Tempting twosome tickles Fox demos
'Temptation,' 'Grounded' could push fourth net to weekly win
Fox has shown just how competitive a primetime player it could be with a little circulation on its weakest night, as last week's big premieres of "Temptation Island" and "Grounded for Life" have the net poised for its first weekly victory in the key 18-49 demo in 13 months.
Because of Monday's holiday, Nielsen won't issue ratings for the week of Jan. 8-14 until Wednesday, but Fox is projected to claim at least a share of first place in adults 18-49 (with NBC) and very likely an outright victory. In either case, it will be the net's first since Dec. 6-12, 1999.
Fox's projected 5.2 weekly demo rating would be its best (except for October's World Series week) since last February. NBC should finish with a 5.1, followed by ABC (5.0) and CBS (3.9).
ABC is expected to win the week in total viewers (13.8 million), with CBS and NBC battling for second (12.4 million).
Fox, which has consistently challenged for the lead on two nights that it rebuilt this season (Monday and Tuesday) while continuing to win Saturday and Sunday with its established lineups, added Wednesday to its win column last week.
With controversial reality series "Temptation Island" and new laffer "Grounded for Life" winning their time periods in adults 18-49, Fox won Wednesday by 3 shares over NBC (7.4/18 vs. 6.2/15) after finishing an average of 5 shares behind season leader ABC for the first 14 weeks (3.8/10 vs. 5.7/15).
These kinds of Wednesday scores in upcoming weeks could put Fox in the thick of the seasonal battle for the adults 18-49 crown. Prior to last week, Fox ranked third, behind NBC (4.9) and ABC (4.8).
A year ago at this time, NBC led with a 5.2, followed by ABC (5.0) and Fox, a full rating point behind at 4.2.
The net is also projected to win the week by a comfortable 3 shares in both adults 18-34 and teens.
