November Sweeps 2009 Week Four, Recap

Different day comparisons
Important to note for this week that the Wednesday result is the dreaded day-before-thanksgiving, which makes the "vs. W" comparisons more favorable than they usually would be.

Private Practice (Th. vs. W) +72%

The Mentalist (Th vs. T) even

Bones (Th vs. W) even
Fringe (Th vs. T) -41%

Law & Order (F vs. W) -18%

Smallville (F vs. Th) -35%

Top 5 Timeslot Gainers
1. House vs. Terminator: SCC (FOX, Monday 8pm) +156%
2. The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now? vs. Rosie Live/Deal or No Deal (NBC, Wednesday 8-10pm) +93%
3. Dateline vs. Crusoe (NBC, Friday 9pm) +67%
4. BBT vs. Worst Week (CBS, Monday 9:30pm) +63%
5. Smallville vs. Everybody Hates Chris/The Game (CW, Friday 8pm) +57%

Most of these are old hat. House wins this category by a landslide for the third straight week. Crusoe is on the wrong side of this list for the fourth straight week. BBT is on the list for the third time, and just barely missed the top 5 the other time. Smallville is the only show to appear on the right side of the list all four weeks. The only new blood is the Biggest Loser special on Wednesday, which was a considerably better option for NBC on Thanksgiving Eve than Rosie O'Donnell's epic fail of a variety show. (Remember that one? I didn't think so.)

Top 5 Timeslot Losers
1. Eastwick vs. Barbara Walters Special (ABC, Wednesday 10pm) -63%
2. Gossip Girl (R) vs. One Tree Hill (CW, Monday 9pm) -55%
3. The Jay Leno Show vs. ER (NBC, Thursday 10pm) -53%
4. SYTYCD vs. House/Fringe (FOX, Tuesday 8-10pm) -52%
5. Trauma vs. Heroes (NBC, Monday 9pm) -51%

Leno, Trauma, and Dance have plenty of history on this list (but to Leno's credit, perennial favorite Leno vs. SVU dodges the list for the first time when there's been a valid comparison, tying for 6th). Eastwick, despite being one of the biggest bombs of 2009-10, has dodged these lists since its comparisons have been to previous flop Dirty Sexy Money. But Barbara Walters' Thanksgiving Eve interview with the Obamas put the witches at the top of the list this week. A Gossip Girl rerun which had the misfortune of dealing with an OTH original joins Eastwick atop the list for this final week.

Top 5 Show Gainers
1. Private Practice (Th10pm vs. W9pm) +72%
2. The Amazing Race +37%
3. The Biggest Loser +35%
4. The Big Bang Theory (M9:30pm vs. M8pm) +33%
t-5. NCIS +22%
t-5. 60 Minutes +22%

60 Minutes becomes the first show to appear both on the show gainers and show losers lists, which just goes to show how fickle the NFL overrun and inherent variance of newsmagazines can be. Private Practice, which has greatly benefited from its change in timeslot, is the shining star on this list for the second straight week. Reality efforts The Amazing Race and The Biggest Loser have been healthy all year but had well above average weeks, and TBBT and NCIS continue to be tentpoles on this list.

Top 5 Show Losers
1. Fringe (Th9pm vs. T9pm) -41%
2. Smallville (F8pm vs. Th8pm) -35%
3. Heroes (M8pm vs. M9pm) -34%
4. Numb3rs -32%
5. CSI -30%

Usual suspect Ugly Betty had no valid comparison this week, and Cold Case benefited somewhat from its move to 9pm. So while the top 3 are familiar faces on this list, this week we get to see a couple same show, same timeslot first timers in Numb3rs, which has had a rough year on Friday, while CSI's drops are becoming more pronounced as the year-ago show nears the end of the William Petersen era.

And that's the fourth and final week! I may try to write a little something about the sweeps in general, assuming I can think of anything. If not, I'll be blargging again shortly, as I have a couple other ideas in mind. Till then.

Demos Year to Year, Wednesday 11/25/09

Last of these till February sweeps! For those posts, I will be comparing to last year's March sweeps. I'll do a week 4 recap a little later this evening and probably another post with a few notes on sweeps as a whole.

