Advertising Age - James Hibberd: Rated

Fox's Darnell Relieved Critics Dislike 'Moment'

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:32:44 -0500

No Lie: Fox's 'Moment of Truth' Opens Huge

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:26:07 -0500

For the third time this month, the season's highest-rated new series premiere record has been shattered: Fox's provocative lie detector game show opened with a massive Nielsen rating thanks to an "American Idol" lead-in and plenty of viewer curiosity.

'Idol,' 'House' Lift Fox to Tuesday Win

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:20:24 -0500

Fox easily won Tuesday night across key measures in the preliminary Nielsen ratings, with "American Idol" (11.7 among adults 18 to 49) and a "House" repeat (5.1) scoring the highest returns.

Holiday Weekend Ratings Roundup

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:21:54 -0500

NBC continued its Monday-night reign with unscripted power duo "American Gladiators" (4.3 preliminary Nielsen rating among adults 18 to 49) and "Deal or No Deal" (4.4, the highest-rated show of the night), followed by an original "Medium" (3.4). NBC also won in total viewers.

How the DGA Helped Striking Writers

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:40:49 -0500

There's a couple predictable takes floating around regarding the Directors Guild of America's new contract agreement with studios.The DGA accomplished in a few days what writers haven't been able to do in months, goes one. By being so stubborn, goes another, the writers have blown it because now the DGA has established the template for a new Guild contract. Here's why both miss the point.

Fox Tops Thursday With '5th Grader' and 'Lyrics'

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:18:59 -0500

Fox won its first in-season Thursday with regular series programming in 15 years last night, thanks to decreased competition and the promotional power of "American Idol."

'Nashville Star' Moves to NBC

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:25:12 -0500

The sixth season of USA Network's country music competition series "Nashville Star" is moving to NBC for a summer run.

Fox In First Place for Season

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:30:36 -0500

That was fast. After only two nights of "American Idol," Fox has moved into first place for the season. Fox typically comes from behind to win the network ratings race sometime after "Idol" gets underway. But compared to the last three seasons, this is the earliest Fox has slipped into the lead. Fox leapt to a 3.4 average rating today among adults 18 to 49, with the other three major broadcast networks tied at 3.3.

Update: Fox Pleased Despite 'Idol' Ratings Dip

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:32:10 -0500

The seventh-season premiere of Fox's "American Idol" may have been its lowest-rated in four years, but Fox executives say they are pleased with its performance. "I woke up thrilled this morning," said Mike Darnell, president of alternative entertainment at Fox. "It's unbelievable how big this show is in its seventh season. If you had told me in season two this would be the biggest thing in television by 12 million viewers in its seventh year, I would have said you were crazy."

'American Idol' Premiere Lowest Rated in Four Years

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:10:31 -0500

Fox's "American Idol" premiere was its lowest rated debut in four years. "Idol" fell from last year's series-high premiere perch, yet was once again a ratings titan that readily blew away all competitors from Tuesday night and all other network premieres from earlier this season.

'Deal,' 'Gladiators' Top Monday

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:01:09 -0500

NBC's "Deal or No Deal" and "American Gladiators" topped the Nielsen returns for Monday night, with "Gladiators" largely maintaining its rating from last week's time-period premiere.

Sunday Ratings: Fox's 'Terminator' Hits, NBC's Globes Tanks

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:04:51 -0500

Aided by an enormous NFL lead-in, the premiere of Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" had a powerful debut Sunday night, but NBC's airing of the actor-boycotted Golden Globes hit rock-bottom.

CBS Orders Reality Trio

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:02:54 -0500

CBS is set to announce three unscripted series orders for debut sometime later this year as the networks continue to ramp up their strike-filling reality fare. Notably absent from the list: A renewal for "Kid Nation," though a network representative declined to characterize the show as canceled.

Silverman Considers Ordering More 'Gladiators'

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:45:02 -0500

NBC Universal Entertainment Co-Chair Ben Silverman wants to order more "American Gladiators." The executive also is plotting a special two-hour "Gladiators" finale to lead into the premiere of NBC's "Knight Rider" remake on Sunday, Feb. 17. He predicts the evening could be NBC's biggest night of the season.

