The Business of Television : TV Ratings

Syndie Viewership Declines as Summer Nears

News — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:25:32 GMT

Syndication ratings slid south as warmer weather pushed more people away from their televisions during the week ending May 17th. As the third full week of the May sweep, levels of persons using televisions dropped by an average of 167,000 viewers from...(read more)

9.8 Million Tune in to ‘Jon and Kate’ Season Premiere

News — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:56:42 GMT

The season-five premiere of TLC’s “Jon and Kate Plus 8” drew more than 9.8 million viewers Monday night, ranking as the most-watched program of the night on television, including both cable and broadcast programs. The increased attention surrounding Jon...(read more)

Fox Wins 5th Straight Season in Key 18-49 Demo

News — Tue, 26 May 2009 03:40:00 GMT

Fox and CBS did it again. For the 2008-09 TV season, Fox has officially claimed its fifth consecutive ratings win among adults 18-49, while CBS wrapped up the season as the most-watched broadcast network for the sixth time in the last seven years. It...(read more)

Ratings: It's Official - Fox Wins 18-49 Demo

News — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:40:59 GMT

Fox has officially claimed its fifth consecutive win among adults 18-49 for the 2008-09 TV season, while CBS wrapped up the season as the most-watched broadcast network for the sixth time out of the last seven years. With “America Idol” to bolster the...(read more)

‘American Idol’ Finale Hits Ratings Low

News — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:53:29 GMT

“American Idol” wrapped up its eighth season Wednesday night with its lowest-rated finale ever. Last night’s two-hour results show averaged a 10.0 rating among adults 18-49 from 8-10:07 p.m., according to time-zone-adjusted Fast National numbers from...(read more)

CBS Gains in Sweeps Period; Fox Remains on Top

News — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:05:00 GMT

For the first two weeks of the May sweeps, CBS is the only broadcast television network posting year-over-year gains among total viewers. The network is also the only one to avoid any losses among adults 18-49, the demographic still led by Fox. Among...(read more)

Gains Mark Pre-Sweep Syndie Week

News — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:30:32 GMT

A handful of shows, including CBS Television Distribution’s “The Doctors,” claimed moderate ratings increases as syndication headed toward the May sweeps period. For the week ending April 19, the final full week before May sweeps begin, shows in the top...(read more)

Syndie Ratings Slump Amid Religious Holidays, March Madness

News — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:55:21 GMT

Coming off a rare March sweeps ratings period, a majority of first-run syndication took a tumble with only five shows posting week-to-week improvements for the week ending April 12. The entire week was rough for syndicated programs, as Passover and Good...(read more)

Univision’s L.A., N.Y. 6 p.m. News Tops Competition

News — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:19:11 GMT

Univision’s local newscasts in Los Angeles and New York were the top two local early evening newscasts among total adults 18-49 during the first quarter, according to Nielsen Station Index. KMEX Univision 34 in Los Angeles, which ranked first, and WXTV...(read more)

‘Doctors,’ ‘Wilkos’ Post Gains in March Syndie Sweep

News — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:32:03 GMT

“The Doctors” ended the March sweep ratings period with a positive prognosis, while NBC Universal’s “The Steve Wilkos Show” captured the highest year-to-year gain in first-run syndication during the ratings period. “Doctors,” in its first season, is up...(read more)

Masters Golf Draws 42 Million Viewers

News — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:32:59 GMT

This weekend’s coverage of the 2009 Masters golf tournament on CBS reached a total of 42 million viewers for third- and final-round play, up 6% over last year and ranking as the Masters’ most watched weekend since 2001. This weekend’s 42 million total...(read more)

Chart: Highest-Rated Baseball Teams

News — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

With Major League Baseball beginning its season this week, it’s worth looking back at last season to see which teams generated the biggest ratings. Red Sox Nation was following the Boston Red Sox as keenly as ever, bringing New England Sports Network...(read more)

NCAA March Madness Finals Hit Ratings Low

News — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:45:33 GMT

Monday night’s final matchup of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament came in as the lowest-rated championship game ever. Last night’s game, in which North Carolina beat Michigan State, drew a 10.8 household rating/18 share among households and...(read more)

Showtime’s ‘Tudors’ Outdraws HBO’s ‘Treatment’

News — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:50:37 GMT

HBO’s shrink drew a lot of people to the couch Sunday night, but not as many as Showtime got for “The Tudors.” The first two episodes of the new season of HBO’s “In Treatment” drew an average of 657,000 viewers in their premiere airings, up 137% from...(read more)

Syndication Gains as NCAA Tourney Ends

News — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:56:07 GMT

Syndication ratings mostly rebounded after last week’s heavy preemptions across daytime due to the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament, with only two shows posting declines in first-run programming for the week ending March 29. The declines came from...(read more)