Ratings Clack – Iffy results for the first full week of sweeps

by Brett Love

Overall, the first full week of sweeps was a bit slow. The big surprise came as NBC's 'The Voice' managed to improve on what was an outstanding debut the week before. Over on cable, can you imagine 'L&O CI' on USA beating new 'L&O LA' on NBC?

NBC - There were a lot of less than stellar results across all the networks in the first full week of sweeps. On the other hand, there were a few pleasant surprises as well. Chief among those was week two of The Voice (12.58m/5.7). That’s up .8m/.6 from what was a stellar premiere. Earlier in the week, Next Great Restaurant (4.41m/1.6) continued to struggle, but Celebrity Apprentice (8.65m/3.1) gets a nod for being the number one demo show on what was a chaotic Sunday night.

Monday, of course, things took a decidedly darker turn as Chuck (4.1m/1.4), The Event (4.1m/1.3), and L&O LA (4.85m/1.4) all failed to reach the five million viewer bar. Tuesday, The Biggest Loser (7.52m/2.7) was okay leading in to The Voice. Wednesday found a little more good news. L&O SVU (8.53m/2.6) was solidly ahead of Suspect Behavior to take the demo crown for the hour. Thursday was as we have come to expect with Community (3.49m/1.5), The Office (6.9m/3.5), Parks & Rec (5.06m/2.5), 30 Rock (4.2m/2.1), and Outsourced (3.14m/1.5). The week finished with Friday Night Lights (2.72m/.8)

ABC – It was not a great start to the week for Extreme Makeover (8.21m/2.3), Desperate Housewives (9.44m/2.8), and Brothers & Sisters (5.7m/1.6), but the network gets a pass here. The Obama announcement created havoc with all the programming schedules. Monday looked much better with Dancing With The Stars (21.4m/4.5) and Castle (12.11m/2.9) both at number one in both measures. The DWTS results (16.06m/3) held up well against The Voice and managed to inch ahead of NCIS LA. Body Of Proof (10.23m/2) remains up for the time slot, but has taken a hit with the increased competition.

Comedy Wednesday was another night that didn’t live up to the sweeps expectations. The Middle (7.08m/2), Better With You (5.41m/1.6), Modern Family (9.9m/3.9), Cougar Town (5.49m/2.2), and Happy Endings (3.88m/1.7 – 3.26m/1.4) were all below par. The same could be said of the Thursday lineup of Wipeout (4.79m/1.4), Grey’s Anatomy (10.11m/3.5), and Private Practice (6.89m/2.3).

CBS - The lead off lineup of Amazing Race (9.2m/2.6), Undercover Boss (8.37m/2), and CSI Miami (7.65m/1.8) was another victim of the news interruption. Things weren’t helped much on Monday. The loss of new Two and a Half Men episodes is dragging the rest of the night down. How I Met Your Mother (6.77m/2.8), Mad Love (5.71m/2.2), Mike & Molly (8.19m/2.4), and Hawaii Five-O (9.83m/2.5) are all worse off.

Tuesday was also oddly low. NCIS (17.87m/3.7) still won the hour easily, but that is below what one might expect as we enter the final sweeps period. NCIS LA (14.16m/2.9) was down as well, although that one is a little more understandable given the huge gains on NBC at 9. None of that had any effect on The Good Wife (12.38m/2.4) which has proven to have its own very loyal audience. Survivor (10.99m/3.1) and Criminal Minds (12.9m/3.2) were solid enough on Wednesday, but the numbers for Suspect Behavior (8.83m/2.2) are becoming increasingly… suspect.

The down week overall continued with the CBS Thursday, where Big Bang Theory (10.5m/3.2) and Rules Of Engagement (7.72m/2.2) were a little slow to start the night. The Mentalist (14m/2.7) rebounded somewhat, easily winning the final hour of the night. The really interesting bit came from CSI (10.67m/2.3). That’s a fourth place demo right there. Friday, the US premiere of Flashpoint (6.89m/1.1) was largely ignored before CSI NY (9.31m/1.5) and Blue Bloods (10.12m/1.5) took over.

FOX - The network avoided most of the news shenanigans on Sunday, with only The Simpsons (5.84m/2.7) offering a new installment. The full schedule resumed on Monday, where House (8.57m/2.9) and Chicago Code (5.6m/1.6) were both down. A slightly off night for Glee (8.85m/3.7) does gain points for landing in a tie with NCIS for the demo crown, but the comedy of duo of Raising Hope (4.67m/1.8) and Traffic Light (2.87m/1.1) both landed in a distant fourth place.

American Idol took over after that, easily winning the night on Wednesday (21.14m/6.6) and Thursday (21.29m/6.3). Those audiences were handed off to Breaking In (7.07m/2.4) and Bones (10.94m/3.2). It all came to a close with Kitchen Nightmares (3.66m/1.6) and Fringe (3.3m/1.2) on Friday.

CW - Like the other networks, the CW had some sweeps struggles. Most notably, the first three days of the week. 90210 (1.47m/.8), Gossip Girl (1.27m/.7), One Tree Hill (1.24m/.6), Hellcats (1.01m/.5), and Next Top Model (1.94m/.9) were all well below averages. Things did look a little better the last two days, thanks to Vampire Diaries (2.84m/1.3), Nikita (2m/.8), Smallville (2m/.8), and Supernatural (2.08m/.9).

CABLE - The big premieres for the week were seen In Plain Sight (3.87m/1) and L&O Criminal Intent (5.1m/1.4) on USA. In Plain Sight is a little below what the network gets for it’s mid-week dramas, but right on pace with what the show was bringing in for season three. And, it is fascinating that Criminal Intent is beating new episodes of L&O LA on NBC. Elsewhere, here’s an interesting bit of trivia from premium cable. Like last week, the new Secret Diary of a Call Girl (.08m/0) again scored a zero in the adult demo. That actually translates to just 39,000 people watching.

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