.3
July 11 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 0.3
July 18 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5 0.3
July 25 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 0.3
Aug 1 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.3
Aug 8 1.35 1.45 1.22 1.80 0.3
Aug 15 1.28 1.41 1.64 1.81 0.3
Aug 22 1.45 1.67 1.77 1.17 0.3
Aug 29 1.41 1.30 1.25 1.07 0.3
With Labor Day in the rear view mirror, television usage levels (Homes Using Television, HUT, and Persons Using Television, PUT) start their climb back up to fall levels quickly over the next few weeks, just in time for Premiere Week. The seasonal patterns in TV viewing are as old as the medium -- these patterns have been the same for decades and are the most predictable component of TV ratings. Speaking of Premiere Week, ShowBuzzDaily will cover the daily roll-out of new shows, and we will compare our ratings predictions from back in May to the verdicts delivered by the only jury that counts: the 10,000 homes in the national Nielsen sample.
ABC Bachelor Pad 2.0
Tue: NBC America's Got Talent 3.1
ABC Wipeout 2.0
Sun: CBS Big Brother 2.4
THE SKED: Summer Broadcast Ratings Update August 22-28
The broadcast week just concluded (August 22-28) was all about NFL preseason football again. FOX did not have any games this week and has lost MasterChef, dropping the network's weekly average to around a 1.2 -- down from a 1.8 the last two weeks. In contrast, NBC rose to almost a 1.8 for the week thanks to a solid Sunday Night Football game featuring New Orleans at Oakland. This is NBC's best weekly performance since the third week of June. CBS, with two NFL games on lower-rated Friday and Saturday nights, averaged almost a 1.7 for the week.
Estimated Non-Official Weekly Network Averages
Adult 18-49 rating
Week of ABC CBS NBC FOX CW
June 13 1.2 1.1 2.0 1.6 0.3
June 20 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.4 0.3
June 27 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.2 0.3
July 4 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 0.3
July 11 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 0.3
July 18 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5 0.3
July 25 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 0.3
Aug 1 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.3
Aug 8 1.35 1.45 1.22 1.80 0.3
Aug 15 1.28 1.41 1.64 1.81 0.3
Aug 22 1.45 1.67 1.77 1.17 0.3
ABC Bachelor Pad 1.9
Tue: NBC America's Got Talent 3.3
ABC Wipeout 2.0
THE SKED: Summer Broadcast Ratings Update August 15-21
The broadcast week just concluded (August 15-21) was all about NFL preseason football, with FOX winning the week with a 1.8 Adult 18-49 rating and NBC a close second with a 1.6 rating that might round up to a 1.7. FOX had a strong game Thursday (Philadelphia at Pittsburgh in the battle of Pennsylvania) and a rather irrelevant game Friday (Atlanta at Jacksonville), while NBC's Sunday game featured San Diego at Dallas.
The FOX NFL action made up for the loss of So You Think You Can Dance (which had its finale last week). Big Brother continues to strengthen for CBS; the Wednesday edition widened its lead over Wednesday's America's Got Talent results show to six-tenths of a ratings point. ABC, without any special shows or football, continues to struggle.
Adult 18-49 rating
Week of ABC CBS NBC FOX CW
June 13 1.2 1.1 2.0 1.6 0.3
June 20 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.4 0.3
June 27 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.2 0.3
July 4 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 0.3
July 11 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 0.3
July 18 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5 0.3
July 25 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 0.3
Aug 1 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.3
Aug 8 1.35 1.45 1.22 1.80 0.3
Aug 15 1.28 1.41 1.64 1.81 0.3
The second chart below lists the hit network shows by night (those programs at a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating or higher).