The People's Choice Is NBC

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:41:57 -0500

Perhaps the Golden Globes got off easy. The return of the People's Choice Awards was down 54% from last year. CBS' presentation of the annual event garnered a weak 1.6 preliminary rating among adults 18 to 49, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, NBC won the night.

'Gladiators' Stomps 'Dance War' Despite Dip

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:47:01 -0500

The premiere of NBC's "American Gladiators" endured a ratings dip compared to its Sunday night debut, yet it still managed to soundly beat the premiere of ABC's "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann."

Golden Globes: A Press Conference is Plenty

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 08:14:31 -0500

If the brisk recitation of names is good enough for announcing the Golden Globe nominees each year, what's so bad about using the press conference format for the awards themselves?

'American Gladiators' Shows Ratings Muscle

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:26:54 -0500

NBC's revamp of the campy competition classic "American Gladiators" scored the highest new series premiere rating of the season.

The CW Shakes Up Schedule

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:21:03 -0500

After watching the major networks plot their strike schedules, The CW is making some moves of its own. Significant shifts include moving its comedy block back to Sunday nights, trying out supernatural dramedy "Reaper" with "Smallville" on Thursdays and teaming "Gossip Girl" repeats with the return of the "Pussycat Dolls" reality series on Mondays.

SAG President: Actors Won't Attend Golden Globes

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:18:36 -0500

Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg has just released a statement driving home the point that most actors will indeed refuse to cross a writers picket line to attend the Golden Globes: "After considerable outreach to Golden Globe actor nominees and their representatives over the past several weeks, there appears to be unanimous agreement that these actors will not cross WGA picket lines to appear on the Golden Globe Awards as acceptors or presenters. We applaud our members for this remarkable show of solidarity for striking Writers Guild of America writers.

Warner Backs Blu-ray

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:29:26 -0500

Warner Bros. has swung into the Sony Blu-ray camp. The company announced that "in response to consumer demand," it will release its high-definition home video titles exclusively in the Blu-ray format starting later this year.

'Celebrity Apprentice' Premiere Wins Thursday

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:19:20 -0500

WGA, Leno Battle Over Monologue Rule

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:32:28 -0500

The Writers Guild of America and NBC issued conflicting statements Thursday about whether late-night host Jay Leno violated union strike rules by performing a monologue last night.

'Law & Order' Return Posts Average Ratings

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:59:49 -0500

While all eyes were on the return of the late-night hosts, let's take a moment to run down Wednesday night's prime-time figures. Veteran crime drama "Law & Order" returned for its 18th season, with its premiere up only slightly from its 2006 opener.

Holiday Ratings Highlights: 'Pirates,' 'Kranks' and Dick Clark

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:56:45 -0500

Since faithful readers surely ignored all other ratings news sources while this blog was on vacation, let's run through some semi-recent non-sports highlights. If you've heard any of this before, just make like you're opening a holiday present when you already know what's inside and politely pretend to be entertained.

Happy New Year! 'Loser' Scores Record Premiere

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:26:45 -0500

NBC took a calculated risk premiering the fifth season of "The Biggest Loser" on New Year's Day, when viewership levels are still stumbling out of their holiday funk. By launching the show Jan. 1, the network hoped to establish a two-week foothold with viewers before "American Idol" returns.

'Survivor' Lunch Lady Turns Down $50,000

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:43:46 -0500

"Survivor" fourth-place finisher Denise Martin said she will turn down executive producer Mark Burnett's offer of $50,000 after being caught in a lie during the finale's live reunion show Sunday night.

And Kimmel, Too

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:59:27 -0500

Jimmy Kimmel will join his NBC talk show brethren and return to the air without writers on Jan. 2.

'Duel,' 'Choirs' Clash and Burn

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:57:34 -0500

In a ratings report sure to please striking writers, ABC's and NBC's latest unscripted series premieres were overshadowed by repeats Monday night.

'Monk,' 'Psych' to Get NBC Run

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:44:35 -0500

Continuing to cross-pollinate its cable and network content, NBC Universal soon will give USA Network hits "Psych" and "Monk" a second airing on NBC.