TV Ratings Thursday:American Idol FLOPS, NBC Comedy Night Begins Well, CBS Down Across the Board

Scoreboard
Rating/Share: Adults 18-49	5.7/15	3.1/8	2.8/7	1.7/5	1.6/4	0.5/1
Rating/Share: Adults 18-34	4.6/13	1.8/5	3.2/9	1.4/4	1.6/5	0.5/1
Total Viewers (million)	16.788	13.630	5.434	5.421	3.858	1.343

   Of course Fox topped the adults 18-49 ratings on Thursday night, but Idol’s timeslot move took its toll on the ratings. CBS was pushed down across the board, interestingly it fared worse in the later hours than at 8pm. While NBC’s “Comedy Night Done Right” exceeded its 2 hour comedy block ratings from the fall.
NBC’s “Comedy Night Done Right” ratings started better than most of our readers expected, averaging a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating on the night. Community’s 2.2 adults 18-49 rating tied its second best mark of the season, up 16% from its last new episode. Perfect Couples’ 2.1 rating was far better than its December “preview’s” 1.3 rating. The Office’s 4.5 adults 18-49 rating was a season high, up 22% from its last new episode. Parks & Recreation returned with a pop, its 3.2 adults 18-49 rating was a series record. 30 Rock’s 2.7 rating at 10pm, was 29% above its last new episode. Its skeptics will feast on the fact that Outsourced tumbled to a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating, a series low, down 28% from its last new episode.
American Idol’s Thursday premiere scored a 7.8 adults 18-49 rating, that’s down 23% from last season’s second night’s 10.1 rating (on a Wednesday, somewhat apples/oranges). Its 22.6 million viewers was down from last season’s Wednesday start of  26.416 million. Following Idol, Bones drew a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating. That’s Bones’ best rating since 1/28/10.

CBS’s The Big Bang Theory weathered the Idol storm quite well, its 4.2 adults 18-49 rating was down just 5% from its last new episode. $#*! My Dad Says’ 2.7 rating was a series low, and down 7% vs. its last new episode. CSI’s 3.1 rating was down 6% from its last new episode, while The Mentalist’s 2.8 rating was down 10% from its last new episode.
ABC’s Wipeout’s 2.6 rating, still impressive for reality vs. Idol (and the NBC 8pm comedies), tumbled 28% vs. last week.


Late-night results are below the primetime data.
Overnight ratings for Thursday, January 20, 2011:

Time	Net	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers Live+SD (million)
8:00	FOX	American Idol 10	7.0	19	20.586
	CBS	The Big Bang Theory	4.2	12	13.582
	ABC	Wipeout	2.3	6	7.879
	NBC	COMMUNITY	2.2	6	4.740
	CW	THE Vampire Diaries – R	0.6	2	1.424
8:30	FOX	American Idol 10	8.4	22	24.672
	ABC	Wipeout	2.8	8	8.624
	CBS	$#! My Dad Says	2.7	7	10.292
	NBC	Perfect Couples	2.1	6	4.157
	CW	THE Vampire Diaries – R	0.6	1	1.319
9:00	NBC	The Office	4.5	12	8.285
	FOX	Bones	3.9	10	11.906
	CBS	CSI	3.1	8	14.025
	ABC	GREY’S ANATOMY – R	1.7	4	5.034
	CW	Nikita – R	0.5	1	1.295
9:30	FOX	Bones	3.3	9	9.986
	NBC	PARKS AND RECREATION	3.2	8	6.189
	CBS	CSI	3.0	8	14.555
	ABC	GREY’S ANATOMY – R	1.5	4	4.379
	CW	Nikita – R	0.5	1	1.335
10:00	CBS	The Mentalist	2.8	7	14.770
	NBC	30 Rock	2.7	7	5.281
	ABC	Private Practice – R	1.1	3	3.563
10:30	CBS	The Mentalist	2.8	8	14.556
	NBC	Outsourced	1.8	5	3.953
	ABC	Private Practice – R	0.9	3	3.048

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Via NBC press note:

In Late-Night Metered Markets Thursday night:
In Nielsen’s 56 metered markets, household results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 2.9/7; CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman,” 3.2/8; and ABC’s combo of “Nightline,” 2.9/7; and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 1.4/4
In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 1.1/5; “Late Show,” 0.9/4; “Nightline,” 0.9/4; and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 0.5/3.
At 12:35 a.m., “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (1.4/5 in metered-market households) trailed CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (1.5/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, “Late Night” (0.7/4 in 18-49) tied “Late Late Show” (0.5/3).
At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly” averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

'American Idol' 10th Season Starts Down, Pushes Competition Lower

The 10th season of American Idol premiered down 18% among adults 18-49, drawing a 9.7 rating compared to the 11.8 rating for last year’s Tuesday premiere. Idol’s 26.1 million average viewers was down 13% from last year’s premiere 29.945 million. That’s more than the 10-15% seasonal ratings decline that has been typical in recent seasons.

ABC was mostly down:

The Middle’s 2.7 adults 18-49 rating fell 10% vs. last week. 

Better With You’s 2.2 rating was 12% below its last new episode two weeks ago.  

Modern Family’s 4.6 rating was up from it’s 4.2 rating last week during the Tucson memorial Wednesday jumble, but down from the 4.8 rating the week before. 

Cougar Town’s 2.5 rating was down 11% vs. its last new episode two weeks ago. 

Off The Map’s second outing fell 9% (not bad) to a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating. 

CBS DOWN:

Paula Abdul's Live To Dance fell 33% to just a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating, which is worst than most repeats of episodes of Old Christine even!

NBC:

Minute To Win It’s 1.6 rating was up 14% vs. the Tucson jumbled episode last week. 

Chase flopped in with just a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating.

Chase, Law & Order: SVU struggled at 10pm with just a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating, down 8% vs. last Wednesday.

Via NBC press notes:

In Late-Night Metered Markets Wednesday night:
In Nielsen’s 56 metered markets, household results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 3.0/8; CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman,” 2.9/7; and ABC’s combo of “Nightline,” 3.2/7; and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 1.5/5.
In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 1.0/5; “Late Show,” 0.7/3; “Nightline,” 1.0/4; and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 0.5/3.
At 12:35 a.m., “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (1.5/5 in metered-market households) out-rated CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (1.4/5). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, “Late Night” (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped “Late Late Show” (0.4/3).
At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly” averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

American Idol Season 10 comes back to rule TELEVISION yet again!

So American Idol Season 10 premiers Wednesday at 8pm and many say it will be doomed. I personally think it is coming back to bigger and better ratings. I say this for many reasons, some of which is the added star power of Steven and Jennifer to the panel. Also all the revamping to the format of the show that they are implementing will give us viewers a fresh take on this NEW season. 

Everything from Hollywood week being different, to the top 40 going to Las Vegas to perform The Beatles music, to AMERICA voting for their top 10. 

I WILL BE WATCHING, WILL YOU? 

Great NewYorkDailyNews piece:

On Wednesday night, when Fox’s “American Idol” begins its 10th season, the spotlight will be fixed on the two new judges, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

But it is two others, the music executive Jimmy Iovine and the television producer Nigel Lythgoe, who will do the most to determine the future of America’s most-watched reality show.

With Simon Cowell and his smugness gone, the two men are trying to make “Idol” more true to its former motto, “The Search for a Superstar.” After several years of contests that were panned by critics and many viewers, the producers are promising more input from professional music producers, more entertaining performances by contestants and fewer distractions from surprise guests.

“We have got to go back to creating an American idol,” said Mr. Lythgoe, who helped create “Idol” and returned to it last fall after two years away.

Last year “Idol” brought an average of about 24 million viewers to Fox twice a week. That’s a huge audience, but it has been slowly diminishing for several years, casting some doubt on the show’s sustainability over the long term. The changes this season will either stop the erosion, slow it — or speed it up.

“This is the first top-to-bottom reboot that they’ve had,” said Richard Rushfield, the author of “American Idol: The Untold Story” and a former writer for The Los Angeles Times. It is needed, he said, to put more emphasis on musical talent, since the last hugely successful singer produced by “Idol” was Chris Daughtry, five years ago — and Mr. Daughtry was a runner-up. “If they can create another Kelly Clarkson that sells millions and millions of albums right away, they’ll have a huge fresh wind in their sails,” Mr. Rushfield said.

A central part of the remodeling is Mr. Iovine, the chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, an arm of Universal, which is replacing Sony as the music label that markets and distributes albums from “Idol” winners and runners-up. For Mr. Iovine, “Idol” is adding a new role on the show — “in-house mentor” or coach — for the entirety of the season. Mr. Lythgoe, who will remain off camera, calls him the “music czar.”

Mr. Iovine said at a news conference in early January: “The kids can’t just be told, ‘O.K., sing better.’ Someone has to work with them every week on performance, on style, and also make the songs they do have some kind of originality as well.”

To do that, Mr. Iovine intends to bring in producers like Timbaland to coach the contestants two or three days a week.

“They’re going to be bringing them along the same way they bring any artist that signs with Interscope along every week,” Mr. Iovine said. “I think you’re going to see a remarkable difference from week to week; much bigger than it was in the previous shows and previous airings.”

The brunt of the changes won’t be noticed until after the first month of telecasts, which feature auditions in different parts of the country. The contestants who make it through the Hollywood round of auditions will perform Beatles songs in a new setting for the show, Las Vegas, on Feb. 23; the next night, back in Hollywood, the judges will name 20 semifinalists, and then the public will begin voting.

Fox has shifted “Idol” to Wednesday and Thursday nights this season, from Tuesday and Wednesday in prior seasons, somewhat complicating the ratings comparisons.

The show is mostly casting away the guest judges and mentors that it featured in previous years. It is also eliminating some of the theme weeks that the producers came to dislike.

“We’re no longer going to get the country singer to sing rock, and the rock singer to sing folk,” Mr. Lythgoe said. “They are now going to stay with what they believe and what Jimmy believes is their genre that they need to work in.”

“Idol” has also reportedly signed up a new music director, Ray Chew, replacing Rickey Minor, who exited last year.

All the talk about the music plays down — deliberately, it seems — the three judges who weigh in on every episode. There has been no visible attempt to cast someone just like Mr. Cowell, or, for that matter, copies of Ellen DeGeneres or Kara DioGuardi, who also departed after Season 9. Mr. Cowell is preparing another singing competition for Fox, “The X Factor,” which will start in the fall. Randy Jackson remains a judge, and Ryan Seacrest remains the host.

Mr. Rushfield said the former judge panels had become “outsized,” detracting from the aspiring stars onstage. He said he expected that this year the panel would “consume a lot less oxygen, in terms of the drama it creates.”

Ms. Lopez noted that unlike Mr. Cowell, she and Mr. Tyler are singers and performers. Mr. Tyler, the frontman for Aerosmith, is working on another album for Sony now.

“We’re artists,” Ms. Lopez said. “We’ve been up there. We’ve auditioned. We’ve been through the ranks.”