Movie Box Review

A very good night for network television last night as three of four broadcast networks were up substantially over this night last year.  NBC averaged a 6.7 Adult 18-49 rating in the fast nationals Sunday night, and we are giving that a preliminary official national adjustment up to a 7.5 rating (well over the 6.0 official national rating for last year).  CBS had the NFL late afternoon game over-run and took full advantage of it with the 60 Minutes interview of Bernie Madoff's wife and son.  CBS averaged a 3.7 rating for the night (up from a 2.4 last year).  With Once Upon a Time working well, ABC averaged a 2.5 for the night (up from 2.2 last year).  FOX was the only down network, averaging a 2.7 last night (compared to a 5.3 last year with the late afternoon NFL game and the World Series).  Updated sweep standings follow.  Note that NBC is in second place four nights in, but the best time to judge relative placement of the networks is 7 nights and 14 nights into the sweep period.

           NOVEMBER SWEEP SCORECARD
          2011 vs 2010 Through Day 4 of 28

                 2011    2010
          FOX     4.9     3.8     +30%
          CBS     2.3     2.2     + 6%
          ABC     2.2     2.3     - 4%
          NBC     3.1     2.7     +13% 

ABC had a very good rating from week two of Once Upon a Time (3.9 fast national rating, compared to a 4.0 premiere last week). Desperate Housewives (3.1) and Pan Am (1.9) were each up a tenth of a rating point from last week.

CBS enjoyed a 9.1 rating from 7:00-7:30 (New England at Pittsburgh), and 60 Minutes (airing 30 minutes late) averaged a 4.2 rating.  The show was very well programmed with two segments featuring Bernie Madoff's estranged wife and son and a segment about a Boston University linebacker's battle with cancer.  Amazing Race did a solid 2.9, while Good Wife and CSI Miami drifted down to a 2.0 each.

NBC's football game (Dallas at Philadelphia) featured great markets and teams but a horribly lopsided game.  But the play on the field mattered less than the teams involved or the point spread that had to be covered: the game portion of NBC's night averaged an 8.2 in the fast nationals, which is certain to go up to a high-8 at the very least.  Last year's football game on this night averaged a 7.3 in the official nationals.

FOX's "Animation Domination" tagline really only applies to the 8:00 half hour last night.  The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" turned in a solid 4.0 rating, while Allen Gregory premiered immediately following at only a 2.4.  Family Guy bounced back to a 3.2 (good but not great for it), and Cleveland Show finished the night with a soft 2.3. 

Grimm is now up to 240 promo seconds over the last week, and the return of Chuck has worked its way up to 75 seconds.  Now, NBC has to hold its breath that Texas wins tonight and ends the World Series.  Otherwise, these two shows will face an additional headwind on Friday, a Game 7.  Rock Center has had 80 seconds over the last week, and Wednesday featured a topical promo for the premiere telecast Monday, highlighting a story by Harry Smith about a town where jobs are plentiful.     

ABC's #1 priority over the past week was last night's Halloween-themed Wednesday comedy block, a bet that paid off because stunts like that work and because the episodes faced mostly repeats on the other networks.
 
 
FOX is shifting most of its limited time to "animation domination" on Sunday, particularly The Simpsons "Treehouse of Terror" episode and the premiere of Jonah Hill in Allen Gregory. 

To make the chart easier to read at a glance, there is now a "Cliffs Notes" version below that just lists the top four priorities for each network, making it easier to compare each network to the other.  For greater detail, the chart at the bottom lists all shows each network has promoted in the last week in case you are interested in finding a particular series.
   
ON-AIR PROMOTION PRIORITIES
TOP FOUR SHOWS EACH NETWORK
Over the Last Seven Days 
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 20 & 23-26, 2011

ABC
  Wed Comedy Block   120
  Once Upon a Time   100
  Desperate Hswvs    95
  Grey's Anatomy     95
CBS
  Unforgettable      85
  Person of Interest 70
  Rules Engagement   60
  Late Show          60
NBC
  Grimm              240
  Prime Suspect      105
  Rock Center        80
  Chuck              75
  Thu Comedy Block   75
FOX
  Allen Gregory      75
  The Simpsons       65
  American Idol      60 
  New Girl           50 


ALL SHOWS PROMOTED
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 20 & 23-26, 2011