ABC Bachelor Pad 2.1
Tue: NBC America's Got Talent 2.9
FOX MasterChef 2.6 (finale)
ABC Wipeout 2.0
Wed: NBC America's Got Talent 2.5
CBS Big Brother 3.1
Thu: CBS Big Brother 2.9
FOX NFL Preseason PHI-PIT 3.1
Sun: CBS Big Brother 3.3
NBC NFL Preseason SD-DAL 3.5 (est adjusted fast nationals)
THE SKED: Summer Broadcast Ratings Update August 8-14
The broadcast week just concluded (August 8-14) was won by FOX, thanks to the finale of So You Think You Can Dance and NFL Preseason football on Friday (Tampa Bay at Kansas City). The 1.6 rating for football does not sound like a great number but it is a great time period improvement on a tough night.
CBS benefited from a good week for Big Brother and an hour-plus runover Sunday of PGA golf, the last major golf tournament of the year. The 1.7 (approximate rating) for PGA playoff tie-breaking action improved the time period and lifted 60 Minutes and Big Brother, which benefited from an improved lead-in and moving into higher-viewed time periods.
ABC and NBC continued to have ho-hum weeks.
Adult 18-49 rating
Week of ABC CBS NBC FOX CW
June 13 1.2 1.1 2.0 1.6 0.3
June 20 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.4 0.3
June 27 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.2 0.3
July 4 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 0.3
July 11 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 0.3
July 18 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5 0.3
July 25 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 0.3
Aug 1 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.3
Aug 8 1.35 1.45 1.22 1.80 0.3
The second chart below lists the hit network shows by night (those programs at a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating or higher).
ABC Bachelor Pad 9-10 pm 2.4, 10-11 pm 2.3
Tue: NBC America's Got Talent 3.0
FOX Hell's Kitchen 2.8, MasterChef 2.5
ABC Wipeout 2.0
Wed: NBC America's Got Talent 2.5
CBS Big Brother 2.8
FOX So You Think You Can Dance 9-10 pm 2.0
Thu: CBS Big Brother 2.7
ABC So You Think You Can Dance 8-10 pm 2.0 (finale)
Sun: CBS Big Brother 2.5 (special time 9-10 pm due to PGA golf)
CBS 60 Minutes 2.0 (special time 8-9 pm due to PGA golf)
THE SKED: New Fall Show On-Air Promotion -- Update through August 11
With network on-air promotion activity tracked in hit summer shows (those near or above a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating) for about four weeks since mid-July, the networks' promotional priorities are summarized below.
NBC continues its three-tier approach to its new fall shows. Tier 1 is made up of the new comedies Up All Night (with fewer but more impactful :30s) and Whitney (with more frequent but shorter :15s throughout most nights). Both comedies feature zero footage from the pilots in the promos, opting instead for special-shoot promos (slice of life scenes about exhausted new parents for Up All Night and Whitney talking to the camera about women and men and their relationships). Both approaches are moderately funny at best, and it is not a good sign that marketing has already exhausted the comedy gold from the pilots in earlier spots. Tier 2 is made up of the dramas Playboy Club and Prime Suspect, with Playboy moving slightly ahead of Suspect. Playboy uses almost exclusively footage from the pilot, with each spot introducing a different character. Prime Suspect spots use a combination of pilot footage and special material of Maria Bello talking to the camera. Tier 3 is comprised of the also-ran comedy Free Agents and The Sing-Off.
FOX continues to heavily promote X-Factor and New Girl at high levels, with Terra Nova close behind.
Over at CBS, Unforgettable and Person of Interest receive the most promo time (with mostly :30 spots), while 2 Broke Girls is starting to see more :30 spots with small scenes cut from the pilot. Friday night's A Gifted Man and now How to Be a Gentleman form a very meager bottom tier.
At ABC, Revenge still is the #1 priority, although Charlie's Angels is catching up fast. With no activity this week, Suburgatory and Pan Am now form a second priority tier. Once Upon a Time and Last Man Standing comprise a third and final tier.
Keep checking back each week, as these numbers will be updated cumulatively.
ON-AIR PROMOTION SCORECARD
Fall Series Promos (in seconds)
In Hit Summer Shows since July 19
FOX X-Factor 680
New Girl 600
Terra Nova 500
NBC Up All Night 360
Whitney 305
Playboy Club 275 (up one place)
Prime Suspect 265
Free Agents 150
Sing-Off 120
CBS Unforgettable 185
Person of Interest 180
2 Broke Girls 160
A Gifted Man 50
How Be Gentleman 10
ABC Revenge 240
Charlie's Angels 195
Suburgatory 120 (no activity)
Pan Am 105 (no activity)
Once Upon a Time 60 (no activity)
Last Man Standing 45
Note: New fall series not listed
have not been promoted in hit summer
shows during this date span.
To see the list of shows in which
promotion activity is tracked, see
the Summer Broadcast Ratings update.
THE SKED: New Fall Show On-Air Promotion -- Update through August 8
With network on-air promotion activity tracked in hit summer shows (those at or above a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating) for about three weeks since mid-July, the networks' promotional priorities are summarized below.
FOX continues to heavily promote X-Factor and New Girl at high levels, although Terra Nova has been catching up over the last week. In fact, FOX devoted a full 60-second promo to the prehistoric family drama (emphasizing the family drama aspects) in MasterChef last night. A :60 promo, rarely seen on network TV, is the ultimate sign of commitment and allows the marketing department the time to tell a real story about the series. In addition, X-Factor receives mostly :45 promos, while New Girl has a somewhat higher frequency of spots in the :20 and :30 format.
NBC continues a three-tier approach to its new fall shows. Tier 1 is made up of the new comedies Up All Night and Whitney. Tier 2 are the dramas Prime Suspect and Playboy Club, while Tier 3 is comprised of the comedy Free Agents and The Sing-Off. NBC is using mostly :15 and :30 promo lengths for its new series in each tier.
Over at CBS, Unforgettable and Person of Interest receive the most promo time (with mostly :30 spots), while 2 Broke Girls is assigned a lot of :10 and :20 promos, mostly hammering away at the creative auspices of the show. Friday night's A Gifted Man continues to be an afterthought.
At ABC, Revenge still is the #1 priority, in fact receiving a full :60 spot at the end of Bachelor Pad's premiere last night. Charlie's Angels, Suburgatory and Pan Am come in at a level slightly behind Revenge's, while Sunday night's Once Upon a Time has been a fairly low priority to date. Curiously, although we added Wipeout to the list of program examined this week (a much more male audience than the very female Monday lineup), Tim Allen's Last Man Standing is almost a forgotten, at least in the highly-rated shows we are looking at. However, one would think Last Man would be getting more attention in these 2.0+-rated shows at this point.
Keep checking back each week, as these numbers will be updated cumulatively.
ON-AIR PROMOTION SCORECARD
Fall Series Promos (in seconds)
In Hit Summer Shows since July 19
FOX X-Factor 485
New Girl 485
Terra Nova 400
NBC Up All Night 260
Whitney 235
Prime Suspect 190
Playboy Club 185
Free Agents 105
Sing-Off 90
CBS Unforgettable 160
Person of Interest 150
2 Broke Girls 110
A Gifted Man 30
ABC Revenge 180
Charlie's Angels 120
Suburgatory 120
Pan Am 105
Once Upon a Time 60
Last Man Standing 15
Note: New fall series not listed
have not been promoted in hit summer
shows during this date span.
To see the list of shows in which
promotion activity is tracked, see
the Summer Broadcast Ratings update.
THE SKED: Summer Broadcast Ratings Update August 1-7
The broadcast week just concluded (August 1-7) had ABC and FOX battling for first place in Adults 18-49 (such as first place is in the dead of summer). FOX came down because Sunday's animated comedies (usually around a high-1 rating and occasionally a 2 rating) were replaced by the Teen Choice Awards (a meager 1.1 rating). ABC came up to FOX's level for the week thanks to the Bachelorette finale night Monday and two original Wipeout episodes. NBC fell to a summer low. Although America's Got Talent on Tuesday remains hot, the results show on Wednesday fell to Big Brother's level and there is nothing else on NBC Wednesday to make the night a dominant one.