(Modern Family (R)/The Middle vs. Pushing Daisies) +33%
(Modern Family/Cougar Town vs. Private Practice) +22%
(Eastwick vs. Barbara Walters Special) -63%

Old Christine -15%
Gary Unmarried -18%
Criminal Minds -6%
CSI: NY -10%

(SYTYCD vs. Bones) -41%
(Glee vs. House (R)) +47%

(The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now? vs. Rosie Live/Deal or No Deal) +93%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order) -6%

(Gracie (R) vs. Stylista (R)/Stylista) even

Demos Year to Year, Tuesday 11/24/09

NCIS and TBL have been up for the entire sweeps, but these increases are even greater than usual.

(V vs. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving) -9%
Dancing with the Stars (2-hour finale) -16%

NCIS +22%
(NCIS: LA vs. The Mentalist) +16%
(The Good Wife vs. Without a Trace) +12%

(So You Think You Can Dance vs. House/Fringe) -52%

The Biggest Loser +35%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order: SVU) -41%

Demos Year to Year, Monday 11/23/09

Dancing with the Stars -15%
(Find My Family vs. Samantha Who?) even
(Castle vs. Boston Legal) +29%

I said on the Twitter that FMF's Dancing retention looked similar to that of Samantha Who's from last fall, but this paints a better picture for FMF... however, I think Sam posted similar numbers for most of the rest of the fall, and Dancing was usually weaker (on non-finale weeks). May have to check into that. Meanwhile, Castle's up big while the lead-in's identical, some of the best news it's gotten in awhile, and finally some ratings that are interesting enough to remotely live up to all the talking about them.

(How I Met Your Mother vs. The Big Bang Theory) -5%
(Accidentally on Purpose vs. How I Met Your Mother) -28%
2.5 Men -11%
(The Big Bang Theory vs. Worst Week) +63%
CSI: Miami -5%
HIMYM (8pm vs. 8:30pm) -16%
BBT (9:30pm vs. 8pm) +33%

(House vs. Terminator: SCC) +156%... And this number declines for the 2nd straight week. ;-)
(Lie to Me vs. Prison Break) +29%

(Heroes vs. Chuck) -4%
(Trauma vs. Heroes) -51%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. My Own Worst Enemy) -18%
Heroes (8pm vs. 9pm) -34%

One Tree Hill (R) -17%
(Gossip Girl (R) vs. One Tree Hill (original)) -55%

Demos Year to Year, Sunday 11/22/09

Again, the overrun is switched... CBS had it this year (and it was about 30 minutes even) and FOX last year. Again, the striking thing on this night is how healthy The Amazing Race is and then how steeply the rest of the evening falls.

(NASCAR/AFHV vs. AMA Red Carpet Live) -14%
American Music Awards +8%

60 Minutes +22%
The Amazing Race +37%
Cold Case -19%
(Three Rivers vs. The Unit) -32%

(The Simpsons vs. 24: Redemption 8-8:30pm) -25%
(The Cleveland Show vs. 24: Redemption 8:30-9pm) -20%
(Family Guy vs. 24: Redemption 9-9:30pm) +3%
(American Dad vs. 24: Redemption 9:30-10pm) -30%

Demos Year to Year, Friday 11/20/09

(Shrek the Third (R) vs. Wife Swap/Supernanny) +12%
20/20 -28%

Ghost Whisperer -26%
(Medium vs. The Mentalist (R)) -21%
Numb3rs -32%

(House (R) vs. 5th Grader) -15%
(Bones (R) vs. Don't Forget the Lyrics!) -31%

(Law & Order vs. Deal or No Deal) +17%
(Dateline vs. Crusoe) +67%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Lipstick Jungle) +8%

(Smallville vs. Everybody Hates Chris/The Game) +57%
America's Next Top Model (R) -20%

Demos Year to Year, Thursday 11/19/09

We begin the fourth and final week.

