Wednesday

Herself

And that great young
diva herself, Cher

Well, not young, but she still sure pulls in viewers

By Toni Fitzgerald

    You might guess that Cher, the aging hipster who’s older than Christina and Britney put together and rivals Michael Jackson in the plastic surgery and overexposure departments, would be a turn-off to the 18-49 crowd.
   You’d probably figure that someone younger and more relevant, say, Faith Hill or Jennifer Lopez, would attract better numbers for a concert special.
   Not so.
   Last Tuesday’s “Cher: The Farewell Tour” was the most-watched concert special of the entire season among 18-49s, edging younger acts such as Hill, the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen and U2 for that honor.
   Just how did NBC manage that feat?
   Well, it helps to be competing against reruns. Just four of the nine programs that Cher’s two-hour special faced from 9 to 11 p.m. were originals. Of those, only Fox’s “24” put up better numbers, averaging a 6.0 among adults 18-49 for its 9 p.m. time slot to Cher’s 5.9/15 for 120 minutes.
   NBC also properly hyped the program. At 8 p.m. the network ran a rerun of last year’s “Will & Grace” episode with a Cher guest appearance, which averaged a 2.3. Not a great output, but comparable to ratings for what’s been airing in the time slot since “Just Shoot Me” and “In-Laws” went on hiatus three months ago.
   What’s more, 56-year-old Cher fared way better than the terminally un-hip (and much younger) Celine Dion two weeks ago in nearly the same time slot.
   Celine’s Las Vegas blowout attracted a 4.1 18-49 rating on CBS from 9 to 10. Cher bettered those numbers by nearly a third and also boasted 3 million more total viewers.
   Cher had the most-watched concert special since the November 2001 Jackson Five reunion on CBS, which drew 26 million viewers. Cher boasted 17 million.
   To be fair, Hill’s NBC concert in November was on Thanksgiving night, not exactly the best time to catch viewers.
   But she averaged just 11.3 million viewers, .2 million more than the Dixie Chicks managed on NBC. Hill’s concert had a 4.2 18-49 rating.
   During her concert, the still-fearless Cher said she wanted to show up "J. Lo and Britney and all those young girls who are coming to take, well, not my place, but somebody's place."
   She got her wish. Compared to Jennifer Lopez, whose NBC concert aired in fall 2001, Cher still kicked butt. J. Lo averaged a 4.5 18-49 rating and 12.1 million viewers.
   An “American Idol”-fueled Fox finished No. 1 for the week among 18-49s with a 4.1 average, .2 ahead of NBC. The two networks remain in a tight race for the season-to-date top average.
   NBC is currently ahead with a 4.5 average, .3 ahead of Fox, but the May sweeps likely will tilt the outcome. With “Idol” expected to earn “Joe Millionaire”-like numbers, it should be an interesting finish.
   The season finale of “Ed” on NBC earned its best 18-49 numbers since January with a 3.9. The show, relocated to Fridays for its final three episodes, remains on the fence for next season, but last week’s results may help.
   The dramedy more than doubled all of its time slot competitors’ ratings except for one, Fox’s 2.5 rating for a special showing of the movie “Big Daddy.”
   ABC squandered a clever reality TV-skewering episode of “The Practice” Monday opposite CBS’s NCAA men’s basketball championship.
   Even so, the show placed fourth among 18-49s in the time slot, averaging half the audience it used to at 10 p.m. Sunday.
   CBS network head Les Moonves, who appeared in the episode, could afford to laugh it off. If ABC nixes “The Practice,” Kelley can devote more attention to his new CBS pilot “The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.”

PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households Week Ending April 13
Network	Households*			People 2+			Adults 18-49
Network	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr	Rtg%	(000)	Shr
CBS	7.7	8260	13	4.2	11480	11	3.5	4470	10
NBC	7.2	7690	12	3.9	10710	10	3.9	5030	11
FOX	5.4	5730	9	3.3	8880	9	4.1	5290	12
ABC	4.8	5080	8	2.7	7220	7	2.7	3460	8
UPN	2.1	2220	3	1.2	3220	3	1.3	1720	4
WB	2.0	2150	3	1.1	2950	3	1.3	1650	4
PAX	0.7	740	1	0.4	960	1	0.2	320	1
* Each rating point is equivalent to 1.067 million homes Source: Nielsen Media Research

SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 13

Network

Households*

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

CBS

8.3

8840

13

4.6

12610

12

3.9

5030

10

NBC

7.7

8250

13

4.3

11700

11

4.5

5790

12

ABC

6.4

6870

10

3.8

10230

10

3.9

4990

10

FOX

6.0

6420

10

3.6

9860

9

4.2

5430

11

WB

2.6

2750

4

1.5

4090

4

1.8

2270

5

UPN

2.3

2420

4

1.3

3560

3

1.5

1930

4

PAX

0.8

900

1

0.4

1190

1

0.3

380

1

* Each rating point is equivalent to 1.067 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research

NETWORK TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 13

#

PROGRAMS

Net

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

RANK

Rtg%

(000)

