The big news in ratings this week wasn’t another series high for True Blood, the further decline of Defying Gravity, or even the return of Millionaire. Instead, it was the announcement that several big media and advertising companies are joining forces to create an alternative to Nielsen. My kneejerk reaction? The announcement is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Well, then again, I suppose it signifies that the networks are pissed about shrinking audiences. Unfortunately, finding a new way to measure shrinking audiences won’t do anything to fix the problem.
That’s not to say that Nielsen is perfect. There are certainly issues. Overall though, I think the ratings we see from Nielsen are pretty accurate. That’s based partly on how they gather the data, but also on my own observations of a host of different people and what it is they watch. Taking that out of it, even if you do believe that there are huge problems with the Nielsen numbers, do you have any reason at all to believe that a consortium including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Time Warner, and Viacom can do any better? Do you not think, even for a second, that they may have ulterior motives? It would make for interesting debate, should anything come of the consortium. Not unlike the two different polls in college football. Until we see the announcement result in some actual numbers though, there’s not much story there.
Now, getting to the week that was….
ABC - I really thought we were going to see some action here this week. The return of Millionaire! Remember how huge it was? Yeah, not so much anymore. The show was back with five episodes, and the numbers were what I would call middling. Sun (6.99m/1.6) Mon (7.24m/1.5) Tue (5.9m/1.3) Wed (6.4m/1.3) Thu (8.44m/1.9). Granted, that’s better than the network saw from Superstars or Japanese Gameshow, but I doubt the Millionaire bar was set at Superstars. The numbers are disappointing. Elsewhere, nothing really popped for ABC last week. Shark Tank (4.23m/1.3) bombed in its debut. Defying Gravity (2.81m/1) is still searching for an audience. Dating In The Dark (4.49m/1.7) continues to struggle without The Bachelorette. Better Off Ted (2.75m/.9 – 2.41m /.9) would have been better off being held for the fall. And Wipeout (6.1m/2.1) was pushed to 9 by Millionaire, resulting in the show’s worst numbers for the summer.
NBC - It was actually a pretty good week for NBC. The network managed to take three nights in viewers and the demo, thanks to NFL Preseason (7.09m/2.4) and America’s Got Talent on Tuesday (12.5m/3.4) and Wednesday (11.4m/2.9). The only other new programming was Great American Roadtrip (4.38m/1.2) and The Philanthropist (4.68m/1.4)
FOX - With the SYTYCD crew taking a few weeks off before the fall season begins, there wasn’t a lot to be had on FOX this week. The Teen Choice Awards (3.9m/1.4) kicked things off. Hell’s Kitchen (6.65m/3.1) was the only notable success. More To Love (3.86m/1.7) doesn’t seem to have caught on. And Mental (2.99m/.9 – 3.34m/.9) wrapped things up with two episodes on Friday, probably for good. Although, it did have more viewers than the Dollhouse finale. I’m just sayin….
CBS - Finally coming out of its shell, the network had something other than Big Brother to offer this week, although it didn’t really matter. The story continued to be Big Brother on Sunday (7.2m/2.5), Tuesday (6.88m/2.4), and Thursday (7.6m/2.6), and the Monday night repeats. The combination of the comedy block and CSI: Miami were once again enough to take the night in demo and viewers. Also worth noting is that Big Bang Theory (8.36m/2.7) topped Two and a Half Men (8.61m/2.4) in the demo. Could we finally see a new #1 comedy this fall? The rest of the lineup included the less than impressive debut of There Goes The Neighborhood (5.08m/1.6) and Neil Diamond: Hot Summer Nights (6.07m/1.2).
CABLE - TNT had some big news this week, with a renewal and a cancellation, of sorts. After averaging 3.8 million viewers for the season, Hawthorne was renewed. Meanwhile, it was also announced that Saving Grace will end after a nine episode run next summer.
Over at HBO, the news continues to be outstanding for True Blood (4.43m/2.3). That’s another series high. Going the opposite direction, we have Royal Pains (5.65m/1.5). Those numbers are still solid for cable, but the loss of the Burn Notice lead in led to the lowest rated episode to date.
Other random cable numbers this week include Comedy Central’s Roast of Joan Rivers (2.8m), VH1’s The T.O. Show (1.84m) and Real Chance of Love (2.52m), Syfy’s Warehouse 13 (3.35m), and TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8 (3.5m)
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Aug 17, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
