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  Not bad showings
for NBC's clunkers

'Scrubs,' 'Miami,' 'Boomtown' finales clear slate

By Toni Fitzgerald


   NBC’s strategy of winding up many of its under-performing shows before the traditional May sweeps finish looks like a smart one.
   Three bubble shows ran their season finales early: Thursday comedies “Scrubs” and “Good Morning Miami” and Sunday drama “Boomtown.”
   Ratings for the shows were good, and they helped NBC finish tied for No. 1 for the week among adults 18-49. But they were not great, which means it was a savvy move for the network to clear such ratings-draggers off the schedule before what’s expected to be a very competitive May sweeps between NBC and Fox, last week’s co-No. 1.
   Out of the three, “Scrubs” has been the highest-rated this season, thanks to lead-in “Friends,” the network’s top show among all demographics.
   “Scrubs” still has a tough time slot, though, competing against the second half of CBS’s “Survivor: Amazon.” “Survivor” usually gets a major boost at 8:30, when “Friends” viewers switch channels.
   But last week’s “Scrubs” finale retained 82 percent of its “Friends” lead-in among 18-49s, averaging a 6.9 rating. The show won its time slot among 18-34s and women 18-34, and tied “Survivor” among 25-54s.
   Still, NBC is likely better off showing super-sized “Friends” through May sweeps rather than even an improved “Scrubs.” “Friends” beat the first half-hour of “Survivor” by 83 percent Thursday, while “Scrubs” was just 21 percent ahead.
   For comparison’s sake, during last year’s May sweeps, repeats of “Friends” airing after the original retained at least 90 percent of the 18-49 audience, and attracted ratings of 9.9 and 10.4 leading up to the show’s May 16 finale.
   “Scrubs” hasn’t averaged more than a 9 all season.
   “Good Morning Miami” managed its best retention out of lead-in “Will & Grace” of the season. Its 6.4 rating, .9 behind “W&G,” was its best since the fall, but still well behind the rating it drew in its September premiere, an 8.9.
   For comparison, the season finale of last year’s 9:30 time slot occupant, “Just Shoot Me,” averaged a 7.4 18-49 rating last May.
   First-year program “Miami” is in a much more precarious position renewal-wise than sophomore “Scrubs,” which at least has critical acclaim and stronger ratings than it did in its season one Tuesday slot.
   “Miami” has been critically reviled, and a weakening lead-in from “Will & Grace” coupled with stronger ratings for CBS’s time slot foe “CSI” have hurt. May will be the second consecutive sweeps period in which NBC has yanked the show from the schedule, another bad sign.
   “Boomtown” managed a 3.9 18-49 rating in its season finale, though Easter night isn’t exactly the most opportune night to pull a big audience. Easter stalwart “Ten Commandments” on ABC outdrew “Boomtown” at 10 p.m.
   The NBC show did record its best retention, 91 percent, out of powerful lead-in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” since its Sept. 29 premiere. “Boomtown” won its slot among adults 18-34, women 18-34 and women 25-54.
   NBC may be inclined to renew the show, considering how lead-in “Criminal Intent” increased in its sophomore season. That show is up 26 percent among 18-49s this year, the biggest jump for any drama on TV.
   On UPN, another acclaimed show is taking an even worse drubbing. “Platinum” debuted last week to critical raves, with Media Life’s Ethan Alter writing “this is a solid, well-made series that has the potential to become a truly entertaining primetime drama.”
   The show’s debut earned a 1.5 rating last Monday at 9 p.m., retaining a remarkable 100 percent from lead-in “One on One.” But episode two Tuesday at 9 p.m. dropped by a third, averaging a 1.0 18-49 rating and retaining just 58 percent of lead-in “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer’s” audience.
   By Friday, when UPN reran the first two episodes back to back, the shows were two of the three least-watched of the week.
   “Buffy” spinoff “Angel,” another bubble show, earned its top 18-49 ratings since its Oct. 6 premiere last week. The WB show’s 2.3 rating was its best since moving to Wednesday midseason, and it tied an NBC repeat of “The West Wing” in its time slot.


PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 20


Network

Households*

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

NBC

7.5

8040

13

4.1

11160

11

3.8

4870

11

CBS

6.7

7180

11

3.6

9880

10

2.7

3520

8

FOX

5.2

5570

9

3.1

8470

8

3.8

4860

11

ABC

5.0

5330

9

2.8

7590

8

2.9

3740

9

WB

2.2

2320

4

1.2

3280

3

1.4

1810

4

UPN

2.0

2130

3

1.2

3180

3

1.3

1670

4

PAX

0.7

730

1

0.4

1020

1

0.3

330

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 20


Network

Households* 

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

CBS

8.2

8780

13

4.6

12520

12

3.9

4980

10

NBC

7.7

8240

13

4.3

11690

11

4.5

5760

12

ABC

6.4

6810

10

3.7

10140

10

3.8

4950

10

FOX

6.0

6390

10

3.6

9810

9

4.2

5410

11

WB

2.6

2740

4

1.5

4070

4

1.8

2260

5

UPN

2.3

2410

4

1.3

3550

3

1.5

1920

4

PAX

0.8

890

1

0.4

1180

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 20


#

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 CHAMP(S)

CBS

12.6

19

13400

5

6.8

18573

3

AMERICAN IDOL-TUES

FOX

11.9

19

12724

2

7.4

20134

4

W/O 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-WED

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 CHAMP(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 RAY
 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

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



NETWORK TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 20


#

PROGRAMS

Net

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

RANK

Rtg%

(000)

1

CSI

CBS

12.4

20

13180

2

7.0

19099

2

FRIENDS

NBC

12.0

21

12823

3

6.7

18249

3

AMERICAN
IDOL-TUES

FOX

11.9

19

12740

1

7.3

19982

4

EVERYBODY
LOVES RAY

CBS

11.6

18

12382

5

6.5

17722

5

AMERICAN
IDOL-WED

FOX

11.0

18

11762

3

6.7

18140

6

LAW & ORDER
4/17(S)

NBC

10.5

18

11158

6

5.7

15484

7

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

10.3

17

10970

7

5.5

14895

8

WILL & GRACE

NBC

10.0

16

10707

9

5.4

14691

9

SCRUBS

NBC

9.9

16

10553

9

5.4

14665

10

LAW AND ORDER:SVU

NBC

9.8

18

10463

7

5.5

14843

11

LAW AND ORDER:
CRIM INTENT

NBC

9.6

15

10259

11

5.3

14510

12

STILL STANDING

CBS

9.3

14

9903

12

5.2

14141

13

LAW AND ORDER

NBC

9.2

15

9817

16

4.8

13182

14

GOOD MORNING
MIAMI

NBC

9.0

14

9577

15

4.9

13228

15

JUDGING AMY

CBS

8.9

15

9544

20

4.4

12086

15

SURVIVOR: AMAZON

CBS

8.9

15

9487

12

5.2

14227

17

YES, DEAR

CBS

8.7

14

9270

14

5.1

13739

18

100 YRS:HOPE & HUMOR(S)

NBC

8.1

15

8672

18

4.6

12594

19

BACHELOR

ABC

8.0

13

8505

23

4.2

11507

20

KING OF QUNS

CBS

7.9

13

8415

19

4.5

12212

20

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

7.9

14

8438

21

4.3

11688

22

BOOMTOWN

NBC

7.7

13

8216

23

4.2

11354

23

BERNIE MAC

FOX

7.6

12

8130

16

4.8

13044

24

LAW & ORDER:SVU
SAT-RPT

NBC

7.5

14

7997

30

3.8

10356

24

NYPD BLUE

ABC

7.5

12

8037

29

3.9

10703

Source: Nielsen Media Research



TOP 30 PROGRAMS - BROADCAST TV
Adults 18-49
Week Ending
April 20


Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

In Millions

1

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

8.8

11.37

2

FRIENDS

NBC

8.4

10.82

2

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

8.4

10.77

4

WILL & GRACE

NBC

7.3

9.40

5

SCRUBS

NBC

6.9

8.92

6

GOOD MORNING MIAMI

NBC

6.4

8.22

6

CSI

CBS

6.4

8.21

8

BERNIE MAC

FOX

6.2

8.01

9

LAW & ORDER 4/17

NBC

6.0

7.78

10

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND

CBS

5.8

7.52

11

BACHELOR, THE

ABC

5.6

7.21

11

THAT ‘70S SHOW

FOX

5.6

7.17

13

24

FOX

5.5

7.12

14

WANDA AT LARGE

FOX

5.4

6.98

14

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

5.4

6.90

16

SURVIVOR: AMAZON

CBS

5.2

6.66

16

LAW & ORDER: SVU

NBC

5.2

6.73

18

STILL STANDING

CBS

4.7

6.07

19

YES, DEAR

CBS

4.6

5.98

20

LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT

NBC

4.5

5.80

21

LAW & ORDER

NBC

4.4

5.63

22

NYPD BLUE

ABC

4.3

5.59

23

ABC SUN NIGHT MOVIE-4/20

ABC

4.2

5.35

23

THIRD WATCH

NBC

4.2

5.41

25

FEAR FACTOR

NBC

4.1

5.30

26

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

3.9

5.04

26

BOOMTOWN

NBC

3.9

5.03

28

CROSSING JORDAN

NBC

3.8

4.87

28

MARRIED BY AMERICA

FOX

3.8

4.92

28

DATELINE FRI

NBC

3.8

4.85

 28

 DATELINE NBC-TUE

 NBC

 3.8

 4.92

 28

 MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE

 FOX

 3.8

4.83

 28

 KING OF QUEENS

 CBS

 3.8

4.87

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



CABLE TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending
April 13


BASIC CABLE

#

PROGRAM NAME

NET

Households

Persons 2+

(000)

