Update with last week's ratings (FRI - THURS).

A few observations...

• We all know the Simpson's heyday has long past but it's still a force. Last week's Treehouse of Terror episode tied with X-Factor for top spot at Fox.

• Glee continues to fade. I predicted last year that this show was going to crash and burn this season. The show was never good but caught on as a fad and Ryan Murphy certainly milked it with the itunes releases and live tours. The fad is coming to an end. I expect to hear that Murphy has shelved his spin-off plan any week now.

• Our OOTV buddy fsoyars may be in trouble with Man Up! struggling to find an audience. However ABC did order more scripts for Pan Am so I suppose anything is possible.

• Walking Dead continues to drop steadily. Hopefully audiences are catching on that this show is a steaming pile with some of the worst writing and plotting on television.
  EDIT: Sadly, it looks like WD had a 0.3 uptick this week to finish with a 3.4

Last Weeks Ratings 18-49
Fri-Thurs (Previous Weeks in Brackets):

These ratings are for live broadcast only.
Red=Repeat episode

Fox
4.0 (---) (---) (---) (3.0) (3.9) (---) (2.4) The Simpsons
4.0 (---) (---) (---) (4.1) (4.1) (4.4) (---) The X Factor (We)
3.7 (---) (---) (3.7) (4.0) (3.9) (4.3) (---) The X Factor (Th)
3.6 (---) (---) (---) (4.3) (4.5) (4.8) (---) New Girl
3.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (1.0) Bones
3.2 (---) (---) (---) (3.5) (4.1) (---) (1.9) Family Guy
3.0 (---) (---) (---) (3.6) (3.7) (4.0) (1.0) Glee
2.5 (---) (3.1) (2.7) (3.9) (---) (---) (---) House
2.5 (---) (---) (---) (2.9) (2.9) (3.1) (0.8) Raising Hope
2.4 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Allen Gregory
2.4 (---) (---) (---) (2.6) (3.1) (---) (---) Cleveland Show
2.1 (---) (2.8) (2.5) (3.1) (3.1) (---) (---) Terra Nova
1.4 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) America’s Most Wanted
--- (1.4) (1.4) (1.6) (1.7) (1.6) (1.0) (0.9) Kitchen Nightmares
--- (0.5) (1.2) (1.3) (1.2) (1.5) (0.6) (0.6) Fringe
--- (---) (---) (---) (---) (1.0) (1.1) (1.0) Cops


NBC
9.3 (5.2) (6.6) (8.9) (7.7) (8.3)(10.0)(10.7) Sunday Football
3.2 (2.9) (1.5) (3.3) (3.2) (3.5) (3.9) (1.4) The Office
2.3 (2.0) (1.9) (2.0) (2.1) (2.3) (3.6) (---) Biggest Loser
2.2 (---) (2.0) (2.1) (2.0) (2.2) (2.1) (2.2) Parenthood
2.1 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Grimm
2.1 (1.8) (1.1) (2.1) (1.9) (2.1) (2.1) (---) Parks and Recreation
2.1 (2.0) (1.1) (2.0) (2.3) (2.5) (3.3) (---) Whitney
2.0 (---) (2.2) (2.1) (2.1) (2.1) (2.4) (---) Law & Order SVU
1.8 (1.1) (2.1) (2.1) (2.3) (2.1) (2.3) (3.7) Up All Night
1.7 (1.4) (0.9) (1.7) (1.5) (1.8) (1.7) (0.6) Community
1.4 (1.5) (1.6) (1.5) (1.8) (1.7) (1.9) (---) Sing-Off
1.3 (1.0) (1.5) (1.4) (1.6) (2.0) (1.5) (1.8) Dateline
1.2 (1.1) (0.8) (1.3) (1.5) (1.5) (1.8) (---) Prime Suspect
1.1 (0.8) (1.3) (1.2) (1.2) (1.2) (1.2) (---) Harry’s Law
1.0 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Chuck
1.0 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Rock Center



