|
trots again
Now tops in 18-49s, after season of stumbles
By Kevin Downey
It may be Fox's destiny to be the network that slumps to the point of derision, only to then stage such a rally that it soon becomes the envy of the other broadcast networks.
It's happened again. Having lost 9 percent of its adult 18-49 audience in the regular season, Fox managed to make up the loss, increasing its share over the summer to 12 percent.
Of course, ”American Idol: The Search for a Superstar” deserves most of the credit, but it doesn't deserve all of it.
As we go into the fall, credit also goes to shows like NFL football and top-rated movies.
Fox ranked No. 1 last week in every major demographic and had five of the top 10 network shows among adults 18-49, for example, on the strength of “Idol,” football, and the movie “There’s Something About Mary.”
The final two episodes of “Idol” were the highest-rated programs of the week, perhaps not surprisingly since the show got off to a strong start early this summer and has built momentum virtually every week since.
Wednesday’s finale, in fact, was watched by 13.7 million adults 18-49, according to an MTV analysis of Nielsen data that compares ratings for broadcast and cable programs.
Fox was No. 1 for the week overall with an average 4.7 rating in the demographic and had its biggest lead ever over the other Big Four networks.
CBS had a 3 rating. NBC had a 2.7 and slumped into third place after dominating most of the off-season. ABC had a 2.3, UPN had a 1.2 and the WB had a 1.1.
Although its rating was only about half of “Idol’s” Wednesday episode, overtime coverage of NFL football on Fox ranked No. 3 in primetime and contributed to the network’s weekly win. The game itself had a higher rating, but aired during the day on Sunday.
“There’s Something About Mary” tied at No. 10 among network primetime programs with a 4.4 rating and edged past a slew of other Fox shows that were among the highest-rated, including “That 70s Show” and “King of the Hill.”
While Fox overshadowed its competitors, the other networks didn’t sit idly by.
CBS, for example, aggressively aired four episodes of its top-rated “CSI.”
Like Fox, CBS had five shows among the networks’ top 10, including three of those “CSI” episodes, one episode of its short-run “Big Brother 3,” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which tied NBC’s “Friends” as the week’s highest-rated comedy in the 18-49 demographic.
Although NBC had a poor showing relative to its usual standing at No. 1, the network managed to have a handful of highly rated programs.
Most of NBC’s shows ranked below the top 10, but “Friends,” “Law & Order” and “Will & Grace” were all among the week’s highest-rated programs.
ABC ranked No. 4 and held onto the adult 18-49 rating it had a week earlier.
The network’s average rating will improve starting next week when the first episode of this season’s “Monday Night Football” is factored into the network rankings.
As of last week, however, its best showing was for the movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” which had a 3.7 rating in the demo. ABC’s highest rated regular series was “My Wife & Kids.” The show had a 3 rating.
Meanwhile, Fox’s No. 1 ranking among households was its first ever for a week without a major sporting event, like the Super Bowl.
Few advertisers specifically target households, but a victory in the demographic at least gives a network something to crow about.
Fox had a 6.2 rating and 11 share and slightly edged past CBS, the usual No. 1 among households, which had a 6.1/11.
NBC had a 5.2/9, ABC had a 4.4/8, UPN had 2.1/3 and the WB had a 1.7/3.
|
PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK |
|||||||||
|
Network |
Households* |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
||||||
|
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
|
|
FOX |
6.2 |
6650 |
11 |
3.9 |
10530 |
11 |
4.7 |
6040 |
14 |
|
CBS |
6.1 |
6500 |
11 |
3.3 |
9030 |
9 |
3.0 |
3840 |
9 |
|
NBC |
5.2 |
5520 |
9 |
2.8 |
7560 |
8 |
2.7 |
3470 |
8 |
|
ABC |
4.4 |
4710 |
8 |
2.4 |
6590 |
7 |
2.3 |
2930 |
7 |
|
UPN |
2.1 |
2190 |
3 |
1.1 |
3060 |
3 |
1.2 |
1550 |
3 |
|
WB |
1.7 |
1790 |
3 |
0.9 |
2570 |
3 |
1.1 |
1400 |
3 |
|
PAX |
0.9 |
930 |
2 |
0.5 |
1250 |
1 |
0.3 |
430 |
1 |
|
* Each rating
point is equivalent to 1.067 million homes |
|||||||||
|
SEASON-TO-DATE* |
|||||||||
|
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
||||||
|
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
|
|
NBC |
7.8 |
8230 |
13 |
4.4 |
11810 |
12 |
4.6 |
5820 |
13 |
|
CBS |
7.4 |
7780 |
13 |
4.1 |
11030 |
11 |
3.4 |
4360 |
10 |
|
ABC |
5.6 |
5950 |
10 |
3.2 |
8580 |
9 |
3.1 |
4000 |
9 |
|
FOX |
5.2 |
5450 |
9 |
3.1 |
8310 |
8 |
3.6 |
4630 |
10 |
|
UPN |
2.4 |
2560 |
4 |
1.4 |
3850 |
4 |
1.6 |
2090 |
5 |
|
WB |
2.2 |
2340 |
4 |
1.2 |
3360 |
3 |
1.4 |
1810 |
4 |
|
PAX |
0.9 |
920 |
1 |
0.5 |
1240 |
1 |
0.3 |
400 |
1 |
|
* Regular
broadcast season ended May 22, 2002 |
|||||||||
|
NETWORK TV |
||||||||
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
||||
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
RANK |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY |
FOX |
12.6 |
21 |
13437 |
1 |
8.4 |
22772 |
|
2 |
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY |
FOX |
10.5 |
16 |
11173 |
2 |
6.9 |
18692 |
|
3 |
CSI-10PM(S) |
CBS |
9.8 |
17 |
10485 |
3 |
5.5 |
14933 |
|
4 |
CSI |
CBS |
9.4 |
15 |
10031 |
5 |
5.2 |
14170 |
|
5 |
EVERYBDY LOVES RAYMND-SPL(S) |
CBS |
9.3 |
15 |
9872 |
4 |
5.3 |
14284 |
|
6 |
CSI - SPECIAL(S) |
CBS |
8.9 |
15 |
9490 |
6 |
4.9 |
13436 |
|
7 |
LAW AND ORDER |
NBC |
8.5 |
15 |
9117 |
9 |
4.5 |
12165 |
|
8 |
BECKER SPECIAL(S) |
CBS |
8.3 |
13 |
8896 |
8 |
4.7 |
12714 |
|
8 |
FOX NFL SUNDAY BONUS-NAT |
FOX |
8.3 |
15 |
8827 |
7 |
4.8 |
12999 |
|
10 |
60 MINUTES |
CBS |
7.7 |
13 |
8196 |
11 |
4.0 |
10941 |
|
11 |
LAW AND ORDER:SVU |
NBC |
7.6 |
14 |
8084 |
10 |
4.1 |
11164 |
|
12 |
LAW AND ORDER 9/8(S) |
NBC |
7.4 |
13 |
7878 |
12 |
3.9 |
10576 |
|
13 |
FRIENDS |
NBC |
7.1 |
13 |
7607 |
12 |
3.9 |
10678 |
|
14 |
LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT |
NBC |
6.8 |
11 |
7205 |
16 |
3.6 |
9879 |
|
15 |
DATELINE NBC-TUE |
NBC |
6.7 |
11 |
7162 |
18 |
3.5 |
9533 |
|
16 |
YES, DEAR - SPCL(S) |
CBS |
6.4 |
10 |
6793 |
15 |