(Flashforward vs. Ugly Betty) -4%
Grey's Anatomy -18%
(Private Practice vs. Life on Mars) +24%

Survivor -5%
CSI -30%
(The Mentalist vs. Eleventh Hour) +32%

(Community vs. My Name is Earl) -23%
(Parks & Recreation vs. Kath & Kim) -13%
The Office -14%
30 Rock -18%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. ER) -53%

(Bones vs. Kitchen Nightmares) +35%
(Fringe vs. Kitchen Nightmares (R)) +11%

(The Vampire Diaries vs. Smallville) -6%
Supernatural -14%

November Sweeps 2009 Week Three, Recap

Different day comparisons
Ugly Betty (F vs. Th) -52%
Private Practice (Th vs. W) +63%

The Mentalist (Th vs. T) +3%

House (M vs. T) -11%
Bones (Th vs. W) -9%
Fringe (Th vs. T) -46%

Law & Order: SVU (W vs. T) -30%
Law & Order (F vs. W) -27%

Smallville (F vs. Th) -14%

Top 5 Timeslot Gainers
1. House vs. Terminator: SCC (Fox, Monday 8pm) +163%
2. Smallville vs. Everybody Hates Chris/The Game (CW, Friday 8pm) +71%
3. Dateline vs. Crusoe (NBC, Friday 9pm) +70%
t-4. Modern Family vs. Private Practice (ABC, Wednesday 9pm) +57%
t-4. Glee vs. House (R) (Fox, Wednesday 9pm) +57%

Four of five nets represented, and three of the five timeslots that made the list last week are back this time, with a fourth of last week's representatives in BBT vs. Worst Week missing the top 5 by the thinnest of margins. As V's improvement relative to year-ago Dancing recaps continues to shrink, it's Modern Family that joins the list for ABC, making a huge improvement on Private Practice, which was fast-tanking on Wednesday last year but has found some new life on Thursdays. Private Practice becomes the first show to survive to this day despite airing an original last year that was a victim of a top 5 gain - and for a double whammy of numbers geekery, PP itself nearly made the top 5 gainers list, with its Thursday episode building on year-ago Life on Mars by 50%.

Top 5 Timeslot Losers
1. 60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7pm) -65%
2. The Jay Leno Show vs. ER (NBC, Thursday 10pm) -57%
t-3. SYTYCD vs. House/Fringe (FOX, Tuesday 8-10pm) -50%
t-3. Trauma vs. Heroes (NBC, Monday 9pm) -50%
5. The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order: SVU (NBC, Tuesday 10pm) -49%

60 Minutes becomes the first same show, same timeslot situation to make any of the top 5 timeslot lists. But don't let that fool you, as its situations were very different; it had football overrun last year and took place in the immediate aftermath of the presidential election. This year's 60 Minutes did not. Otherwise, usual suspects. Dance, Trauma, and a double-dose of Jay (with a third Jay, the Wednesday hour, part of a three-way tie for sixth at -36%).

Top 5 Show Gainers
1. Private Practice (Th10pm vs. W9pm) +63%
2. The Big Bang Theory (M9:30pm vs. M8pm) +32%
3. NCIS +17%
4. The Biggest Loser (T8:30-10pm vs. T8-10pm) +16%
5. The Simpsons +10%

Big Bang and NCIS are the only two incumbents on the show gainer list this week. Private Practice has a much better timeslot and finally gets an applicable comparison. Biggest Loser has been healthy year-to-year in general, but it looked particularly good this week because it didn't have to air in the 8pm half-hour thanks to a Madagascar Christmas special. The Simpsons benefits from a football lead-in this year but not last (and 60 Minutes, see above, had the opposite to deal with).

Top 5 Show Losers
1. 60 Minutes -65%
2. Ugly Betty (F9pm vs. Th8pm) -52%
3. Fringe (Th9pm vs. T9pm) -46%
4. Heroes (M8pm vs. M9pm) -39%
5. Ghost Whisperer -31%

Again, for the first time, we have shows that aired in the same timeslot both years. 60 Minutes has a decent excuse, above. Ghost Whisperer really doesn't. It's way down. The show had considerable momentum at this time last year and has squandered a very large chunk of it. Betty, Fringe, and Heroes are usual suspects on this list.

