BIG BANG THEORY DRAWS DYNAMITE RATINGS AGAINST IDOL

For the second week in a row, CBS’s The Big Bang Theory has outscored Fox’s American Idol in the 8:00-8:30 p.m. half-hour among total adults and adults 18-49. According to Nielsen Media Research, the sitcom on Thursday attracted 16.4 million viewers versus 15.8 million for the talent contest. That number for Idol was 24 percent [...]

IDOL RATINGS FALL AGAIN

Fox’s American Idol drew 18.19 million viewers Wednesday night. That was more than all of the other broadcast networks drew combined, but it was still way off previous seasons’ numbers. Among adults 18-49 ratings were down 9 percent from last Wednesday and down a whopping 34 percent from the comparable week a year ago, according [...]

REPORT: NETWORKS USING TRICKS TO BOOST RATINGS

Television networks often resort to chicanery and devious manipulation to boost the ratings of some lackluster shows, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing as a flagrant example the decision of ABC to label Good Morning America a “special” and identify it to ratings researcher Nielsen as Good Morning Amer during the final week [...]

PRO BOWL RATINGS DA KINE

Scheduling the much-maligned Pro Bowl game (it’s generally regarded as a Hawaiian holiday gift to the players at the end of the season) before the Super Bowl instead of after has certainly paid off for the television networks that take turns carrying it. The 2010 and 2011 games each drew 12.3 million viewers. This year’s [...]

FOX NEWS CHANNEL — TEN YEARS AT NO. 1

On Tuesday, Fox News Channel celebrated the tenth anniversary of the day it overtook CNN to become the most-watched cable news network. It has never looked back. Last year it averaged 1.87 million viewers in primetime versus 689,000 for CNN, according to Nielsen Research. Thus far in 2012, it has averaged 1.9 million viewers versus [...]

IDOL KEEPS FALLING

Fox’s American Idol remained the highest-rated show on television on Wednesday and Thursday, but its numbers were down by nearly 30 percent from a year ago. Thursday’s telecast, which drew 16.99 million total viewers, was actually beaten by CBS’s The Big Bang Theory among viewers 18-49, Idol‘s primary target demo. Among total viewers, the CBS [...]

NFC TITLE GAME SCORES BIG

Allowing families all over the country to rehearse for February 5th’s Super Bowl parties, Sunday night’s telecast of the NFC championship game on Fox between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers attracted 57.6 million viewers — the most to watch any program on television since, well, last year’s Super Bowl. Some 31 [...]

FOX’S NEW ALCATRAZ REMAINS STRONG IN WEEK 2

CBS, the usual Monday-night ratings champ, remained in re-run mode this week, allowing Fox to capture the night among adults 18-49. CBS, however, continued to hold sway among total adults. While it lost about a third of its usual audience for a fresh episode, the network’s Two and a Half Men remained the most-watched show [...]

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP DRAWS MASSIVE AUDIENCE

Sunday night’s primetime coverage of the NFC Championship game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers on Fox averaged an extraordinary 52.73 million viewers, peaking in the first hour of primetime (7:00 p.m.) with 55.92 million, according to overnight figures released by Nielsen Research. Surprisingly, shows airing opposite the game were virtually [...]

IDOL‘S RATINGS SINK AGAIN

As it did on Wednesday, the audience for Thursday night’s edition of American Idol shrank significantly, down a whopping 27 percent from the season’s second episode a year ago. It nevertheless remained the most-watched show of the night, attracting 17.7 million viewers. But a new episode of CBS’s The Big Bang Theory was breathing down [...]

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