3.7 |
10014 |
|
17 |
ABC BIG PICTURE SHOW-9/8(S) ("My Best Friend's Wedding") |
ABC |
6.3 |
10 |
6687 |
18 |
3.5 |
9387 |
|
18 |
BIG BROTHER 3-THU |
CBS |
6.2 |
11 |
6635 |
16 |
3.6 |
9792 |
|
19 |
BIG BROTHER 3-WED |
CBS |
6.0 |
10 |
6369 |
21 |
3.4 |
9205 |
|
19 |
SIMPSONS |
FOX |
6.0 |
10 |
6364 |
14 |
3.8 |
10319 |
|
19 |
WILL & GRACE 9/5(S) |
NBC |
6.0 |
10 |
6419 |
22 |
3.3 |
8926 |
|
22 |
48 HOURS-WED |
CBS |
5.9 |
10 |
6337 |
24 |
3.1 |
8446 |
|
22 |
KING OF QUEENS - SPCL(S) |
CBS |
5.9 |
10 |
6270 |
22 |
3.3 |
9089 |
|
24 |
LAW AND ORDER:SVU 9/6(S) |
NBC |
5.8 |
10 |
6139 |
26 |
3.0 |
8127 |
|
24 |
WILL & GRACE |
NBC |
5.8 |
9 |
6202 |
24 |
3.1 |
8525 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
||||||||
|
TOP 30 PROGRAMS - BROADCAST
& CABLE TV |
||||
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
Adults 18-49 |
|
|
Rtg% |
In Millions |
|||
|
1 |
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY |
FOX |
10.7 |
13.722 |
|
2 |
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY |
FOX |
9.3 |
11.976 |
|
3 |
FOX NFL SUNDAY-NATIONAL |
FOX |
8.8 |
11.375 |
|
4 |
FOX NFL SUNDAY BONUS-NAT |
FOX |
5.5 |
7.131 |
|
4 |
NFL REGULAR SEASON |
ESPN |
5.5 |
7.037 |
|
6 |
CSI-10PM(S) 9/05 |
CBS |
5.3 |
6.795 |
|
7 |
NFL REGULAR SEASON |
ESPN |
5.0 |
6.391 |
|
8 |
FRIENDS |
NBC |
4.9 |
6.347 |
|
8 |
EVERYBDY LOVES RAYMND-SPL(S) 9/02 |
CBS |
4.9 |
6.344 |
|
10 |
CSI |
CBS |
4.8 |
6.174 |
|
10 |
SIMPSONS |
FOX |
4.8 |
6.112 |
|
12 |
CSI - SPECIAL(S )9/02 |
CBS |
4.7 |
6.067 |
|
13 |
FOX MOVIE SP(S) 9/02 |
FOX |
4.4 |
5.635 |
|
13 |
BIG BROTHER 3-THU |
CBS |
4.4 |
5.632 |
|
15 |
WILL & GRACE 9/5(S) 9/05 |
NBC |
4.3 |
5.531 |
|
16 |
LAW AND ORDER |
NBC |
4.2 |
5.402 |
|
17 |
WILL & GRACE |
NBC |
4.0 |
5.139 |
|
18 |
BIG BROTHER 3-WED |
CBS |
3.9 |
5.04 |
|
18 |
BECKER SPECIAL(S)9/02 |
CBS |
3.9 |
5.004 |
|
20 |
THAT '70S SHOW |
FOX |
3.8 |
4.827 |
|
21 |
ABC BIG PICTURE SHOW-9/8(S)9/08 |
ABC |
3.7 |
4.746 |
|
22 |
LAW AND ORDER:SVU |
NBC |
3.6 |
4.662 |
|
22 |
DATELINE NBC-TUE |
NBC |
3.6 |
4.607 |
|
22 |
KING OF THE HILL |
FOX |
3.6 |
4.605 |
|
25 |
E.R. |
NBC |
3.5 |
4.469 |
|
25 |
SCRUBS TH 8:30 |
NBC |
3.5 |
4.458 |
|
25 |
LAW AND ORDER 9/8(S)9/08 |
NBC |
3.5 |
4.442 |
|
25 |
YES, DEAR - SPCL(S)9/02 |
CBS |
3.5 |
4.438 |
|
29 |
US OPEN TENNIS-SUNDAY(S)9/08 |
CBS |
3.4 |
4.322 |
|
30 |
FEAR FACTOR-SL(S)9/02 |
NBC |
3.3 |
4.283 |
|
Source: MTV Networks, based on data from Nielsen Media Research |
||||
|
CABLE TV |
|||||
|
BASIC CABLE |
|||||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons 2+ |
|
|
(000) |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