ABC
5.7 (4.5) (5.7) (5.9) (5.7) (5.7) (6.1) (1.8) Modern Family
3.9 (4.0) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Once Upon A Time
3.6 (3.7) (3.6) (3.6) (3.1) (3.6) (4.3) (1.0) Grey’s Anatomy
3.4 (3.5) (3.0) (3.2) (2.8) (3.1) (---) (---) Happy Endings
3.1 (3.0) (2.7) (2.8) (3.0) (3.2) (---) (---) Desperate Housewives
3.1 (3.4) (3.1) (3.0) (3.1) (3.3) (---) (---) Suburgatory
3.0 (3.2) (3.0) (2.9) (2.8) (2.7) (3.1) (1.3) The Middle
3.0 (2.7) (2.5) (2.7) (2.4) (2.7) (3.3) (---) Revenge
2.8 (3.2) (3.3) (3.0) (3.1) (3.3) (4.0) (---) Dancing/Stars (Mo)
2.8 (2.6) (2.6) (3.3) (2.9) (2.9) (2.9) (---) Dancing/Stars (Tu)
2.7 (2.4) (2.5) (2.1) (2.5) (3.1) (3.2) (---) Castle
2.7 (2.8) (3.1) (3.6) (---) (---) (---) (---) Last Man Standing
2.6 (2.4) (2.3) (2.3) (2.1) (2.8) (---) (---) Private Practice
2.1 (0.7) (---) (1.6) (1.8) (2.2) (3.0) (---) College Football (Sa)
1.9 (1.8) (1.9) (1.8) (2.0) (1.8) (2.2) (---) Body of Proof
1.8 (2.0) (2.4) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Man Up!
1.8 (1.8) (1.8) (1.9) (2.6) (3.1) (---) (---) Pan Am
1.2 (---) (1.2) (1.3) (1.2) (1.5) (2.1) (---) Charlie’s Angels
1.2 (2.0) (1.2) (1.1) (1.2) (1.0) (1.2) (1.0) 20/20
1.0 (1.5) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Extreme MHE



CBS
5.4 (4.6) (5.1) (4.6) (4.5) (4.9) (5.0) (2.5) Big Bang Theory
4.7 (5.5) (5.3) (5.9) (6.2) (7.4) (10.7)(1.2) 2½ Men
4.3 (4.5) (4.4) (4.3) (4.5) (4.6) (7.1) (---) 2 Broke Girls
4.2 (4.3) (4.2) (4.0) (4.5) (4.5) (5.0) (1.2) How I Met Your Mother
4.1 (2.3) (1.7) (3.2) (3.5) (2.3) (2.9) (1.3) 60 Minutes
3.9 (4.1) (3.9) (4.0) (4.2) (5.2) (4.3) (1.7) NCIS
3.7 (2.8) (3.9) (3.8) (3.8) (3.6) (4.1) (---) Criminal Minds
3.7 (4.2) (3.9) (3.9) (4.3) (4.8) (---) (---) Mike & Molly
3.7 (3.3) (3.6) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Rules of Engagement
3.6 (3.5) (3.3) (3.2) (3.1) (3.2) (3.2) (3.4) Survivor
3.4 (3.7) (3.4) (3.3) (3.4) (3.6) (3.6) (1.7) NCIS LA
3.0 (2.7) (2.7) (2.8) (3.2) (3.0) (---) (---) Amazing Race
3.0 (3.1) (3.1) (2.7) (3.2) (3.3) (3.4) (---) Hawaii Five-0
2.9 (2.5) (2.5) (2.5) (2.7) (2.6) (2.8) (1.5) The Mentalist
2.7 (2.0) (2.6) (2.6) (2.9) (3.1) (3.2) (---) CSI
2.7 (2.7) (2.7) (2.8) (2.6) (2.7) (3.1) (---) Person of Interest
2.3 (2.5) (2.5) (2.3) (2.5) (2.5) (2.9) (---) Unforgettable
2.2 (2.1) (2.4) (2.2) (2.4) (2.3) (1.1) (---) CSI Miami
2.0 (2.0) (2.1) (2.1) (2.2) (2.2) (1.1) (0.9) The Good Wife
1.4 (1.8) (1.7) (1.6) (1.7) (1.8) (0.8) (0.7) CSI NY
--- (1.7) (1.8) (1.9) (1.8) (2.0) (0.9) (0.8) Blue Bloods
1.3 (1.1) (0.9) (0.9) (---) (1.2) (1.1) (0.9) 48 Hours
1.0 (1.2) (1.2) (1.2) (1.2) (1.4) (---) (---) A Gifted Man