Demos Year to Year, Wednesday 11/18/09

In general, the push to revive Wednesday TV in the fall has been a successful one. ABC, Fox, and NBC all have timeslots where they've made real progress, and none of the drops are too bad except for Top Model's declines and SYTYCD's replacement of Bones.

(Modern Family (R) vs. Pushing Daisies 8-8:30pm) +3%
(The Middle vs. Pushing Daisies 8:30-9pm) +45%
(Modern Family vs. Private Practice 9-9:30pm) +57%
(Cougar Town vs. Private Practice 9:30-10pm) +28%
(Robin Roberts vs. Dirty Sexy Money) +35%

Old Christine -8%
Gary Unmarried -11%
Criminal Minds -12%
CSI: NY -16%

(SYTYCD vs. Bones) -34%
(Glee vs. House (R)) +57%

(Mercy vs. Knight Rider) +33%
(Law & Order: SVU vs. Life) +53%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order) -36%

America's Next Top Model -22%
(ANTM Clip Show vs. Stylista) -20%

Demos Year to Year, Tuesday 11/17/09

V vs. DWTS recap +29%
DWTS: Results -20%
(The Forgotten vs. Eli Stone) +13%

NCIS +17%
(NCIS: LA vs. The Mentalist) -3%
(The Good Wife vs. Without a Trace) even

(SYTYCD vs. House/Fringe) -50%

The Biggest Loser (8:30-10pm vs. 8-10pm) +16%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order: SVU) -49%

90210 -27%
(Melrose Place vs. Privileged) even

Demos Year to Year, Monday 11/16/09

Dancing with the Stars (8-10pm vs. 8-9:30 pm) -9%
(Castle vs. Boston Legal) +19%

(HIMYM vs. BBT) -11%
(Accidentally on Purpose vs. HIMYM) -36%
2.5 Men -11%
(BBT vs. Worst Week) +56%
CSI: Miami -12%
HIMYM (8pm vs. 8:30pm) -23%
BBT (9:30pm vs. 8pm) +32%

(House vs. Terminator: SCC) +163%, down from last week's +165% ;-)
(Lie to Me vs. Prison Break) +23%

(Heroes vs. Chuck) -15%
(Trauma vs. Heroes) -50%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. My Own Worst Enemy) -22%
Heroes (8pm vs. 9pm) -39%

(One Tree Hill vs. Gossip Girl) -14%
(Gossip Girl vs. One Tree Hill) -8%
One Tree Hill (8pm vs. 9pm) -8%
Gossip Girl (9pm vs. 8pm) -14%

Demos Year to Year, Sunday 11/15/09

Note: the football overrun was on a CBS on the year-ago evening and FOX this year, which probably has the biggest impact on 60 Minutes and The Simpsons. But credit The Amazing Race for turning that 65% difference in lead-ins year to year to just a 3% difference for its own program.

(AFHV vs. NASCAR) +10%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition +6%
Desperate Housewives -19%
Brothers & Sisters -11%

60 Minutes -65%
The Amazing Race -3%
(Three Rivers vs. Cold Case) -36%
(Cold Case vs. The Unit) -22%
Cold Case (10pm vs. 9pm) -25%

The Simpsons +10%
(The Cleveland Show vs. King of the Hill) +3%
Family Guy even
American Dad -6%

Demos Year to Year, Friday 11/13/09

Supernanny +8%
(Ugly Betty vs. Super-Manny) -20%
20/20 -9%

Ghost Whisperer -31%
(Medium vs. Price is Right) +25%
Numb3rs -19%

(House (R) vs. 5th Grader) -17%
(Bones (R) vs. Don't Forget the Lyrics!) -25%

(Law & Order vs. Deal or No Deal) +33%
(Dateline vs. Crusoe) +70%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Lipstick Jungle) -14%

(Smallville vs. Everybody Hates Chris/The Game) +71%
America's Next Top Model (R) even

Demos Year to Year, Thursday 11/12/09

(Flashforward vs. Ugly Betty) +4%
Grey's Anatomy -2%
(Private Practice vs. Life on Mars) +50%