2002 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS |
MTV |
7059 |
6.6 |
11948 |
|
2 |
MOUNTAIN DEW SOUTH 500 |
TNT |
4301 |
4.0 |
6632 |
|
3 |
2002 VMA POST SHOW |
MTV |
4293 |
4.0 |
7124 |
|
4 |
WWE ENTERTAINMENT |
TNN |
3534 |
3.3 |
5319 |
|
5 |
WWE ENTERTAINMENT |
TNN |
3250 |
3.0 |
4937 |
|
6 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2962 |
2.8 |
4145 |
|
7 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2934 |
2.8 |
3976 |
|
8 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2903 |
2.7 |
4105 |
|
9 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2895 |
2.7 |
4242 |
|
10 |
SATURDAY MOVIE III (DEEP FAMILY SECRETS) |
LIF |
2884 |
2.7 |
3828 |
|
11 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2802 |
2.6 |
4229 |
|
12 |
MOUNTAIN DEW 500 RAIN DEL |
TNT |
2774 |
2.6 |
3991 |
|
13 |
LAW & ORDER(S)9/01 |
TNT |
2741 |
2.6 |
3680 |
|
14 |
2002 VMA PRE-SHOW |
MTV |
2738 |
2.6 |
4292 |
|
15 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2584 |
2.4 |
3997 |
|
PAY CABLE |
|||||
|
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons 2+ |
|
|
(000) |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
SEX AND THE CITY(S) |
HBO |
4260 |
4.0 |
5948 |
|
2 |
ARLISS(S) |
HBO |
2897 |
2.7 |
3963 |
|
3 |
WIRE, THE |
HBO |
2612 |
2.4 |
3655 |
|
4 |
KISS OF THE DRAGON |
HBO |
2488 |
2.3 |
3448 |
|
5 |
SEX AND THE CITY(S) |
HBO |
2062 |
1.9 |
2619 |
|
Total U.S.
ratings and household projections are based on 106.7 million TV
homes. |
|||||
|
SYNDICATION |
||||
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
|
US Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE |
KIN |
7.4 |
7832 |
|
2 |
FRIENDS-SYN (AT) |
WB |
6.6 |
6935 |
|
3 |
JEOPARDY |
KIN |
6.2 |
6502 |
|
4 |
SEINFELD (AT) |
CTS |
5.6 |
5909 |
|
5 |
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT) |
KIN |
5.4 |
5689 |
|
5 |
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN (AT) |
KIN |
5.4 |
5681 |
|
7 |
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT) |
PRM |
5.1 |
5382 |
|
8 |
JUDGE JUDY (AT) |
PRM |
5.0 |
5274 |
|
9 |
SEINFELD-WKND (AT) |
CTS |
4.3 |
4575 |
|
10 |
JUDGE JOE BROWN (AT) |
PRM |
3.4 |
3589 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
||||
|
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION |
||||
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
NHTI* |
Projection |
|
Rtg% |
(000) |
|||
|
1 |
SALOME THU |
UNI |
28.3 |
2,755 |
|
2 |
PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-THU |
UNI |
28.1 |
2,732 |
|
3 |
PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-WED |
UNI |
27.0 |
2,629 |
|
4 |
PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-TUE |
UNI |
26.9 |