CW
1.6 (1.5) (1.4) (1.4) (1.2) (1.3) (1.2) (1.5) Vampire Diaries
0.9 (0.9) (0.9) (0.8) (0.8) (1.0) (0.9) (1.3) Secret Circle
--- (0.8) (0.6) (0.6) (0.8) (0.8) (---) (---) Hart of Dixie
0.8 (1.0) (0.9) (0.8) (0.8) (0.8) (0.7) (0.9) Next Top Model
0.8 (0.3) (0.8) (0.7) (0.6) (0.9) (0.9) (1.2) Ringer
--- (0.7) (0.6) (0.6) (0.7) (0.7) (---) (---) Gossip Girl
0.7 (---) (0.8) (0.8) (0.7) (0.8) (0.7) (0.9) 90210
0.7 (0.8) (0.8) (0.7) (0.7) (0.8) (---) (0.3) Supernatural
0.6 (0.6) (0.5) (0.5) (0.6) (0.6) (---) (0.3) Nikita



Cable shows
3.1 (3.6) (3.8) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) The Walking Dead
1.9 (2.0) (2.0) (1.9) (1.9) (1.7) (1.9) (2.0) Sons of Anarchy
1.9 (1.4) (1.9) (1.7) (1.7) (1.7) (1.9) (0.9) Tosh.0
1.8 (1.8) (1.7) (1.9) (1.7) (1.6) (1.6) (1.4) WWE Entertainment
1.6 (1.7) (1.5) (1.4) (1.6) (---) (---) (---) American Horror Story
1.6 (1.6) (1.4) (1.7) (1.5) (---) (---) (---) South Park
1.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Gold Rush Alaska
1.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) NASCAR
1.3 (1.0) (1.2) (1.3) (1.0) (1.0) (1.4) (---) Workaholics
1.2 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Next Iron Chef
1.1 (1.8) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Beavis and Butt-head
1.1 (0.9) (0.9) (0.9) (1.1) (1.3) (1.2) (1.4) It’s Always Sunny
1.1 (1.1) (1.0) (1.0) (---) (---) (---) (---) Psych
1.0 (1.1) (1.0) (1.2) (1.1) (1.3) (---) (---) Boardwalk Empire
1.0 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Burn Notice
1.0 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Covert Affairs
0.9 (0.9) (0.7) (0.5) (0.7) (0.6) (0.6) (0.7) Daily Show (We)
0.9 (0.7) (0.8) (0.8) (0.8) (0.8) (---) (---) Mythbusters
0.9 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Real Housewives Atl
0.9 (1.1) (1.1) (1.0) (1.0) (0.9) (---) (---) Real Housewives BH
0.9 (0.8) (0.8) (0.8) (0.7) (1.2) (---) (---) Real World
0.9 (0.8) (0.9) (0.9) (1.1) (1.2) (---) (---) Sister Wives
0.9 (---) (1.0) (0.9) (0.7) (1.0) (0.9) (---) Ultimate Fighter
0.8 (0.7) (0.7) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) American Hoggers
0.8 (0.8) (0.9) (---) (1.0) (0.9) (---) (---) Bad Girls Club
0.8 (0.7) (0.4) (0.6) (0.9) (1.0) (0.8) (---) College Football (Th)
0.8 (0.8) (0.9) (0.6) (0.8) (0.8) (1.0) (0.6) Daily Show (Tu)
0.8 (0.9) (0.7) (0.9) (1.1) (---) (---) (---) Dexter
0.8 (0.7) (---) (---) (0.7) (---) (---) (---) Pretend Time
0.8 (0.8) (1.0) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Robot Chicken
0.8 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Top Chef

In the LOLnumber of the week, the Robin Roberts special had a 1.7 in the 18-49 with 8.64 million viewers. That's competitive with Body of Proof's numbers this season. Bye bye Body of Proof. That show has never not been led in by DWTS, and its numbers are very sub par, coming off a results show. If ABC were interested, they could do a presto switcho, and move Pan Am to this slot. Body of Proof fits in better with ABC's Sunday night fantasy line up, anyway.

That move could save both shows, but I'm guessing ABC doesn't want to piss off Delany, by putting her behind the show she came from, Desperate Housewives.

At any rate, those Robin Roberts numbers are terrible news for Body of Proof, in my opinion.

The New Girl having 6.8 million viewers and a 3.5 rating is pretty awesome.

It's pretty similar to The Walking Dead with low overall and extremely high 18-49.

All - from the numbers and your perception of the market, how would you rank the "Big 4" Networks in terms of their fall launch? (As a reminder, FOX only programs 2 hours of primetime vs. CBS/ABC/NBC programming 3 hours.)

ABC
CBS
FOX
NBC

Do you mean new shows, or old shows?

I would rank it, for new shows:

1. ABC
2. CBS
3. FOX
4. NBC

For all shows, for me:

1. CBS
2. NBC
3. ABC
4. FOX

My rankings are only for scripted TV I watch, and probably more based on quality than ratings.

If it's just ratings we're talking about, overall, it's clearly:

1. CBS
2. ABC
3. FOX
4. NBC

That's what I think as well - although it's pretty close between CBS/ABC imo. I think one of the nice stories for CBS is the success of their Monday night comedy block. It's always been strong, but even HIMYM has improved to its' series best ratings.

I think ABC though, long-term, has established some great building blocks. They've had a very nice batting average (probably historically at a high for Networks in general) of successful new series launch this fall.

Nunn - sorry didn't clarify - I just meant overall fall launch rankings (New Series/Old Series/Positioning for the Future).

Yeah, gave ABC the edge because they have just as many holes as NBC but that nevers gets talked about because they do have a few legit hits.

Launching Once Upon A Time, Suburgatory, Last Man Standing, and Revenge is huge for them.

In that case, I think it's:

ABC
CBS
NBC
FOX

I agree that ABC and CBS are close. The problem with ABC's lineup, in general, is that it's heavily serialized, which could spell future disaster, if things go off track.

CBS is way too hard on new shows, in general, and I find it nuts that Person of Interest is considered a bubble show. Their whole line up is relatively solid, for the future, if they would just start taking CSI's off the air. As long as POI stays, I'm cool with them.

Also The Middle, Modern Family have all improved on solid numbers from last season. And my understanding is they have some nice mid-seasons ready to go. It's been a good start for ABC - and solid point about "holes" they needed to fill coming into this launch - Grey's/Desperate are obviously long in the tooth, and the Network needed some hits to stay competitive.

That's a good point (Revenge being the primary example of this - what will a Season 2 look like?)

CBS is just good at what they do, I'm always impressed by their ratings stability and savvy in launching new shows and maintaining their audiences. It's not an easy feat.

It doesn't hurt that CBS doesn't have a real VOD presence, or even a strong internet presence, either. Those, alone, keep ratings strong, and often force people to make difficult choices in regards to DVR recordings.

Overall
1. CBS
2. ABC
3. FOX
4. NBC



New Series
(cancellations in red)

I struggled between CBS and ABC at first but ABC has the one cancellation and Pan Am is struggling and expensive to produce.

I had NBC in third until I remembered X-Factor. Also NBC's positives aren't that great. Grimm is running about 2.0 and that's their best new show. Also their Cons are soul crushing.

1. CBS
Pro - 2 Broke Girls is huge, Person of Interest and Unforgettable are doing fine.
Con - A Gifted Man

2. ABC
Pro - Once Upon a Time, Suburgatory, Revenge and Last Man Standing
Con - Charlie's Angels, Pan Am and Man Up! (sorry fsoyars)

3. FOX
Pro - New Girl, X-Factor
Con - Terra Nova - fading fast after a strong start. Also huge production costs.

4. NBC
Pro - Grimm and maybe Whitney (started strong but slipping)
Con - Up All Night, Prime Suspect, Rock Centre, The Playboy Club and Free Agents

POI and Unforgettable are not considered to be fine, and I think Unforgettable is getting canceled after this season. A Gifted Man is surely getting canceled.

