Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 2/27/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• Odd final night of sweeps for CBS, where Survivor picked up some steam in week three but the crime dramas Criminal Minds and CSI had another really soft evening. Perhaps the competing NBC dramas are actually starting to wear away at this pair. Chicago Fire actually beat CSI for the first time despite the large lead-in disadvantage.

• It was also up and down on ABC, where The Middle and The Neighbors came back a bit after last week's surge, Suburgatory picked back up and Nashville hit another new low.

• American Idol was down multiple tenths for the fourth straight week and actually dropped behind Modern Family (they tied to one decimal, but Deadline numbers show Modern Family was very slightly ahead) for top broadcast program of the night.

• Cable notables:
• As you've probably already heard, it was another breakout evening for A&E's Duck Dynasty, which narrowly edged Modern Family and Idol. The show's rate of growth is pretty remarkable considering it was below a 2.0 for most of season two before spiking to a 3.0 for the season two finale. It's suddenly within a reasonable striking distance of the pinnacle rating for the original cable megahit Jersey Shore (4.7).

• USA also had some much-needed good news with a strong return from Psych (1.0), basically dead even with its last season premiere in fall 2011 and up significantly on the spring 2012 mid-season premiere. It doubled up the struggling dramas elsewhere in the slot: FX's The Americans (0.5) and TNT's Southland (0.4).  

• TNT tried a Southland-esque reality show in the 9:00 hour called Boston's Finest (1.21m, 0.4) and continued the network's recent slump. At least it edged the Monday Mornings premiere?

First Two Weeks, Zero Hour

WEEK ONE
ABC's first new midseason scripted show was drama Zero Hour, thrown into the same Thursday 8/7c slot where plenty of other dramas have failed recently. Aside from the usual big competition from The Big Bang Theory/Two and a Half Men and American Idol, this show also had to deal with an overall viewing depression thanks to Valentine's Day. All of that proved too much, as Zero managed just a 1.4 demo on premiere night. Because of the timeslot, that was not as dead on arrival as your average 1.4 premiere, but it was still pretty bad.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 2/26/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• Broadcast TV's case of the Tuesdays continued, as CBS rounded out a rather shockingly weak season of new shows with the premiere of Golden Boy. This was significantly behind what we think of as a strong CBS 10:00 show, and it barely held over 60% of NCIS: Los Angeles. It was noticeably ahead of recent episodes of Vegas, but probably not noticeably enough to keep the show on Tuesday beyond next week. In a world of scheduling inertia, it likely needs to build next week to get CBS to change its mind. The odds are against that, and a typical week two drop would put it right at Vegas levels.

• The best showing on Tuesday came from ABC's Celebrity Wife Swap, which returned above all of the five-episode run from last winter. But it was of no help to The Taste, which fell to a new low in its move to 9/8c. Body of Proof held on in week two despite a much weaker lead-in, so I guess that's something?

• Cult also held last week's weak premiere audience in week two (and was ever-so-slightly down in viewers).

Spotted Ratings, Monday 2/25/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS sat out 10:00 offering Hawaii Five-0, and its comedy block was particularly soft on the last Monday of sweeps; Rules of Engagement, 2 Broke Girls and Mike and Molly were all at or very near season low points. Once again, this block could only barely hold off ABC's The Bachelor. Most other broadcast shows were pretty close to even.

The True Top 25, Week Ending 2/24/13 (2012-13 Week 22)

The Academy Awards comfortably topped the primetime charts this week. The Big Bang Theory again won easily among entertainment programs, while Modern Family actually held off both American Idol airings this week. Grey's Anatomy was the top broadcast drama, as it actually grew against a two-hour American Idol while NCIS (despite its 0.4 raw numbers advantage) had the usual nothing competition on Tuesday.

Shark Tank represented the Friday crowd, while still strong The Following and solid Elementary were the new shows this week. Two other new shows were close to the list: Chicago Fire (#26) and The Neighbors (#30 and a best-since-premiere number).

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 2/24/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• All preliminary indications suggest the Academy Awards are on the year-to-year upside and skewed younger than last year's show. The early numbers are not time zone-adjusted, but they're up a significant 19% (12.1 vs. 10.2) vs. the not-time-zone-adjusted numbers from a year ago. More later!
• UPDATED: Time zone numbers put Oscar at 40.3 million viewers, up 3% year-to-year. But the growth was even more favorable as the demographic gets younger: a 13.0 A18-49 rating (up 11% from last year's 11.7) and an 11.3 A18-34 rating (up 20% from last year's 9.4). It was up a whooping 34% in the "Seth MacFarlane demo," men 18-34. In adults 18-49, this was the biggest Oscar since 2010 and the second-biggest in the last six years. Well done.
• FINALS: small viewership adjustment up to 40.4 million. The available half-hour breakdowns (from 8:30 to 11:00) were pretty consistent (12.9 -> 13.5 -> 13.4 -> 13.5 -> 13.0), but the show likely dropped to a 12 or so in its post-primetime portion to make up the 13.0 average.

• As usual, The Amazing Race put its second week up against Oscar and took a 24% post-premiere drop. After finals, this point was down just a bit more year-to-year (-14%) than last week's premiere (-11%), but it's more important where it ends up next week.

• The Walking Dead remained extremely resilient in the face of big events, actually rising a tick week-to-week (5.7) against Oscar and edging The Big Bang Theory to win the week among entertainment series again.

Spotted Ratings, Saturday 2/23/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS shifted 48 Hours to 9/8c so they could air a special at 10. Said special was much weaker than 48 Hours.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 2/22/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• It's not likely the finale ratings for CSI: NY were ever going to make much or any difference in its renewal prospects. But if the show has any real chance, this wasn't a good final impression. CSI: NY concluded as the weak link of the CBS evening and a distant third place in its timeslot. It surprisingly got zero week-to-week boost despite its lead-in more than doubling from last week with the return of Undercover Boss (1.5 overall, 1.7 at 8:30).

• The 8:00 hour had some particularly soft showings from bubble shows: Last Man Standing, Malibu Country, Nikita.

The Question, Tuesday 2/26/13: Will CBS' Drama Premiere Strike Gold?

Tonight, CBS replaces struggling Vegas with the new drama Golden Boy, in what's currently slated as a two-week Tuesday preview before it heads to Friday. Having whiffed with most of their new shows this season (and Elementary's only barely a success), CBS is promoting this show with a certain degree of desperation. If there's even a hint of success here, that move to Friday may never come to fruition. Will CBS' drama premiere strike Gold? That's The Question for Tuesday, February 26, 2013.

A18-49+: What's a "Hit for CW"?

Last week, I looked at creating a new A18-49+ label to identify a "hit" by the lower standards of Friday night TV ratings. Today, the same thing for the CW!