FOX – You knew the week was going to start off well, but the numbers for the Super Bowl (111.01m/39.9) were even better than expected. That’s nearly ten million more viewers than last year (101.43m/38.2). Unfortunately, the network didn’t really take full advantage of having the big game. In short, why did they put Glee (26.8m/11.1) on Sunday? At first glance, that number looks rather impressive. But if we look back to last year’s numbers, we’ll see that Undercover Boss (38.65m/16.2) did much better after taking the big hand-off. Did someone at FOX really think that the Super Bowl crowd was a good match for Glee?
The bit I really don’t understand about the decision is that it’s not like Glee needs any help. It’s the number one scripted show on the network. There are plenty of other shows that could have used the boost. And really, this did nothing for Glee long term either. The regular Tuesday airing (11.58m/4.6) showed no gains for having followed the Super Bowl. The show already had those numbers last November (11.68m/4.6). House (12.33m/4.3), on the other hand, took advantage of all the Super Bowl promo to make solid gains over its last original (10.45m/3.7).
That brings us to another disappointing development, the premiere of The Chicago Code (9.43m/2.4) on Monday. Like Glee, those numbers don’t look so bad at first glance. But this wasn’t just any regular old episode. It was the series premiere, and it was following a boatload of promotion on the biggest television event of the year. For perspective, last year on the Monday after the Super Bowl, 24 (10.27m/3.3) was much stronger facing stiffer competition. More recently, we only have to go back two weeks to find Lie To Me (7.67m/2.5) ahead in the demo. Given all of the promotion, and the fact that almost every show drops in week two, it wasn’t a great premiere for The Chicago Code. The next couple of weeks should be very telling for the show.
Raising Hope (6.58m/2.7) looked steady in its return on Tuesday, but the premiere of Traffic Light (4.59m/1.9) was awfully iffy. I guess we can say that at least it’s better than Running Wilde. Kind of like getting punched in the nose is better than getting kicked in the crotch. The good news returned with American Idol, down but still huge on Wednesday (24.05m/8.4) and Thursday (21.94m/7.3). Those episodes were followed by Human Target (8.13m/2.3) and Bones (9.94m/3.2). Finally, Friday brought more declines for Kitchen Nightmares (3.72m/1.5) and Fringe (3.71m/1.4). If you weren’t worrying about Fringe yet, it might be time to start.
ABC - Completely opposite of Chicago Code, here is an example of what a solid premiere looks like. Mr. Sunshine (10.52m/3.7) joined the Wednesday comedy block with numbers that put it far ahead of what Cougar Town has been doing in the time slot. In fact, it even topped The Office, and was in a dead heat with How I Met Your Mother. Of course, we do have to wait and see where it settles, but that was a very good premiere. That came on the heels of another solid outing from The Middle (8.84m/2.6), the expected result for Better With You (6.81m/2.1), and an outstanding Modern Family (13.16m/5.1). Alas, that big boost at 9:30 didn’t help Off The Map (5.61m/1.9).
Earlier in the week, The Bachelor (9.81m/3.2) remains solid, and Castle (9.26m/2.5) was okay in its first outing against Five-O and Harry’s Law on Monday. Tuesday remains a trainwreck, with No Ordinary Family (5.23m/1.5), V (5.4m/1.8), and Detroit 187 (5.49m/1.3) all failing to gain any traction. Wipeout (6.95m/2.2) is starting to slip on Thursday. Grey’s Anatomy (10.47m/3.9) and Private Practice (7.26m/2.6) were down a bit as well.
NBC - It was a bit of a rough week for the peacock. Monday started off with another weak result for Chuck (5.41m/1.7) that was followed by a new low for The Cape (4.58m/1.3). Harry’s Law (9.22m/1.7) looked better by comparison, but did take a solid hit when finally running up against new episodes from Castle and Five-O. Things were better Tuesday, thanks to The Biggest Loser (8.44m/3). Parenthood (5.22m/1.9) followed, down a bit from last week. The yo-yo ratings continued for SVU (7.89m/2.6) on Wednesday. I’m really not sure what is going on with that one. It’s all over the place week-to-week.
