Ratings News - 5th October 2011 *Full Tables Posted*

Metered Market Ratings Results – Tuesday 10/04/11
CBS Wins; Fox and CBS Compete for Adult 18-49 Dominance

Household
Rating/Share
CBS 9.7/15
ABC 8.5/13
Fox 5.6/ 9
NBC 3.7/ 6
CW 1.3/ 2

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening (Tuesday 10/05/10):
ABC: + 8, CW: no change, Fox: - 2, CBS: - 9, NBC: -14

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-Winners:
NCIS (CBS), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), New Girl (Fox)

-Fading Fast:
The Biggest Loser (NBC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
90210 (CW), Ringer (CW), Parenthood (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS, as expected, led this third Tuesday of the 2011-12 season in the metered markets with a 14 percent advantage over second-place ABC. Third was Fox, followed by NBC and The CW. But the race among adults 18-49 will fall in either Fox or CBS’ court.

CBS warhorse NCIS remains a force to reckon with at a 12.0 rating/19 share in the overnights at 8 p.m., which was the top-rated show of the evening. Next was spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles (#2: 9.4/14 at 9 p.m.), the perfect fit, followed by week three of older-skewing crime solver Unforgettable at an also first-place 7.7/13 at 10 p.m. Comparably, Unforgettable dipped by 11 percent week-to-week, with the three-week overnight track as follows:

Unforgettable (CBS)
9/20/11: 9.3/16 (#1)
9/27/11: 8.7/14 (#1)
10/04/11: 7.7/13 (#1)

One year earlier, former Tuesday 10 p.m. time period occupant The Good Wife, which is not necessarily succeeding in its new Sunday 9 p.m. time period, averaged a 9.3/15 in the overnights on 10/05/10.

In other week three news, sitcom New Girl on Fox earned its full season renewal strips with a third-place 6.0/ 9 at 9 p.m. (and an expected first-place time period finish among adults 18-49 and other key young adult demos). Comparably, New Girl built by 46 percent from year-ago occupant Raising Hope (4.1/ 6 on 10/05/10), with 98 percent retention out of fading lead-in Glee (#3: 6.1/10 at 8 p.m.). Take a look at the three-week overnight track:

New Girl (Fox)
9/20/11: 7.4/11 (#3)
9/27/11: 6.3/ 9 (#3)
10/04/11: 6.0/ 9 (#3)

Year-to-year, Glee dipped by a noticeable 24 percent (8.0/12 to 6.1/10). What has not worked in Glee’s favor, no doubt, was creator Ryan Murphy already announcing the pending cast defections. What once felt fresh and alive now feels like the end is prematurely near.

At 9:30 p.m., Fox’s Raising Hope slid to a 4.2/ 6 (#3), which was 30 percent below lead-in New Girl. But year-to-year, must see Raising Hope remains on the minor plus side.

In week four news on The CW, Sarah Michelle Gellar drama Ringer is no Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, with a very last-place 1.4/ 2 in the overnights at 9 p.m. While this remains a minor improvement from dud lead-in 90210 (#5: 1.3/ 2 at 8 p.m.) and failed year-ago occupant Life Unexpected (1.2/ 2 on 10/05/10), Ringer has slipped by 44 percent in the overnights in just three weeks. Here is the four-week overnight track:

Ringer (CW)
9/13/11: 2.5/ 4 (#5)
9/20/11: 1.8/ 3 (#5)
9/27/11: 1.7/ 3 (#5)
10/04/11: 1.4/ 2 (#5)

Over at ABC, Dancing With the Stars remains on the downside year-to-year. But the live Results Show at 9 p.m. (#1: 11.1/17 – down seven percent in the overnights from 10/05/10) is still a dominant force to reckon with. That led into older-skewing ABC crime drama Body of Proof at a second-place 7.4/13 at 10 p.m., which was up from failed year-ago occupant Detroit 1-8-7 (5.7/ 9 on 10/05/10) by 30 percent. An encore telecast of Dancing With the Stars finished second in the 8 p.m. hour at a 7.2/11. As for the third departure of the season, Kristin Cavallari, coming from a reality series background never seems to play well on this dance competition.

On NBC, tired The Biggest Loser continues to lose steam with a 3.6/ 6 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, that was down by 22 percent from one year earlier (4.6/ 7 on 10/05/10). Had NBC not had so many other issues, the best way to stop the bleeding would be to pare the reality/competition down to one hour. Another way, of course, is to bring back Jillian Michaels. Here is the half-hour breakdown for The Biggest Loser:

The Biggest Loser (NBC)
8:00 p.m.: 3.5/ 6 (#4)
8:30 p.m.: 3.5/ 5 (#4)
9:00 p.m.: 3.7/ 6 (#4)
9:30 p.m.: 3.9/ 6 (#4)

At 10 p.m., NBC’s Parenthood finished a distant third with a 3.6/ 6. While Parenthood will narrow the gap opposite Unforgettable and Body of Proof among adults 18-49 (and other young adult demos), based on the overnights this is a “losing” performance. And there you have it…the third Tuesday of 2011-12.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights