Ratings News - 1st March 2012 *Full Tables Added*

We'll have the full tables and updated Cancellation Chart online shortly. Check the Twitter feed for updates.



METERED MARKET WEDNESDAY RATINGS
Fox Wins, but Idol Down by Double-Digits

Wednesday 2/29/12
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
Fox 11.6/18
CBS 7.1/11
ABC 5.8/ 9
NBC 3.1/ 5
CW 1.2/ 2

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Wednesday 3/02/11
ABC: +18, NBC: +15, CBS: - 5, Fox: - 6, CW: - 8

----------

-Winners:
American Idol (Fox), Modern Family (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI (CBS)

-Honorable Mention:
Survivor: One World (CBS), The Middle (ABC), Revenge (ABC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Whitney (NBC), Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC), One Tree Hill (CW), Rock Center With Brian Williams (NBC), Happy Endings (ABC), America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion (CW)

----------

-Ratings Breakdown:
It was another Wednesday victory for Fox, with two-hours of American Idol at an 11.6 rating/18 share from 8-10 p.m. While any network would be happy to have a performer of this magnitude, a one-hour edition of Idol one year earlier scored a considerably stronger 15.0/23 from 8-9 p.m. on March 2, 2011. Percent-wise, this is a loss of 23 percent. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

American Idol (Fox)
8:00 p.m.: 11.0/18 (#1)
8:30 p.m.: 11.9/18 (#1)
9:00 p.m.: 11.6/18 (#1)
9:30 p.m.: 11.7/18 (#1)

For TVMI Forum guru Douglas Pucci’s review of last night’s installment of American Idol, click on the following: http://www.tvmediainsights.com/2012/03/american-idol-semifinalist-girls-perform/

In season-premiere news, America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion on The CW was DOA at a mere (and mortifying) 1.1/ 2 in the overnights at 9 p.m. One year earlier, an 8 p.m. edition of Top Model (which was already on the double-digit year-to-year downside) scored a 1.8/ 3 on 3/02/11. Earlier in the evening on The CW was tired One Tree Hill at an also very last-place 1.4/ 2 at 8 p.m. For news on the series-finale of One Tree Hill, see The CW Midseason Update in More Network News.

On CBS, veteran Survivor, themed One World this season, finished a comfortable second at 8 p.m. with a 6.3/10 in the overnights. Comparatively, this was down by five percent from the year-ago Redemption Island version of Survivor (6.6/10 on 3/2/11). Douglas Pucci is also an avid fan of Survivor (as am I), and his review of last night’s installment of the already addictive season is available by clicking here: http://www.tvmediainsights.com/2012/03/survivor-one-world-episode-three-review/. Love him or loath him, Colton is the standout player (and villain extraordinaire) this season.

Leading out of Survivor was always reliable Criminal Minds at second-place 8.0/13 from 9-10 p.m. (down 10 percent from the year-ago telecast), followed by long-running CSI, now headed by Ted Danson and Elisabeth Shue, at a dominant 7.1/12 at 10 p.m. One-year earlier, short-lived Wednesday 10 p.m. occupant Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior averaged a 6.8/12.

The Wednesday standout on ABC, as always, was Modern Family at a second-place 8.3/13 in the overnights at 9 p.m. The battle for time period dominance among adults 18-49 could be neck-and-neck between Modern Family and American Idol. Lead-out Happy Endings, which is not the hit many believe, dipped to third with a 4.6/ 7 at 9:30 p.m. (and retention out of Modern Family of only 55 percent). Revenge at 10 p.m. perked up to a second-place 5.7/10, which built from Happy Endings by 24 percent. At this point, you can consider a second season renewal for Revenge a given.

Earlier in the evening on ABC was The Middle at a comfortable third-place 5.8/ 9 at 8 p.m., followed by freshman Suburgatory at a 4.9/ 8 at 8:30 p.m., which also finished No. 3 in the time period. Comparably, Suburgatory increased from failed year-ago occupant Better With You (4.1/ 6 on 3/2/11) by 20 percent.

As a reminder, upcoming ABC sitcom Don’t Trust the B____ in Apartment 23 debuts in the Wednesday 9:30 p.m. time period on April 11.

Elsewhere, NBC continues to struggle in midweek with its failing combination of sitcoms Whitney (#4: 3.1/ 5) and Are You There, Chelsea? (#4: 2.5/ 4) and newsmagazine Rock Center With Brian Williams (#4: 2.2/ 4) from 8-10 p.m. Law & Order: SVU rose to a 4.3/ 7 at 10 p.m., but that still placed it a distant third in the time period.

Coming up on NBC: Bent, which features Amanda Peet as a recently divorced lawyer, will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. out of Are You There, Chelsea? (and opposite Modern Family on ABC) effective on March 21. Back-to-back episodes will populate the hour for two weeks. Off Their Rockers With Betty White, which was amply sampled in its Monday, Jan. 16 preview, will inherit the Wednesday 8 p.m. half-hour on April 4, leading into Best Friends Forever at 8:30 p.m., the comedic tale of a woman (Jessica St. Clair) who moves in with her best friend (Lennon Parham) after her husband files for divorce. Off Their Rockers With Betty White and Best Friends Forever replace Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea?, which will have completed their first season runs.

And there you have it…the Wednesday overnights.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights