Ratings News - 5th March 2012 *Full Tables Added*

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



SUNDAY 3/04/12 METERED MARKETS
CBS Leads; Decent Sampling for GCB Debut on ABC

Household
Rating/Share
CBS 7.1/11
ABC 5.9/ 9
NBC 3.9/ 6
Fox 2.6/ 4

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Sunday 3/06/11
CBS: no change, ABC: -12, NBC: -15, Fox: -16

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-Winners:
60 Minutes (CBS), Once Upon a Time (ABC), The Amazing Race (CBS)

-Respectable Sampling:
GCB (ABC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Dateline (NBC), The Cleveland Show (Fox), Napoleon Dynamite (Fox)

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-Rating Results:
CBS led the Sunday metered markets, with a 20 percent advantage over second-place ABC care of its combination of 60 Minutes (#1: 8.3 rating/14 share – tops for the evening), The Amazing Race XX (#2: 6.7/10), The Good Wife (#1: 7.1/11) and CSI: Miami (#1: 6.3/11), which could be vulnerable if the Eye net pares the CSI franchise down to two hours. But ABC got promising news courtesy of new drama GCB, which debuted second in the 10 p.m. hour in the overnights with a 6.0/10. Comparably, GCB held 97 percent of lead-in Desperate Housewives (6.2/ 9: down 22 percent from one year earlier), with growth over year-ago occupant Brothers & Sisters (5.7/10 on 3/06/11) of five percent. Keep in mind that retention for Brothers & Sisters out of Desperate Housewives one year earlier was only 71 percent, so this was very respectable sampling. Now let’s see what happens in week two and beyond.

Earlier in the evening on ABC was long-running America’s Funniest Home Videos at a second-place 4.7/ 8 at 7 p.m., followed by freshman hit Once Upon a Time at a consistent (and first-place) 6.8/11 at 8 p.m. One year earlier, however, former occupant Secret Millionaire debuted on ABC with a heftier 8.2/13 on 3/06/11. What ever happened to Secret Millionaire?

Over at NBC, Dateline finished third in the 7 p.m. hour, with an uneventful 3.6/ 6 in the overnights, followed by an abbreviated encore telecast of last week’s installment of Celebrity Apprentice at a fourth-place 2.7/ 4. Interesting, wasn’t it, how fired Victoria Gotti’s hair managed to miraculously change in the elevator ride down to the lobby.

Next on NBC was the two-hour edition of guilty pleasure Celebrity Apprentice at a 4.7/ 8 from 9-11 p.m., which dipped by 18 percent from one year earlier (5.7/ 9 on 3/06/11). Here is the half-hour breakdown:

Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)
9:00 p.m.: 4.3/ 7 (#3)
9:30 p.m.: 4.5/ 7 (#3)
10:00 p.m.: 4.9/ 8 (#3)
10:30 p.m.: 5.0/ 9 (#3)

Like The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice would benefit if the weekly telecast were trimmed to one hour. Two hours I just to drawn out. But chances are Donald Trump and company will improve its ranking among key adults 18-49.

Last was Fox’s fading line-up of a repeat of Bob’s Burgers (#4: 1.5/ 3), The Cleveland Show (#4: 2.0/ 3), The Simpsons (#3: 3.4/ 5), the season (or series) finale of Napoleon Dynamite (#4: 2.5/ 4), Family Guy (#4: 3.5/ 5) and American Dad (#4: 2.9/ 4). Overall, the three hours of animation dipped by 18 percent year-to-year. Season two of Bob Burgers steps in for Napoleon Dynamite (which is unlikely to return) effective on March 11.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights