The final two for “American Idol” have been
set, and the show is getting a ratings bump
heading into next week’s two-hour season ender.
Last night “Idol’s” 9 p.m. results show
averaged a 9.0 adults 18-49 rating, according to
Nielsen overnights, up 13 percent over the
previous week’s 8.0 as David Archuleta and David
Cook moved into the final round.
That helped Fox build on its May sweeps
lead with one week left to go in the period.
“Idol” outdrew the Big Five competition in its
hour by 11 percent, with ABC, CBS, NBC and the
CW combining for an 8.1 rating.
But the CW did have a strong start to the
night. The season finale of “America’s Next Top
Model” won the 8 p.m. hour easily among the
network’s target adults 18-34, averaging a 2.5
rating, 19 percent ahead of second-place
Univision’s 2.1.
Fox finished first for the night among
viewers 18-49 with a 5.6 average overnight
rating and a 15 share. CBS was second at 2.5/7,
ABC third at 2.4/6, NBC fourth at 2.1/6,
Univision fifth at 1.7/4 and CW sixth at 1.6/4.
At 8 p.m. ABC was first with a 2.5 for “Wife
Swap,” while Fox and CW tied for second at 2.3,
Fox for the season finales of “'Til Death” (2.2)
and “Back to You” (2.5) and CW for “Model.” NBC
was fourth with a 1.9 for “Deal or No Deal,”
Univision fifth with a 1.8 for “Al Diablo con
los Guapos” and CBS sixth with a 1.4 for “Price
is Right Million Dollar Spectacular.”
Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 9.0 rating
for “Idol,” followed by CBS with a 3.0 for
“Criminal Minds.” ABC was third with a 2.4 for “Supernanny,”
Univision fourth with a 1.9 for “Fuego en la
Sangre,” NBC fifth with a 1.8 for another hour
of “Deal” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for “Farmer
Wants a Wife.”
At 10 p.m. CBS took over first place with a 3.1
for “CSI: NY,” with NBC second with a 2.7 for
“Law & Order.” ABC was third with a 2.3 for
“Boston Legal” and Univision fourth with a 1.4
for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
Fox also finished first for the night among
households with a 9.3 average overnight rating
and a 15 share. CBS was second at 6.9/11, NBC
third at 5.1/8, ABC fourth at 4.2/7, CW fifth at
2.2/4 and Univision sixth at 2.0/3.
Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for
Media Life.
Daypart Update
With only a year left before he leaves
NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” host Jay Leno will
be going out on top. He dominates his CBS and
ABC competition by huge margins and next week
will wrap up his 13th straight year as the
top-rated late-night host.
That’s what makes his impending exit so
intriguing.
Everyone has assumed that successor Conan
O’Brien would carry on not just Leno’s “Tonight
Show” mantle but also his ratings lead.
But that's always been on the assumption
that Leno would be out of the picture, retired
and riding his motorcycles or doing pickup work
for NBC such as the occasional special.
But what if Leno jumps to another network, as is
now widely expected?
It would certainly wreak havoc, knocking NBC out
of the top perch it has enjoyed for so long,
with Leno likely moving quickly to No. 1.
It's all in the numbers.
This season Leno’s ratings are down a hefty 26
percent, but like most of broadcast that can be
attributed in some part to the writers’ strike
that sent late-night shows into reruns for two
months. Even a diluted “Tonight Show” has a huge
advantage over CBS, which is down 21 percent,
and ABC, which is even.
Season to date, in the 11:35 p.m.
timeslot, Leno is averaging a 1.4 adults 18-49
Nielsen rating, 27 percent ahead of second-place
“Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS, which
is averaging a 1.1. Leno is 40 percent ahead of
ABC’s “Nightline,” with a 1.0 rating.
Further, since the strike Leno’s margin of
victory has increased. He’s 35 percent ahead of
ABC and CBS in the 11 weeks ago since the
writers went back to work, and his advantage
among total viewers is even bigger, 42 percent.
The question is: Could Leno recreate that
magic on ABC or Fox, or in a syndication deal
with Sony Pictures, all of which are reported
to be pursuing him for when his NBC contract
runs out in 2010?
Put another way, how much is that success NBC
and how much Leno?
The answer is clearly Leno.
True, for 20 some years NBC dominated primetime,
and that domination fed a large audience into
the "Tonight" show, dating back to the days of
Johnny Carson.
Yet when Leno first succeeded Carson 16 years
ago, neither the momentum of NBC nor Carson was
enough to push Leno to No. 1.