2,614 |
|
5 |
SALOME FRI |
UNI |
26.6 |
2,590 |
|
6 |
SALOME TUE |
UNI |
26.5 |
2,582 |
|
7 |
SALOME WED |
UNI |
25.4 |
2,475 |
|
8 |
PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-MON |
UNI |
25.3 |
2,457 |
|
9 |
PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR-FRI |
UNI |
24.8 |
2,415 |
|
10 |
SALOME MON |
UNI |
23.8 |
2,320 |
|
11 |
GATA SALVAJE-THU |
UNI |
19.3 |
1,875 |
|
11 |
CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI |
UNI |
19.3 |
1,875 |
|
13 |
AQUI Y AHORA-THU |
UNI |
19.0 |
1,847 |
|
14 |
DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE |
UNI |
18.0 |
1,751 |
|
15 |
GATA SALVAJE-TUE |
UNI |
17.6 |
1,710 |
|
16 |
GATA SALVAJE-WED |
UNI |
17.4 |
1,697 |
|
17 |
GATA SALVAJE-FRI |
UNI |
17.0 |
1,657 |
|
18 |
PICA Y SE EXTIENDE TUE |
UNI |
16.5 |
1,607 |
|
19 |
SABADO GIGANTE-SAT |
UNI |
15.9 |
1,547 |
|
20 |
CRISTINA-MON |
UNI |
15.3 |
1,488 |
|
* Nielsen
Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 9.7 million Hispanic TV
homes. |
||||
|
NETWORK SPORTS |
|||||||
|
RanK |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
Episode |
Households |
Persons 2+ |
||
|
US Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
(000) |
||||
|
1 |
NFL PRE-SEASON FTBL SP-2(S) 8/26 |
ABC |
GRNBAY AT CLVLAND |
7.8 |
13 |
8271 |
11339 |
|
2 |
ABC COLLEGE FTBL GM-EARLY |
ABC |
WA AT MI/N. WSTRN AT |
3.6 |
11 |
3849 |
4867 |
|
3 |
ABC CFTBL KICKOFF CLASSIC(S) 8/31 |
ABC |
NOTRE DAME VS MD |
3.6 |
8 |
3878 |
5040 |
|
4 |
ABC COLLEGE FTBL GM-LATE |
ABC |
VA AT FL ST/ |
3.3 |
9 |
3532 |
4480 |
|
5 |
WWE SMACKDOWN! |
UPN |
3.1 |
5 |
3323 |
5404 |
|
|
6 |
ABC COLLEGE FTBL SPEC-SUN(S) 9/01 |
ABC |
LSU AT VA. TECH |
3.0 |
8 |
3223 |
4035 |
|
7 |
FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL |
FOX |
VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES |
1.9 |
5 |
1983 |
2630 |
|
8 |
US OPEN TENNIS- |
CBS |
1.7 |
5 |
1771 |
2244 |
|
|
9 |
US OPEN TENNIS- |
CBS |
1.6 |
5 |
1746 |
2269 |
|
|
10 |
NBC SPORTS SPEIAL-(S) |
NBC |
VAN'S TRIPLE: WAKEBRD NATNLS |
1.3 |
3 |
1419 |
1899 |
|
11 |
SPORTS |
NBC |
INTL GYMN. CHALL |
1.2 |
3 |
1325 |
1755 |
|
12 |
NBC SPORTS SPEIAL.(S) |
NBC |
GORGE GAMES |
1.2 |
3 |
1294 |
1757 |
|
13 |
WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP GM2(S) |
NBC |
NY |
1.0 |
3 |
1085 |
1300 |
|
14 |
NBC SPORTS SPEIAL(S) |
NBC |
VAN'S TRIPLE: BMX CHAMPS |
0.7 |
2 |
738 |
815 |
|
15 |
ALLIANZ CHMPSHP(S) |
PAX |
0.1 |
0 |
123 |
163 |
|
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|||||||
September 12, 2002© 2002 Media Life
-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
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