1

CSI

CBS

16.6

25

17736

1

9.7

26449

2

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHAMPSHIPS(S)

CBS

12.6

19

13400

5

6.8

18573

3

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

11.9

19

12724

2

7.4

20134

4

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

11.6

19

12393

6

6.4

17537

5

SURVIVOR: AMAZON

CBS

11.4

19

12212

3

7.0

19076

6

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

11.1

17

11825

3

7.0

19168

7

CHER:FAREWELL TOUR(S)

NBC

11.0

17

11724

7

6.1

16569

8

FRIENDS

NBC

10.2

17

10844

8

5.5

14936

9

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

9.4

17

10068

10

5.1

13819

9

PRELUDE TO A CHAMPIONSHIP(S)

CBS

9.4

14

10026

9

5.2

14117

11

60 MINUTES

CBS

8.7

16

9299

14

4.7

12757

12

60 MINUTES II - 9PM

CBS

8.4

13

8944

17

4.4

12069

12

E.R.

NBC

8.4

14

8983

21

4.3

11591

12

SCRUBS

NBC

8.4

13

8924

17

4.4

11947

15

EVERYBDY LOVES RAYMND SPC(S)

CBS

8.3

12

8858

15

4.5

12115

15

LAW AND ORDER

NBC

8.3

14

8845

17

4.4

12044

15

THIRD WATCH

NBC

8.3

12

8808

12

4.8

12970

18

CROSSING JORDAN

NBC

8.1

12

8592

21

4.3

11818

18

WILL & GRACE

NBC

8.1

12

8672

25

4.2

11352

20

CSI-SPCL(S)

CBS

7.9

12

8439

21

4.3

11823

21

FEAR FACTOR

NBC

7.8

12

8369

11

5.0

13500

22

LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT

NBC

7.6

12

8073

25

4.2

11476

23

BACHELOR, THE

ABC

7.4

11

7848

27

4.1

11179

23

BERNIE MAC

FOX

7.4

11

7904

12

4.8

12935

25

ED 4/11(S)

NBC

7.3

13

7804

27

4.1

11216

25

NYPD BLUE

ABC

7.3

11

7738

30

4.0

10881

Source: Nielsen Media Research

TOP 30 PROGRAMS - BROADCAST TV
Adults 18-49
Week Ending April 13

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

In Millions

1

CSI

CBS

9.8

12.57

2

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

9.7

12.42

3

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

9.4

12.08

4

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHAMPSHIPS

CBS

7.5

9.60

5

SURVIVOR: AMAZON

CBS

7.1

9.16

6

FRIENDS

NBC

6.5

8.42

7

BERNIE MAC

FOX

6.3

8.14

8

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

6.2

8.03

9

24

FOX

6.0

7.73

10

CHER: FAREWELL TOUR

NBC

5.9

7.62

10

WANDA AT LARGE

FOX

5.9

7.58

12

FEAR FACTOR

NBC

5.8

7.46

13

THAT ‘70S SHOW

FOX

5.7

7.36

13

WILL & GRACE

NBC

5.7

7.31

15

SCRUBS

NBC

5.6

7.15

16

BACHELOR, THE

ABC

5.4

6.94

17

THIRD WATCH

NBC

5.3

6.86

18

ER

NBC

5.2

6.69

18

SIMPSONS

FOX

5.2

6.75

20

PRELUDE TO A CHAMPIONSHIP

CBS

5.0

6.44

21

GOOD MORNING MIAMI

NBC

4.9

6.24

21

LAW & ORDER: SVU

NBC

4.7

5.98

23

NYPD BLUE

ABC

4.4

5.65

23

CROSSING JORDAN

NBC

4.4

5.69

23

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND SPC

CBS

4.4

5.68

26

LAW & ORDER

NBC

4.3

5.47

26

LAW & ORDER: CRIM INTENT

NBC

4.3

5.54

28

OLIVER BEENE

FOX

4.1

5.28

28

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE

FOX

4.1

5.31

30

ED 4/11

NBC

3.9

5.02

Source: ABC Networks, based on data from Nielsen Media Research

CABLE TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

BASIC CABLE

#

PROGRAM NAME

NET

Households

Persons 2+

(000)

Rtg
%

(000)

1

THE FOX REPORT W/S.SMITH

FOXNC

4716

4.4

6432

2

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

4591

4.3

6164

3

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

4300

4.0

5576

4

THE FOX REPORT W/S.SMITH

FOXNC

4284

4.0

5799

5

FOX & FRIENDS SATURDAY

FOXNC

4202

3.9

5190

6

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

4190

3.9

5534

7

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

4182

3.9

5817

8

HANNITY & COLMES

FOXNC

4051

3.8

5292

9

FOX & FRIENDS SATURDAY

FOXNC

3957

3.7

4739

10

THE COST OF FREEDOM(S)-04/05/2003

FOXNC

3955

3.7

4937

11

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

3921

3.7

5412

12

SR/PUB INFO OFFCR PC-POW(S)-04/01/2003

FOXNC

3903

3.7

5162

13

NEWSNIGHT W/ AARON BROWN

CNN

3894

3.6

4980

14

HANNITY & COLMES

FOXNC

3778

3.5

5026

15

SR/RUMSFELD PC(S)-04/01/2003

FOXNC

3734

3.5

5032

PAY CABLE

#

PROGRAM NAME

NET

Households

Persons 2+

(000)

