Ratings News - 4th November 2010

Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:
CBS Wins; ABC’s Modern Family Poised for the Adult 18-49 Crown

Wednesday 11/03/10

HH
Rtg/Shr
CBS 7.9/12
ABC 5.7/ 9
NBC 5.3/ 8
Fox 2.4/ 4
CW 2.1/ 3

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-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday, November 4, 2009):
Note: The final game of The New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia in The World Series was featured on Fox.

ABC: +50, NBC: +23, CBS: +20, CW: +11, Fox: -86

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-Yesterday’s Winners:
Survivor: Nicaragua (CBS), The Middle (ABC), Modern Family (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS)

-Disappointing:
Better with You (ABC)

-Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):
Undercovers (NBC), Cougar Town (ABC), Hellcats (CW), In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville (ABC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS remains the network to beat in the Wednesday overnights, with a healthy 39 percent advantage over second-place ABC last night. But ABC’s Modern Family is clearly the show to beat among adults 18-49. Third overall was NBC, followed by distant Fox, which featured two repeats of Hell’s Kitchen in place of what would have been game six of The World Series, and The CW.

Relocated CBS mainstay Survivor: Nicaragua, which is not one of the better seasons from a creative standpoint, is the dominant player at 8 p.m., with a 7.4 rating/12 share in the overnights. One year earlier, sitcoms The New Adventures of Old Christine (4.4/ 7) and Gary Unmarried (4.2/ 6) only averaged a 4.3 rating on Nov. 4, 2009. Survivor led into underrated Criminal Minds (#1: 9.5/15 at 9 p.m.), which never gets the accolades it deserves, and freshman legal drama The Defenders (#1: 6.7/11 at 10 p.m.), which should be doing better given the lead-in support. Comparably, retention for The Defenders out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Criminal Minds (9.7/15) was a modest 70 percent. One year earlier, former occupant CSI: NY was stronger with a 7.8/13.

Over at ABC, sophomore The Middle is turning into a bona fide success, with an above-average (and second-place) 6.3/10 in the overnights at 8 p.m. Comparably, that bested year-ago failed occupant Hank (3.5/ 6 on Nov. 4, 2009) by a considerable 80 percent. But recent entry Better with You dipped by 21 percent, with a second-place 5.0/ 8 at 8:30 p.m. Given the higher HUT levels, Better with You should be doing…well…better.

Crown ABC Wednesday jewel Modern Family remained just that, building to an 8.6/13 at 9 p.m. and the guaranteed nightly winner among adults 18-49. But also sophomore Cougar Town, a Mr. TV favorite, continues to drop the ratings ball with a third-place 5.4/ 8 at 9:30 p.m. Given the lead-in support, retention of just 63 percent just does not cut it. Leading out of Cougar Town (and in place of axed The Whole Truth) was special In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville at a last-place 4.6/ 8 at 10 p.m. While Robin Roberts and company did build by 28 percent from The Whole Truth one week earlier (3.6/ 6 on Oct. 27), this is still a losing performance.

NBC populated the evening with dramas Undercovers (#3: 4.0/ 6), which at this point is waiting for the axe to officially swing, veteran Law & Order: SVU (#3: 5.7/ 9) and recent entry Law & Order: Los Angeles (#2: 6.0/10), which remains a compatible fit.

Elsewhere, Fox filled the evening with two repeat episodes of aforementioned Hell’s Kitchen (#4: avg. 2.4/ 4 from 8-10 p.m.). And The CW aired veteran America’s Next Top Model (#4: 2.7/ 4), which was flat from one year earlier, and full season-renewed drama Hellcats (#5: 1.5/ 2), which held only 54 percent of the 8:30 p.m. portion of Top Model (2.8/ 4). One year earlier, a repeat of The Vampire Diaries averaged a 1.1/ 2 at 9 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2009.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)

Source: pifeedback