On the Tube
Pergament: Local early season ratings reveal winners and losers
So far, local ratings for the season’s new television programs have resulted in a victory for quality.
Many of the new programs that have gotten the best ratings were among my favorites mentioned in the September season preview.
Before the World Series and reruns kicked in a week ago to briefly change viewing patterns, the new shows making an immediate local impact were “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “The Good Wife” on CBS, and “Modern Family” on ABC.
On the other hand, NBC’s “Community” and “The Jay Leno Show” have been big disappointments.
It usually takes only four weeks into a new season to spot trends and to be able to assess the early TV season winners and losers in Western New York. And with a few exceptions, the television taste of our area represents the nation pretty accurately.
Channel 4, the local CBS affiliate, is thriving in prime time after the first four weeks of the season, when
“time-shifting viewing”—when people record shows and watch them later — is added to live viewing.
Predictably, the can’t-miss sequel “NCIS: Los Angeles” on CBS is the top-rated new series in town, with a 14.7 live rating and an 18.1 after time-shifted viewing is added. It is the second highest-rated show in WNY, behind only its big-brother, “NCIS.”
“The Good Wife,” the CBS drama starring Julianna Margulies, which got my vote as the season’s best pilot, is a Tuesday night hit. Through the first four weeks of the season, it averaged a 13.4 live rating (meaning 13.4 percent of local households tuned in) and a 15.3 rating when you add in time-shifted viewing. The good news is the script quality has held up. It rates just below “House” on Fox and “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS here.
The move of “Big Bang” to 9:30 p. m. after “Two and a Half Men” has also been a huge local success
The lowest-rated new CBS series here is the routine Sunday hospital series “Three Rivers,” which is expected to be canceled soon.
ABC’s top-rated new series here is “Modern Family.” It has averaged a 7.3 live rating and a 9.2 including time-shifted viewing. That isn’t in the neighborhood of the CBS comedies, but the content of “Modern Family” is likely to attract stronger demographics. It also is airing on Wednesday night in a killer time slot opposite “Criminal Minds” on CBS.
“Cougar Town,” the Courteney Cox series that follows “Family,” attracts a 6.4 live rating and an 8.2 after time-shifted viewing. That means it is a keeper when you consider NBC’s “The Office” only averages a 5.5 here live and a 7.7 after time-shifted viewing.
“Flash Forward,” one of my preseason favorites, hasn’t maintained the tension that the pilot achieved when it revealed that the world had paused for 2 minutes, 17 seconds. It is averaging a 6.5 rating on Channel 7 that jumps to a 9.2 after timeshifted viewing is added. That’s very strong for an 8 p. m. Thursday series, but only time will tell if the ABC series can keep that audience interest. I know I’m losing patience.
The new ABC series that seem to be in jeopardy are Kelsey Grammer’s laugh-deprived “Hank” and the aptly named Tuesday drama, “the forgotten.” “Hank” actually is doing OK here, but the reviews have been awful, the show hasn’t improved and it is expected to be canceled. However, “the forgotten” doesn’t appear to be a lost cause here yet.
Fox’s top new series is the PG-13 high school musical series “Glee,” which airs on Wednesdays opposite “Criminal Minds” and ABC’s new comedy hits. The animated “Cleveland Show,” is in a virtual tie with “Glee.” Its rating is slightly better than the ageless “The Simpsons” on Channel 29.
NBC’s top new series locally is my favorite rookie show on the network, “Mercy.”
I thought series lead Taylor Schilling was so charismatic that “Mercy” could cure NBC’s ills at 8 p. m. Wednesday, and it has locally. It averages a 7.7 live rating that jumps 25 percent to a 9.6 after time-shifted viewing is added. The only NBC regular series that have larger local audiences here are “Law & Order: SVU,” “Law & Order” and “The Biggest Loser.”
The rest of NBC’s new series are disappointing here, with “Community” one of the bigger bombs. After four weeks, it only averaged a 2.9 live rating and a 4.0 with time-shifted viewing. That isn’t totally shocking. Though many critics loved the pilot, I called it the most overrated new comedy.
The CW’s highest-rated new series is another one of my preseason favorites, “The Vampire Diaries.” It averages a 2.0 live rating that jumps to a 3.1 after time-shifted viewing is added. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s only behind the CW’s top-rated series here, “America’s Top Model,” by a tenth of a point.
It takes a while for new shows to get noticed here because our area watches returning hits in such large numbers. The only new shows in the Top 10 here are “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “The Good Wife.” The top 10 in order is “NCIS,” “NCIS: LA,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Mentalist” (tied), “Two and a Half Men,” “Criminal Minds,” “CSI,” “House,” “Big Bang” and “The Good Wife.”
Notably, “House” has the largest time-shifted viewing audience. It has a 10.3 live viewership that jumps 50 percent by time shifting to a 15.5 overall. Curiously, “CSI: NY” (14.7 overall) on Wednesday now has a slightly larger audience than “CSI: Miami” (14.0) on Monday.
And while the escapades of Gaby, Lynette, Bree and Susan on “Desperate Housewives” are making for another strong season, it has slipped out of the Top 10 locally. Of course, it airs opposite NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” which has been strong so far.
Finally, there is NBC’s gamble of putting “The Jay Leno Show” at 10 p. m. weekdays. It only averages a 4.7 live rating and doesn’t get much timeshifted viewing. The .3 added gives it a 5.0 overall, which makes it NBC’s second lowest-rated new series here. And things don’t seem to be improving for Leno as the weeks go by.
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