Rtg%

(000)

1

SIX FEET UNDER

HBO

3618

3.4

5233

2

SOPRANOS, THE

HBO

2307

2.2

3393

3

WIRE, THE

HBO

1822

1.7

2490

4

WIRE, THE

HBO

1707

1.6

2327

5

FIFTH ELEMENT, THE

HBO

1699

1.6

2319

Total U.S. ratings and household projections are based on 106.7 million TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending March 30

#

PROGRAMS

Syndicator

Households

US Rtg%

(000)

1

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

KIN

9.3

9963

2

JEOPARDY

KIN

7.3

7794

3

FRIENDS-SYN (AT)

WB

6.4

6858

4

SEINFELD (AT)

SPT

6.0

6429

5

SEINFELD-WKND (AT)

SPT

5.8

6173

6

EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN (AT)

KIN

5.7

6055

7

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)

PRM

5.2

5591

8

OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT)

KIN

4.9

5277

9

JUDGE JUDY (AT)

PRM

4.7

5044

10

DR. PHIL SHOW

KIN

4.6

4859

Source: Nielsen Media Research

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI*
Rtg%

Projection
(000)

1

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO MON

UNI

25.1

2442

2

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO TUE

UNI

24.8

2417

3

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO THU

UNI

24.5

2385

4

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO WED

UNI

23.5

2289

5

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO FRI

UNI

23.4

2275

6

VIAS DEL AMOR MON

UNI

22.3

2169

7

VIAS DEL AMOR WED

UNI

22.1

2150

8

VIAS DEL AMOR TUE

UNI

22.0

2140

9

VIAS DEL AMOR THU

UNI

20.5

1994

10

GATA SALVAJE-MON

UNI

19.2

1867

11

VIAS DEL AMOR FRI

UNI

18.9

1841

12

GATA SALVAJE-TUE

UNI

18.7

1821

13

GATA SALVAJE-WED

UNI

18.4

1789

14

DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE

UNI

17.9

1746

15

GATA SALVAJE-THU

UNI

17.7

1719

16

CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI

UNI

17.6

1715

17

CRISTINA-MON

UNI

17.0

1651

18

VER PARA CREER-TUE

UNI

16.0

1555

19

GATA SALVAJE-FRI

UNI

15.9

1552

19

SABADO GIGANTE-SAT

UNI

15.9

1546

* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 9.7 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

NETWORK SPORTS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Episode

Households

Persons 2+

US Rtg%

Shr

(000)

(000)

1

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHAMP SA-2(S)
4/05/2003

CBS

TEX VS
SYRA

7.9

14

8430

12571

2

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHAMP
SA-1(S)
4/05/2003

CBS

KS VS
MARQ

6.3

13

6770

9897

3

FOX NASCAR
WINSTON CUP

FOX

AARON'S
499 -
TALLA

6.2

15

6656

9669

4

WWE SMACKDOWN!

UPN

3.3

5

3528

5144

5

NBA ON ABC
SUN 2

ABC

SACRA AT PHIL

2.6

6

2783

3515

6

BELLSOUTH CLASSIC GOLF-SU(S)
4/06/2003

NBC

2.6

6

2759

3350

7

FOX NASCAR
BUSCH SERIES

FOX

AARON'S
312 -
TALLA

2.4

6

2578

3675

8

WRLD FIG SKATING CH
4/5(S)
4/05/2003

ABC

2.0

5

2157

2510

9

BELLSOUTH CLASSIC GOLF-SA(S)
4/05/2003

NBC

2.0

5

2151

2464

10

NBA ON ABC-SUN 1

ABC

WASH
AT
BOSTON

1.8

4

1895

2377

11

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER-4/5(S)
4/05/2003

ABC

LA AT
COLUMBUS

1.0

2

1044

1261

12

CBS SPORTS-SPECT
-SU2(S)
4/06/2003

CBS

MET-RX SUPERSTARS, PT.2

1.0

2

1022

1279

13

NBC SPORTS
SPECIAL 4/5(S)
4/05/2003

NBC

VAN'S TRPL-CHAMP OF SNOWBOARD

1.0

3

1037

1357

14

NBC ARENA FOOTBALL

NBC

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

1.0

2

1053

1258

15

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR-SU

CBS

CLLG BSKBL 10
GREATEST
COACHES

0.9

2

1003

1184

16

WRLD SHORT TRACK SPD 4/5(S)
4/05/2003

ABC

0.8

2

832

939

17

WRLD SHORT
TRACK SPEED SK(S)
4/05/2003

ABC

0.8

2

867

985

18

CBS SPORTS SPECTA
-SA

CBS

MET-RX SUPERSTARS, PT.1

0.8

2

853

914

Source: Nielsen Media Research

-Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life

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