Rtg
%

(000)

1

ON THE RECORD W/GRETA

FOXNC

5119

4.8

6711

2

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM(S)-04/09

FOXNC

5109

4.8

6131

3

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM(S)-04/07

FOXNC

4699

4.4

6206

4

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

4321

4.0

5883

5

SR/CHENEY-IRAQ(S)-04/09

FOXNC

4318

4.0

5047

6

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

4295

4.0

5697

7

PRIME MOVIE

LIF

4281

4.0

5671

8

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM(S)-04/07

FOXNC

4223

4.0

5297

9

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM(S)-04/09

FOXNC

3980

3.7

4706

10

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM(S)-04/09

FOXNC

3871

3.6

4452

11

THE OREILLY FACTOR

FOXNC

3747

3.5

5008

12

HANNITY & COLMES

FOXNC

3724

3.5

4696

13

TS: GOES HOLLYWOOD(S)-04/13

TLC

3698

3.5

5346

14

STUDIO B W/S.SMITH

FOXNC

3659

3.4

4191

15

THE FOX REPORT W/S.SMITH

FOXNC

3585

3.4

4878

PAY CABLE

#

PROGRAM NAME

NET

Households

Persons 2+

(000)

Rtg%

(000)

1

SIX FEET UNDER

HBO

2804

2.6

3895

2

MURDER BY NUMBERS

HBO

2445

2.3

3246

3

DENNIS MILLER: RAW FEED

HBO

1975

1.9

2606

4

REAL SEX 23(S)-04/10

HBO

1935

1.8

2453

5

SOPRANOS, THE

HBO

1773

1.7

2368

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
April 6


#

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 13

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI*
Rtg%

Projection
(000)

1

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO MON

UNI

24.8

2409

2

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO WED

UNI

23.9

2325

3

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO TUE

UNI

23.6

2293

4

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO THU

UNI

23.5

2290

5

ENTRE EL AMOR Y ODIO FRI

UNI

23.2

2260

6

VIAS DEL AMOR TUE

UNI

21.5

2091

7

VIAS DEL AMOR WED

UNI

20.9

2029

8

VIAS DEL AMOR MON

UNI

20.4

1985

9

VIAS DEL AMOR THU

UNI

20.3

1974

10

CASOS VIDA R: ED. ESP FRI

UNI

19.7

1915

11

CRISTINA-MON

UNI

19.5

1898

12

VIAS DEL AMOR FRI

UNI

19.4

1885

13

VER PARA CREER-TUE

UNI

18.4

1794

14

GATA SALVAJE-WED

UNI

17.4

1695

15

GATA SALVAJE-TUE

UNI

17.0

1656

16

GATA SALVAJE-MON

UNI

16.8

1637

17

GATA SALVAJE-FRI

UNI

16.6

1619

18

DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA-WE

UNI

16.5

1606

19

GATA SALVAJE-THU

UNI

16.3

1585

20

AQUI Y AHORA-THU

UNI

15.6

1517

* 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 13


#

 PROGRAMS

 Net

Episode

Households

Persons 2+

US Rtg%

Shr

(000)

(000)

1

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHAMPSHIPS(S)
4/07

CBS

SYRA VS KAN

12.6

19

13400

18573

2

MASTERS GOLF TOURN.-SUN(S)
4/13

CBS

8.3

19

8811

11667

3

FOX NASCAR WINSTON CUP

FOX

VA 500

5.3

14

5631

7963

4

MASTERS GOLF TOURN. SAT.(S)
4/12

CBS

5.2

14

5523

6727

5

WWE SMACKDOWN!

UPN

3.2

5

3455

5426

6

NBA ON ABC-SUN 2

ABC

LAKERS AT PORT

2.6

6

2724

3634

7

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 4/12-B(S)
4/12

NBC

ROAD TO KTY
DERBY

1.2

3

1283

1543

8

NHL PLAYOFFS ON ABC-SAT 1(S)
4/12

ABC

VAR TEAMS AND TIMES

1.1

3

1186

1732

9

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 4/13(S)
4/13

NBC

USA/AUST SWIM

1.1

3

1193

1395

10

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 4/12-A(S)
4/12

NBC

USA/AUST
 SWIM

0.8

2

863

1014

11

FIRESTONE INDY JAPAN 300(S)
4/13

ABC

0.7

2

782

1138

12

NBC ARENA FOOTBALL

NBC

VAR TEAMS AND TIMES

0.7

2

770

976

13

FIRESTONE INDY 4/13(S)
4/13

ABC

0.5

1

519

750

14

WUSA 
SOCCER

PAX

B\STON 
AT ATL

0.1

0

112

154

Source: Nielsen Media Research


 

April 23, 2003© 2003 Media Life


-Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life


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