Baseball has been a HUGE bust for FOX. It finally won them a night, which was last night (Sunday, October 22). Other than that, they still have been firmly held down in 4th place. If they were lucky, they have moved up to 3rd or 2nd, but that’s about it. Even the first World Series game on Saturday night drew lackluster numbers. On Sunday night, the second game of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers, jumped up in viewers but it still wasn’t the most-watched thing on the night. That award went to Desperate Housewives on ABC. FOX can also thank late-ending NFL games for their win as well. So overall, unless FOX wins the rest of the World Series nights, this has been another failure! Of course, the regular FOX shows couldn’t pull the same number the World Series games have gotten, so FOX can spin the numbers that way. In the end, though, these games were not HUGE enough to help out the network in the long run. I will welcome back most of FOX’s regularly scheduled shows with open arms! With that said, GO CARDINALS!!
I won’t tell who won the ratings battle this week, but it was the closest ever. All four of the major networks were at least tied for first place on at least one night this week. ABC and CBS battled for first place, while CBS and FOX battled for 3rd place. As much as I ranted about FOX above, they still were competitive with NBC and that is thanks to the the BIG win last night. I really don’t think 3rd place is anything to be happy about, though, because when Spring comes FOX easily takes 3rd place or better regularly. So lets find out how it all went down!
Monday (10/16/06)
Overall:
#1 – CBS – 8.9
#2 – NBC – 7.8
#3 – ABC – 6.2
#4 – FOX – 3.1
#5 – The CW – 1.9
Adults 18-49 Demographic:
#1 – NBC – 4.7
#2 – CBS – 4.5
#3 – ABC – 3.6
#4 – FOX – 1.5
#5 – The CW – 1.3
Top Shows for Day:
#1 – CSI: Miami (CBS) – 11.3
#2 – Deal or No Deal (NBC) – 10.5
#3 – Two and a Half Men (CBS) – 10.4
#4 – The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) – 8.7
#5 – Heroes (NBC) – 7.8
#6 – The Bachelor (ABC) – 6.5
#7 – Wife Swap (ABC) – 6.3
#8 – How I Met Your Mother (CBS) – 6.0
#9 – What About Brian (ABC) – 5.7
#10 – The Class (CBS) – 5.6
#11 – Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) – 5.3
#12 – House (RERUN) (FOX) – 3.4
#13 – Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) – 2.0
#14 – All of Us (The CW) – 2.0
#15 – Girlfriends (The CW) – 2.0
#16 – The Game (The CW) – 2.0
Tuesday (10/17/06)
Overall:
#1 – ABC – 10.4
#2 – CBS – 8.1
#3 – FOX – 6.9
#4 – NBC – 6.7
#5 – The CW – 2.5
Adults 18-49 Demographic:
#1 – ABC – 4.6
#2 – NBC – 3.8
#3 – CBS – 3.6
#4 – FOX – 3.4
#5 – The CW – 1.7
Top Shows for Day:
#1 – Dancing with the Stars – Hour 2 (ABC) – 14.8
#2 – Dancing with the Stars – Hour 1 (ABC) – 13.0
#3 – NCIS (CBS) – 9.8
#4 – Law & Order: SVU (NBC) – 8.6
#5 – The Unit (CBS) – 7.9
#6 – Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC) – 7.3
#6 – Help Me Help You (ABC) – 7.3
#6 – MLB Playoff Baseball (FOX) – 7.3
#9 – Boston Legal (ABC) – 7.2
#10 – Criminal Minds (RERUN) (CBS) – 6.7
#11 – Friday Night Lights (NBC) – 4.2
#12 – Gilmore Girls (The CW) – 3.1
#13 – Veronica Mars (The CW) – 2.0
Wednesday (10/18/06)
Overall:
#1 – ABC – 9.4
#2 – CBS – 9.2
#3 – FOX – 7.2
#4 – NBC – 4.6
#5 – The CW – 2.7
Adults 18-49 Demographic:
#1 – ABC – 4.9
#2 – CBS – 4.2
#3 – FOX – 3.2
#4 – NBC – 2.6
#5 – The CW – 1.9
Top Shows for Day:
#1 – Dancing with the Stars – Results (ABC) – 12.5
#2 – Criminal Minds (CBS) – 10.6
#3 – CSI: NY (CBS) – 10.3
#4 – Lost (ABC) – 9.9
#5 – MLB Playoff Baseball (FOX) – 8.0
#6 – Jericho (CBS) – 6.8
#7 – The Nine (ABC) – 5.8
#8 – Dateline (NBC) – 5.2
#9 – The Biggest Loser (NBC) – 4.9
#10 – 30 Rock (FOX) – 3.9
#10 – Twenty Good Years (NBC) – 3.9
#12 – America’s Next Top Model (The CW) – 3.4
#13 – One Tree Hill (The CW) – 2.2
Thursday (10/19/06)
Overall:
#1 – CBS – 10.1
#2 – ABC – 9.7
#3 – FOX – 9.3
#4 – NBC – 6.8
#5 – The CW – 2.4
Adults 18-49 Demographic:
#1 – ABC – 5.8
#2 – CBS – 5.4
#3 – FOX – 4.5
#4 – NBC – 4.1
#4 – The CW – 1.7
Top Shows for Day:
#1 – Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – 14.3
#2 – CSI (CBS) – 12.5
#3 – MLB Playoff Baseball (FOX) – 11.1
#4 – ER (NBC) – 9.0
#4 – Shark (CBS) – 9.0
#6 – Survivor: Cook Islands (CBS) – 8.9
#6 – Ugly Betty (ABC) – 8.9
#8 – Deal or No Deal (NBC) – 6.1
#9 – Six Degrees (ABC) – 6.0
#10 – My Name is Earl (NBC) – 5.7
#10 – The Office (NBC) – 5.7
#12 – Smallville (The CW) – 2.8
#13 – Supernatural (The CW) – 2.7
Friday (10/20/06)
Overall:
#1 – CBS – 7.2
#2 – NBC – 7.0
#3 – ABC – 4.4
#4 – The CW – 2.7
#5 – FOX – 2.4
Adults 18-49 Demographic:
#1 – NBC – 3.2
#2 – CBS – 3.1
#3 – ABC – 1.8
#3 – The CW – 1.5
#5 – FOX – 1.4
Top Shows for Day:
#1 – Numb3rs (CBS) – 7.8
#2 – Close to Home (CBS) – 7.3
#3 – 1 vs. 100 (NBC) – 7.2
#4 – Deal or No Deal (NBC) – 7.0
#5 – Ghost Whisperer (CBS) – 6.7
#5 – Law & Order (NBC) – 6.7
#7 – 20/20 (ABC) – 5.3
#8 – Men in Trees (ABC) – 4.4
#9 – Extreme Makeover (ABC) – 3.5
#10 – WWE Friday Night Smackdown (The CW) – 3.0
#11 – Trading Spouses (FOX) – 2.2
Sunday (10/22/06)
Overall:
#1 – FOX – 10.2
#2 – ABC – 8.4
#2 – CBS – 8.4
#4 – NBC – 3.3
#5 – The CW – 1.6
Adults 18-49 Demographic:
#1 – FOX – 5.4
#2 – ABC – 5.2
#3 – CBS – 3.7
#4 – NBC – 2.1
#5 – The CW – 0.9
Top Shows for the Day:
#1 – Desperate Housewives (ABC) – 12.4
#2 – MLB World Series Baseball Game (FOX) – 10.7
#3 – Late Ending NFL Games/World Series Preview (FOX) – 9.6
#4 – Without a Trace (CBS) – 9.5
#5 – Cold Case (CBS) – 9.2
#6 – Brothers and Sisters (ABC) – 8.3
#7 – 60 Minutes (CBS) – 8.1
#8 – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) – 7.4
#9 – The Amazing Race (CBS) – 6.8
#10 – America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) – 5.5
#11 – Football Night in America (NBC) – 4.7
#12 – Heroes (RERUN) (NBC) – 3.7
#13 – 7th Heaven (The CW) – 2.1
Networks:
#1 – CBS
#1 – ABC
#3 – NBC
#4 – FOX
#5 – The CW
Top 10 Shows:
#1 – Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
#2 – Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
#3 – CSI (CBS)
#4 – Desperate Housewives (ABC)
#5 – CSI: Miami (CBS)
#6 – Criminal Minds (CBS)
#7 – Deal or No Deal (Monday) (NBC)
#8 – Two and a Half Men (CBS)
#9 – CSI: NY (CBS)
#10 – Lost (ABC)
Networks:
#1 – CBS
#2 – ABC
#3 – NBC
#4 – FOX
#5 – The CW
Top 10 Shows:
#1 – Grey’s Anatomy (ABc)
#2 – Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
#3 – CSI (CBS)
#4 – Desperate Housewives (ABC)
#5 – CSI: Miami (CBS)
#6 – CSI: NY (CBS)
#7 – Criminal Minds (CBS)
#8 – Two and a Half Men (CBS)
#9 – Lost (ABC)
#10 – Deal or No Deal (Monday) (NBC)
#10 – Without a Trace (CBS)
That’s right, it was a tie between ABC and CBS. After splitting the first four weeks, they finish this first month in a tie. I wouldn’t have expected anything else. It’s interesting that CBS didn’t win a night outright this week. They split it up with other networks. ABC won two nights on their own, but after the points were totaled it ended up being a tie. Again ABC had the most-watched shows but less of them, while CBS had more shows in the top 10, but less people watched them. NBC and FOX probably helped make it a tie this week, since they each shared a night’s win with CBS or won a night outright. That took less viewers away from CBS and ABC, which ended up forcing a tie if that makes any sense.
Looking at the overall numbers for month and this week, you will probably notice that there wasn’t much difference. That shouldn’t shock you, as the numbers for all the shows each week have pretty much stabalized. Some shows will move up and down each week, because there are some close numbers. However, the top ten shouldn’t change that much. Viewers know what they like and that won’t change until the new year. Still I will be watching next month’s “sweeps” period with great interest and maybe there will be some major shake-ups to announce here. We’ll find out in two weeks! See you next week.