There was more trouble Thursday. Perfect Couples (3.06m/1.5) and Outsourced (3.61m/1.7) below four million viewers was expected, but did anyone think we would find Community (3.81m/1.8) in that same club? The Office (6.9m/3.5) and 30 Rock (4.59m/2.3) were down as well. In a bit of a surprise, Parks & Rec (5.03m/2.5) was up slightly in viewers and demo. The week finished with Who Do You Think You Are (6.6m/1.4) on Friday.
CBS - After taking Sunday off, the week got off to a great start on Monday. How I Met Your Mother (10m/3.5) and Rules Of Engagement (9.41m/3.2) were edged out by a Super Bowl fueled House, but 2 ½ Men (15.15m/4.4), Mike & Molly (12.55m/3.5), and Hawaii Five-O (11.01m/2.8) all won their slots in viewers and demo. More good news Tuesday as NCIS (20.35m/4.2), NCIS LA (17.16m/3.5), and The Good Wife (11.86m/2.2) were all strong as well.
The week took the expected stumble on Wednesday, in the form of Live To Dance (4.71m/.9). They wanted the next American Idol. They got the next The One. Fortunately, Criminal Minds (3.67m/3.6) doesn’t need the help. And a new CM gave a boost to Blue Bloods (11.8m/2.1). Thursday, like all the other networks, was down, but still solid, with Big Bang Theory (12.79m/3.9), $#*! My Dad Says (10.34m/2.7), CSI (12.64m/2.8), and The Mentalist (14.86m/2.9). The week wrapped up with CSI NY (9.66m/1.6) and another tough outing for The Defenders (7.92m/1.2).
CW – The week started off normally enough. 90210 (1.75m/.9) and Gossip Girl (1.62m/.8) both had small gains. Then it kind of went down hill as One Tree Hill (1.6m/.7), Hellcats (1.2m/.8), Vampire Diaries (2.79m/1.3), Nikita (1.89m/.7), Smallville (2.33m/1), and Supernatural (1.96m/.9) suffered losses in viewers, demo, or both.
CABLE - We were reminded that people actually will watch shows on FX, despite what the ratings for Terriers and Lights Out (.8m/.4) might suggest. Justified (3.47m/1.3) kicked off season two with a solid performance, especially given the recent results for the network. In other premiere news, History channel kicked off two more shows with the series premiere of Only In America (4.11m/1.2) and the second season premiere of Top Shot (2.79m/1). Neither of them are doing Pawn Stars (6.23m/2.5 – 6.6m/2.7) numbers, but that’s still not bad.
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Clacked by Brett Love 
on Feb 14, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
A) Love the metaphor of the picture
B) I’m curious, and I know prior years probably don’t bear me out, but do you think after the third commercial for Glee or the Chicago Code, THATS when people go get their refills on chips and Kool-Aid?
And yeah, I’d have much rather seen Chicago Code in that post Super Bowl spot, and then run episode 2 the next night, which has my favorite moment in the first couple of episodes.
*POST AUTHOR*
A) I’m glad you noticed. It took me an embarrassingly long time to find that picture.
B) I don’t know if there’s any way to answer that, but I do know that over the last couple years for the network carrying the Super Bowl, shows on Monday night following the game have averaged 4.1 in the demo. That puts the House 4.3 above the average, and Chicago Code’s 2.4 well below. The next lowest was Medium, with 2.9. And that is the year that Medium was canceled by NBC.
It would have made more sense to have The Chicago Code after the Super Bore, but Fox doesn’t care about what makes sense.
Fox wants money, not new shows to be hits. The 10 million more viewers means next season Glee can charge more for commercials. Fox did the same BS during the year of the useless writer’s strike. Instead of showing the Terminator show which would have have perfect for after the Super Bore they showed House just so they can increase the average viewership and get more money from commercials.
In other words Fox sucks, but we already knew that.
I also wondered why “Glee” was placed post-Superbowl since it does so well already. As a huge fan of “Fringe,” I would’ve preferred to see it get that spot, it could use the boost.