It was CBS’s Letterman who took the early
lead. Late-night viewers had no
problems switching to find a comedian they could
connect with, and it wasn't Leno.
Leno only regained Carson's lead as he
became more sure of himself and developed
popular skits like his weekly headlines bit. He
earned that lead.
And he's kept that lead even as NBC’s long
dominance in primetime has faded to a point
where it's now in fourth place.
CBS now leads in primetime in both total
viewers and households, and yet Letterman has
been unable to catch up. Clearly people are
switching to Leno and away from Letterman, just
as 16 years ago they switched from Leno to
Letterman.
How well would Leno do against O’Brien? It will
be hard to tell. Obviously now, with O'Brien
airing at 12:35 a.m., Leno is way ahead.
For the week ended May 4, Leno was slightly
ahead of his season averages. “Tonight” was
first for the week, averaging 5.2 million total
viewers and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49.
“Late” had 3.6 million viewers and a 1.0 rating
in the demo, with “Nightline” also bringing in
3.2 million viewers and a 0.9 18-49 rating.
In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with
Conan O’Brien” had 2.0 million total viewers and
a 0.8 in 18-49s, with CBS’s “The Late Late Show
with Craig Ferguson” at 1.7 million viewers and
a 0.6, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 1.6 million
viewers and a 0.5, and NBC’s “Last Call with
Carson Daly” bringing in 1.2 million viewers and
a 0.5 among 18-49s.
***
Meanwhile, in other dayparts for the week
ended May 4, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was first
among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers
with 4.35 million tuning in and among viewers
25-54 with a 1.3 rating. ABC’s “This Week with
George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers
with 2.9 million but third among 25-54s with a
0.8, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.85
million viewers and a 0.9 among 25-54s. “Fox
News Sunday” averaged 1.45 million viewers and a
0.6 rating among 25-54s.
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with
6.1 million total viewers and a 4.7 household
rating and 16 share, followed by ABC’s “Good
Morning America” with 4.6 million viewers and a
3.6/13. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.7
million total viewers and a 2.1/7.
CBS once again had the largest full daytime
audience during the week, averaging 3.73 million
viewers, and tied for first among women 18-49
with a 1.3 rating. ABC had the second-largest
audience, averaging 2.86 million viewers, and
was tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.3
rating. NBC had a full daytime audience of 2.7
million and was also tied for first among women
18-49 with a 1.3 rating.
In evening network news for the week ended May
11, ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson”
regained first among total viewers, averaging
8.01 million, and among 25-54s with a 1.9
average rating. NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian
Williams” was second in viewers, averaging 7.8
million, and among 25-54s with a 1.8 rating,
while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was
third for the week with 5.62 million total
viewers and a 1.4 25-54 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending May 4, 2008
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
NBC |
3.2 |
10 |
1.3
|
4.346 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
ABC |
2.1 |
6 |
0.8 |
2.897 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
2.1 |
6 |
0.9 |
2.846 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
1.1 |
3 |
0.6 |
1.453 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending May 4, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
5.2 |
1.5 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman |
CBS |
3.6 |
1.0 |
|
Nightline |
ABC |
3.2 |
0.9 |
|
Late Night with Conan O’Brien |
NBC |
2.0 |
0.8 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
1.7 |
0.6 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live |
ABC |
1.6 |
0.5 |
|
Last Call with
Carson
Daly |
NBC |
1.2 |
0.5 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending May 4, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
4.7 |
16 |
6.1 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
3.6 |
13 |
4.6 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
2.1 |
7 |
2.7 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending May 4, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.73 |
1.3 |
|
ABC |
2.86 |
1.3 |
|
NBC |
2.70 |
1.3 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending May 11, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
1.9 |
8.010 |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
1.8 |
7.800 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
1.4 |
5.620 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on
Households
Week Ending May 4, 2008
|
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
7.5
|
8407
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
6.3
|
7063
|
|
3
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
5.2
|
5878
|
|
4
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
5.1
|
5805
|
|
5
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.9
|
5508
|
|
6
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
4.5
|
5110
|
|
7
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.4
|
4930
|
|
8
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
4.3
|
4866
|
|
9
|
CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.2
|
4760
|
|
10
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.7
|
4167
|
|
11
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND
|
CTD
|
3.4
|
3877
|
|
12
|
BUENA VISTA
VI
|
DAD
|
|