Up All Night is certainly getting renewed, unless an absolute disaster happens by the end of the season.

I never claimed Up All Night was going to be canceled. Only moved them to the Con side to reflect its low ratings.

It's interesting that TV By the Numbers has both Persons of Interest and Unforgettable as bubble shows. Their ratings, especially PoI, would be considered a minor success at most other networks (and a smash hit at NBC)

Personally I find both shows completely forgettable so it doesn't matter - and this is coming from a guy who could watch Poppy Montgomery just smile and read a phone book for an hour.

I was surprised that nunn (I believe) didn't have NBC 4th.

FOX has had a pretty solid fall launch. And MLB sort of screws with their launch schedule, a challenge they must overcome every year.

I think because of the outsized expectations people had for X-Factor, it gets lost that it's actually doing quite well. And when you account for the fact that FOX has less hours of Prime than the other Networks, and X-Factor runs twice a week, it's a decent % of the schedule and a good story for them. I was talking to a FOX sales guy the other day and he said "I'll take disappointment at X-Factor levels anyday!"

Don't hold your breath. Even though their ratings have tapered off the CSI franchise is the most watched series in the world.

Al - can you comment on how a strong worldwide viewership impacts a show that doesn't necessarily pull in great domestic ratings? (i.e. CSI Miami and New York)

Just some food for thought and context below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

From June 2010
"CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION and its spinoff series, CSI: MIAMI and CSI: NY, have created a global television franchise with all three series licensed in more than 200 markets. "

"CSI was honored Thursday (June 10) with the Monte Carlo TV Festival's International Television Audience Award for drama series -- which means it's the most-watched TV series in the world. Combining ratings from a survey of 68 countries, the crime drama was seen by 73.8 million viewers worldwide.

"CSI" beat out last year's winner, "House," to win the award for the third time; it previously took the honor in 2007 and '08. Spinoff "CSI: Miami" won in 2006."

The reason I ranked FOX 4th is because everything has delivered below expectations. X Factor was supposed to be huge, and Terra Nova had through the roof expectations. The only new hit, that I can see, is New Girl, which they are doing a pretty big disservice to it, by putting it on an extended hiatus, right after it began. Yes, I know TWS is a problem, but 4 weeks off is pretty extreme, for a hit show.

House has no longevity, and is likely done at the end of the season. I think the interesting points to note for FOX are going to be the spring launches or mid-season launches (Alcatraz, whenever that comes out, and the Bones spinoff).

Some of my favorite shows are on NBC, so I can't rank it below FOX, as almost none of my favorite shows are on FOX (they canceled all of my favorite shows on it, last season).

With all of those factors considered, it's why I ranked FOX last, even though, when factoring in new shows (I don't think Up All Night or Whitney is worth watch, though I continue with Up All Night), NBC is definitely right there with them (outside of Grimm, which I think needs to move, yesterday).

Wires, I think Person of Interest is a great show (once you suspend your disbelief), and that Unforgettable is just a relatively standard police procedural, average in almost every way. I don't, at all, share your affection for Poppy, and I think, in many ways, she hurts the show. I also think that Unforgettable is almost the nice person version of Prime Suspect, superior in every way to Prime Suspect, especially casting and tone.

Person of Interest is absolutely not forgettable, to me, and I will be genuinely sad if it goes.

Al can answer better about CSI, but a lot of what I've heard is that CBS is a syndication warehouse. Their only goal is to get shows into syndication, and if your premise isn't able to be easily sold into syndication, you're in trouble, on that network. POI seems like an easy syndication sale to me, and Unforgettable seems like a really tough sell.

A lot of why the CSIs stay on the air is due to their syndication deals, from what I've heard. As long as the money is in something's favor (can't remember what), the shows will stay. It still is likely that one of those is going this year, most likely the lowest rated CSI: Miami.

I personally wish the networks would open up Saturday nights, again, which would most benefit FOX, due to their low amount of weekly programming hours, but I guess that's probably a pipe dream.