Survivor even
CSI -20%
(The Mentalist vs. Eleventh Hour) +16%

(Bones vs. Kitchen Nightmares 8pm) +38%
(Fringe vs. Kitchen Nightmares 9pm) -4%

(Community vs. My Name Is Earl) -25%
(Parks & Recreation vs. Kath & Kim) even
The Office +2%
30 Rock -17%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. ER) -57%

(The Vampire Diaries vs. Smallville) +36%
Supernatural +8%

November Sweeps 2009 Week Two, Recap

Different day comparisons
Ugly Betty (F vs. Th) -56%

The Mentalist (Th vs. T) -10%

House (M vs. T) -4%
Bones (Th vs. W) -26%
Fringe (Th vs. T) -55%

Law & Order: SVU (W vs. T) -22%
Law & Order (F8pm vs. W) -23%

Smallville (F vs. Th) -37%

TOP 5 TIMESLOT GAINERS
1. House vs. Terminator: SCC (FOX, Monday 8pm) +165%
2. V vs. DWTS recap (ABC, Tuesday 8pm) +81%
3. Law & Order vs. Crusoe (NBC, Friday 9pm) +80%
4. Smallville vs. Everybody Hates Chris/The Game (CW, Friday 8pm) +71%
5. The Big Bang Theory vs. Worst Week (CBS, Monday 9:30pm) +68%

Here's a neat quirk: all five networks are represented in this top 5! Smallville and Law & Order return to the list this week as Friday saviors (with the 8pm edition of Law & Order narrowly missing the top 5). The Big Bang Theory is also back, throttling the performance of year-ago comedy flop Worst Week. Speaking of throttling a year-ago flop, House has singlehandedly made this network relevant on Monday night, even though the timeslot is tough. And though there wasn't a lot of good news for week 2 of V, which took the largest week 2 tumble by a drama this season, it can at least say it did a whole lot better than a DWTS recap. Suffice to say, that's a necessity.

TOP 5 TIMESLOT LOSERS
1. So You Think You Can Dance vs. House/Fringe (Fox, Tuesday 8-10pm) -51%
2. The Jay Leno Show vs. ER (NBC, Thursday 10pm) -50%
3. Trauma vs. Heroes (NBC, Monday 9pm) -50%
4. The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order: SVU (NBC, Tuesday 10pm) -47%
5. Three Rivers vs. Cold Case (CBS, Sunday 9pm) -42%

The heights of this list aren't quite as bad as last week, but there are still a couple doses of Leno. (And Jay's down 30%+ on two other nights not seen above. The only night where he's competitive year-to-year is on Friday relative to Lipstick Jungle.) CBS Sunday has become a complete disaster courtesy of Three Rivers. Trauma and SYTYCD, while not strong performers in their own rights, do have the misfortune of replacing strong shows from last year that got moved elsewhere.

TOP 5 SHOW GAINERS
1. CSI: NY +27%
2. 20/20 +27%
3. The Big Bang Theory (9:30pm vs. 8pm) +21%
4. Gary Unmarried +14%
5. NCIS +10%

It was a somewhat healthy week for a lot of shows. 4 of these 5 are on CBS. CSI:NY, which has not been trending well for most of this season, flipped the script this week and can thank the "CSI trilogy" stunt. 20/20 owes its spike to an extremely highly publicized interview with Rihanna. BBT's move to 9:30 has been very beneficial for the show and the network, Gary had a nice uptick this week from recent results with ABC comedy out of the hour, and NCIS just plain has positive momentum for about the last year now.

TOP 5 SHOW LOSERS
1. Ugly Betty (F9pm vs. Th8pm) -56%
2. Fringe (Th9pm vs. T9pm) -55%
3. Cold Case (Su10pm vs. Su9pm) -45%
4. Smallville (F8pm vs. Th8pm) -37%
5. Heroes (M8pm vs. M9pm) -36%

Three shows return to this list after being on it last week, Friday movers Ugly Betty and Smallville and doomed-to-Sunday-at-10 Cold Case, while Fringe and Heroes join the fun after not having applicable comparisons last week. Fringe had a big House lead-in and not a lot of compatible competition last year, and certainly enjoys neither of those perks in its brutal Thursday timeslot. Heroes' move to 8 certainly did not inherently help the show, and it's done plenty of its own declining to boot.