ABC
  Wed Comedy Block   120
  Once Upon a Time   100
  Desperate Hswvs    95
  Grey's Anatomy     95
  Pan Am             65 
  Man Up!            60
  Extreme Mak. Home  50
  Castle             45
  Body of Proof      45
  Revenge            30
  Private Practice   30
  Last Man Standing  30
  Modern Family      30
  20/20              30
  Dancing...Stars    25
  CMA Awards         10
  Great Pumpkin      05
CBS
  Unforgettable      85
  Person of Interest 70
  Rules Engagement   60
  Late Show          60
  Big Bang Theory    50
  The Mentalist      50
  2 Broke Girls      50
  A Gifted Man       45
  Survivor           40
  NCIS: LA           30
  Hawaii Five-O      30
  Amazing Race       30
  Two Half Men       30  
  NCIS               30 
  CSI: Miami         25
  CSI                20
  How I Met Mother   20
  The Talk           20
  Criminal Minds     15
  Good Wife          10 
  NFL on CBS         10 

NBC is really turning on the heat to launch Grimm in its tough Friday night time period next week.  Over the last week, NBC has given 170 promo seconds to Grimm in our sampled shows, including a robust 55 seconds in the hour of programming sampled last night.  This is a serious commitment to a show with two strikes against it (a narrow program genre and time period with relatively few viewers), but the network is giving it every shot. 

Rules of Engagement has quietly moved up the CBS priority list.  Receiving 40 seconds of time last night in CSI, the comedy now has 95 seconds of time over the past week in our sampling of shows, moving it up to third place.  Unforgettable and Person of Interest remain


Once Upon a Time has been allocated 150 promo seconds over the past week in our sampled ABC programs, including another 20 seconds in top-rated Modern Family last night.  

Allen Gregory is now the #1 FOX priority, although at a relatively low level of 75 promo seconds (remember that the baseball coverage offers limited promotion time within the telecasts).  Also, last night in Game 1 of the World Series FOX ran promos for the midseason mystery drama Alcatraz, a campaign that will intensify throughout the late fall. 

To make the chart easier to read at a glance, there is now a "Cliffs Notes" version below that just lists the top four priorities for each network, making it easier to compare each network to the other.  For greater detail, the chart at the bottom lists all shows each network has promoted in the last week in case you are interested in finding a particular series.
   
ON-AIR PROMOTION PRIORITIES
TOP FOUR SHOWS EACH NETWORK
Over the Last Seven Days 
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 13 & 16-19, 2011

ABC
  Once Upon a Time   150
  Revenge            135
  Man Up!            125
CBS
  Unforgettable      110
  Person of Interest 105
  Rules Engagement   95
  Big Bang Theory    85
NBC
  Grimm              170
  Up All Night       115
  Prime Suspect      60
  L&O: SVU           60
FOX
  Allen Gregory      75
  Bones              70
  Terra Nova         70
  The X Factor       50
  Pan Am             95

ON-AIR PROMOTION PRIORITIES
Over the Last Seven Days 
ALL SHOWS PROMOTED
(# of promo-seconds)
Dates sampled: October 13 & 16-19, 2011

ABC
  Once Upon a Time   150
  Revenge            135
  Man Up!            125
  Pan Am             95
  Desperate Hswvs    65
  Happy Endings      60
  Castle             45
  Grey's Anatomy     35
  Suburgatory        30
  Extreme Mak. Home  30
  Dancing...Stars    25
  Last Man Standing  25
  The Middle         20
  Modern Family      15
  20/20              15
  The Chew           05
CBS
  Unforgettable      110
  Person of Interest 105
  Rules Engagement   95
  Big Bang Theory    85
  A Gifted Man       45
  The Mentalist      45
  CSI: Miami         45
  Good Wife          40
  Amazing Race       40
  Survivor           40
  NCIS: LA           40
  Hawaii Five-O      40
  Late Show          40
  NCIS               35
  Blue Bloods        30
  CSI                25
  Criminal Minds     25
  Two Half Men       20
  The Talk           20
  CBS News           20
  2 Broke Girls      20
  NFL on CBS         20
  Mike & Molly       10
  CSI: New York      10
  How I Met Mother   10
NBC
  Grimm              170
  Up All Night       115
  Prime Suspect      60
  L&O: SVU           60
  Whitney            50
  Rock Center        45
  Biggest Loser      45
  Harry's Law        40
  The Office         30
  Parenthood         30
  Leno/Fallon        30
  Chuck              25
  Sunday Night FB    15
FOX
  Allen Gregory      75
  Bones              70
  Terra Nova         70
  The X Factor       50
  MLB Postseason     40
  House              35
  Kitchen Nightmares 20
  Glee               20
  Alcatraz           20
  The Simpsons       15
  Fringe             10
  NFL on FOX         10


Programs Sampled
Wed Oct 19 2011: Modern Family, Happy Endings, CSI, Up All Night, L&O: SVU (10:30-11), World Series Game 1 (8:30-9:30)