On Saturday (a night rarely worth talking about), NBC tried an original movie ("Who Is Simon Miller?"), one of those advertiser-supplied masterpieces. While great for the advertiser and cheap for the network, these efforts are more often than not creatively weak (to put it nicely). Despite fairly decent on-air network promotion, the movie did a 0.5 rating each half hour from 8-10 pm, which is somewhat below what the network does in that time period. This movie isn't the main reason the week was a bad one, but it certainly didn't help. Click on "Read more" the see the complete chart.
Adult 18-49 rating
Week of ABC CBS NBC FOX CW
June 13 1.2 1.1 2.0 1.6 0.3
June 20 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.4 0.3
June 27 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.2 0.3
July 4 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.3 0.3
July 11 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 0.3
July 18 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.5 0.3
July 25 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 0.3
Aug 1 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.3
The second chart below lists the hit network shows by night (those programs at a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating or higher). One note, starting this week Bachelor Pad will replace Bachelorette on the ABC Monday schedule. These are the shows we concentrate on in our study of on-air promotion priorities for each network. The series promoted within the highly-rated real estate tells a lot about the commitment to each fall show. The next update on On-Air Promotion Priorities will be available tomorrow.
ABC Bachelorette (finale night) 2.7
Tue: NBC America's Got Talent 3.1
FOX Hell's Kitchen 2.7, MasterChef 2.5
ABC Wipeout 2.0
Wed: NBC America's Got Talent 2.5
CBS Big Brother 2.5
Thu: CBS Big Brother 2.8
ABC Wipeout 2.0
Sun: CBS Big Brother 2.8
THE SKED: New Fall Show On-Air Promotion -- August 1 Update
With network on-air promotion activity tracked in hit summer shows (those at or above a 2.0 Adult 18-49 rating) for the second half of July, each network's marketing strategies are becoming clearer.
FOX, with only a 15-hour a week schedule to support, continues to pound away at three new series: X-Factor and New Girl at a very high level and Terra Nova one notch below. The table below summarizes the number of seconds devoted to on-air promotion within hit summer shows (Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef and So You Think You Can Dance in FOX's case).
In contrast, NBC is promoting more shows (it has more holes to fill in its 22-hour schedule) in two basic tiers. The top tier includes new comedies Up All Night and Whitney and the Thursday at 10 drama Prime Suspect, which had been the network's #1 priority by a hair last week in terms of on-air promo time. The second tier contains Playboy Club, Free Agents, and to some extent The Sing-Off (which arguably could be a third tier).
CBS is promoting four shows, with three receiving the most promotion time (dramas Person of Interest and Unforgettable, followed closely by the comedy 2 Broke Girls). Note, however, CBS's overall new show promo time is quite light as a ridiculous amount of promo time can be called "Julie Chen time": promos for the 24/7 Big Brother online feed (a tidy profit center) and even promos for The Talk.
At ABC, Revenge still leads the way, although three other new series (two dramas and a comedy) are close behind. Starting this week, promos within Wipeout will be added to the ABC analysis.
Keep checking back each week, as these numbers will be updated cumulatively.
ON-AIR PROMOTION SCORECARD
Fall Series Promos (in seconds)
In Hit Summer Shows since July 19
FOX X-Factor 285
New Girl 280
Terra Nova 200
NBC + Up All Night 170
+ Whitney 160
- Prime Suspect 140
Playboy Club 95
Free Agents 75
Sing-Off 45
CBS Person of Interest 70
Unforgettable 70
2 Broke Girls 60
A Gifted Man 25
ABC Revenge 90
Charlie's Angels 60
Suburgatory 60
Pan Am 60
Once Upon a Time 30
Note: New fall series not listed
have not been promoted in hit summer
shows during this date span.
To see the list of shows in which
promotion activity is tracked, see
the Summer Broadcast Ratings update.