MOONVES PRAISES PELLEY, SNUBS OLD WHAT’S-HER-NAME

Four years ago, CBS chief Les Moonves went out of his way to praise Katie Couric even as her ratings continued to decline. Couric, he told a staff meeting in New York, “is my anchor today, tomorrow and in the future.” He insisted that he was “proud” of her and that the network was “lucky […]

PELLEY AIMS FOR NO. 1 FOR CBS EVENING NEWS

One year after Scott Pelley took over the anchor desk of the CBS Evening News from Katie Couric, the nightly newscast remains in third place among the three major networks, but it has gradually been increasing its total audience and especially those viewers in what advertisers regard as the all-important 25-54 age group. And, in […]

FIVE SHOWS COMPRISE TV’S TOP TEN

The top ten broadcast TV shows last week were actually five, given the fact that all of them, with the exception of ABC’s Modern Family placed at least two episodes on the list. The season finale of Fox’s American Idol — the results show in which Phillip Phillips was crowned the winner — was the […]

IDOL RATINGS PLUMMET — STILL NO. 1

Even with its ratings way down from where they once were, Fox’s American Idol, with three hours landing in the Nielsen top ten, gave the network a victory among the demographic that advertisers like to target — adults 18-49. The reason may have been that the competition’s shows were also way down from where they […]

CBS AND FOX SPLIT RATINGS HONORS

As usual, CBS was the most-watched television network last week, and its long-running drama NCIS was the most-watched television show. However, it came in second to Fox in the 18-49 age group, the demographic group that advertisers prefer. Back among the top-ten shows — this time without a football overrun to pump up its numbers […]

TWO SHOWS TIE FOR FIRST PLACE IN RATINGS AGAIN

For the second week in a row — and the first time in memory — the same two shows tied for first place in the Nielsen ratings. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and CBS’s NCIS each attracted 18 million total adult viewers. Fox’s American Idol was close on their heels with 17.9 million viewers. Overall, […]

CBS WON’T BE PAYING FOR BIG “GETS” IN FUTURE, NEWS CHIEF SAYS

CBS News appeared to be the latest network outlet to take itself out of the bidding wars for big “gets.” Speaking to the Television Critics Association on Wednesday, CBS News President Jeff Fager said that the news division will no longer pay huge fees for pictures and home videos as a way to land exclusive […]

A BAD WEEK FOR LEBRON IS GREAT FOR ABC

ABC’s telecasts of the NBA finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat dominated the primetime ratings for the second week in a row among total viewers and those 18-49. Along with Monday’s The Bachelorette, the telecasts easily gave ABC the No. 1 spot on the Nielsen top ten list. But NBC’s talent shows, […]

CURIOSITY FACTOR NOT EVIDENT IN PELLEY DEBUT

Ordinarily when a new anchor debuts on an evening newscast, the audience surges initially — if for no other reason than curiosity. When Katie Couric took over the anchor’s desk on the CBS Evening News in September 2006, she averaged 10.16 million viewers in her first week, far exceeding the competition. Nothing like that surge […]

PELLEY MAKES LOW-KEY DEBUT ON CBS EVENING NEWS

Scott Pelley took over the anchor chair on the CBS Evening News Monday and relegated the story that most newspapers headlined and NBC led with — the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal — to No. 3 on his list of top stories, nine minutes into the newscast. “Good for Pelley and CBS News and their sense […]

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