To add to what Nunn said (and there's some good discussion, randomly, in the Community thread in OOTV about syndication if you wanted to check it out):

As the CSI franchise is produce by CBS Studios, the parent CBS Corp has an interest in both 1) the Network economics (how the ratings are and ad revenues look) and 2) the Studio economics - all domestic and internatinoal syndication to TV outlets, and other digital distribution such as Hulu, Netflix etc.

So it's just a simple matter of the math. If producing additional episodes of any of the CSI series equals a net positive for CBS Corp, they'll keep going. The formula would be:

(Domestic TV Ad Revenues + International Syndication Revenues + Domestic Syndication Revenues + Digital Platform Revenues) - (Marketing + Distribution + Production Costs) > 0, they'll look to produce more episodes.

Given the large demand for CSI in non-US territories, I would guess the international syndication revenues are at this point higher than domestic syndication revenues.

Caveat to the above: in the formula noted, if the CSI economics are generating a profit, but not a particularly large one - there is opportunity cost to CBS in not launching new shows on their valuable, limited U.S. Prime real estate. So it's possible the CSI franchise could still be slightly profitable, but it's better in the long run to shut it down. Also of course, talent issues.

To add a bit to this - it is absolutely every Network/Studio's desire to get every show into syndication. TV is a homerun model - if you don't start making monies in syndication with a hit, your economics are very challenged. Ad monies is not enough.

I think what you might be alluding to is that procedural/self-contained series (like a CSI) tend to sell better into syndication than serialized series (like say Desperate Housewives). Which makes sense. And of course CBS produces I believe the most procedural series now that the L&O franchise has taken a hit.

I'm not sure how relevant it is in adding to the discussion, but CBS really, in my opinion, benefits from having shows on the air for a long time. That's because it allows them to REALLY develop all of their new shows, which is why I think their new shows tend to be among the most solid to hit air. Regardless of whether you like POI or Unforgettable, those shows aren't "finding their way". They are fully formed, and know pretty much exactly what they are.

NBC's development is a joke, and they seem to re-tool on the fly on every new series they do. Even the great Parks and Recreation has a pretty substantial difference to today's version in the early episodes of season 1. You know they hit their stride when Ron Swanson is completely recognizable, which I believe was episode 4 of the series.

ABC appears to make it up as they go along. They like the way their shows seem to be, at the outset, and then just seem to re-adjust the shows based on audience response. I think Body of Proof is their worst show, that I've seen (outside of the canceled Charlie's Angels), and it just seems like they're saying, "here, let's try this, let's try that", but not getting it anywhere near being a cohesive show. The most promise came in last week's episode, when the audience was finally faced with "possibility" of major casting upheaval, which I strongly support.

FOX seems to do a pretty good development cycle on their scripted shows, but they also seem to fight a lot over direction with the Creators of the shows (House is a prime example of that). They also don't stick with good scripted TV long enough, don't launch it in ways it can succeed, etc., and hold new shows up to the impossibly high standard of AI.

Having a well developed show that knows exactly what it is, goes a long way towards finding an audience quickly. It's part of what's strange about 2 Broke Girls. It's really well developed, but it's not funny. Regardless, it still has the largest audience of any new show on TV.

For sitcoms, I generally give every new one I watch four episodes, and if it still feels like it's fumbling around for what it's going to be, I drop it, if it doesn't show a lot of potential. These days, it seems like you need to give every show 6 episodes to find out if you would like it. I think we're coming up on episode 6 of Terra Nova, and it's still not there, yet.

I absolutely agree, but the point I was trying to make is that CBS seems to have solved the "getting shows into syndication" model, and nearly every show on their schedule, with good prospects gets there, or is there.

If they don't think it has good prospects (I've heard that The Good Wife has been an extremely tough sell on the syndication market) for syndication, they are more likely to dump it, even with solid ratings.

al , how much does it cost to run an ad on a major network during primetime? lets say like a show like the new girl? ( i knew there are varying factors , but a general ballpark) ...

ive always wondered about this but there are not many resources out there, seems like most networks are hush,hush about how much they charge for ads .