Same show, same timeslot is a much longer list this week, so I'll hold off on that. We'll revisit that toward the end of sweeps.

Demos Year to Year, Wednesday 11/11/09

The CMA Awards +6%

Old Christine +5%
Garry Unmarried +14%
Criminal Minds -11%
CSI: NY +27%

(So You Think You Can Dance vs. Bones) -37%
(Glee vs. House (R)) +42%

(Mercy vs. Knight Rider) +13%
(Law & Order: SVU vs. Life) +56%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order) -36%

America's Next Top Model -21%
(Vampire Diaries (R) vs. Stylista) -44%

Demos Year to Year, Tuesday 11/10/09

NCIS was one of the biggest year-to-year gainers when I did these comparisons in May and continues to be so this season, even apart from The Mentalist, which I thought had helped with its momentum last year.

(V vs. DWTS recap) +81%
Dancing with the Stars: The Results -3%
(In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts vs. Eli Stone) +28%

NCIS +10%
(NCIS: LA vs. The Mentalist) -8%
(The Good Wife vs. Without a Trace) even

(SYTYCD vs. House/Fringe 8-10pm) -51%

The Biggest Loser +9%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. Law & Order: SVU) -47%

90210 -14%
(Melrose Place vs. Privileged) -22%

Demos Year to Year, Monday 11/9/09

DWTS (8-10pm vs. 8-9:30pm) -19%
(Castle vs. Boston Legal) +9%

(How I Met Your Mother vs. Big Bang Theory) -10%
(Accidentally on Purpose vs. HIMYM) -31%
2.5 Men -6%
(BBT vs. Worst Week) +68%
CSI: Miami +8%
HIMYM (8pm vs. 8:30pm) -14%
BBT (9:30pm vs. 8pm) +21%

(Heroes vs. Chuck) -4%
(Trauma vs. Heroes) -50%
(The Jay Leno Show vs. My Own Worst Enemy) -33%
Heroes (8pm vs. 9pm) -36%

(House vs. Terminator: SCC) +165%
(Lie to Me vs. Prison Break) +36%

(One Tree Hill vs. Gossip Girl) -13%
(Gossip Girl vs. One Tree Hill) -19%
One Tree Hill (8pm vs. 9pm) -19%
Gossip Girl (9pm vs. 8pm) -13%

Demos Year to Year, Sunday 11/8/09

A couple notes: AFHV aired abbreviated editions both last Sunday and on the year-ago evening, and both were close to 30 minutes long, but not exactly. CBS' football overrun on this pair of evenings was 20 minutes in 2009 and 26 minutes in 2008.

America's Funniest Home Videos (7:30pm) +5%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -14%
Desperate Housewives -25%
Brothers & Sisters -22%

60 Minutes -10%
The Amazing Race +3%
(Three Rivers vs. Cold Case) -42%
(Cold Case vs. The Unit) -35%
Cold Case (10pm vs. 9pm) -45%

(American Dad vs. The Simpsons (R)) -20%
(Family Guy 8pm vs. The Simpsons) -3%
(Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show vs. King of the Hill) +3%
Family Guy (9pm) -2%
(The Cleveland Show vs. American Dad) -3%

Demos Year to Year, Friday 11/6/09

Lots of big numbers in both directions on this evening. Law & Order seems to be making a real impact on this night.

(Supernanny vs. Wife Swap) -24%
(Ugly Betty vs. Supernanny) -37%
20/20 +27%
Supernanny (8pm vs. 9pm) -32%

Ghost Whisperer -32%
(Medium vs. NCIS (R)) -21%
Numb3rs -33%

(House (R) vs. 5th Grader) -25%
(Bones (R) vs. Don't Forget the Lyrics!) -25%

(Law & Order 8pm vs. Deal or No Deal) +64%
(Law & Order 9pm vs. Crusoe) +80%
(Jay Leno Show vs. Lipstick Jungle) even

(Smallville vs. Everybody Hates Chris/The Game) +71%
America's Next Top Model (R) -17%