The power of primetime football as a ratings weapon was demonstrated again last week, as CBS and Fox surged thanks to postseason pigskin action while ABC drooped without it.
And NBC, the season front-runner in key demos but the only major net without rights to pro football, had to take a backseat, settling for a rare third-place finish despite an above-average week with a full slate of original series.
It was also a big week for reality premieres, as Fox's "Joe Millionaire," ABC's "The Bachelorette," CBS' "Star Search" and the WB's "Surreal Life" all bowed impressively.
According to national estimates from Nielsen Media Research, Fox slipped past CBS for the Jan. 6-12 frame in adults 18-49 (5.2/13 vs. 5.1/13) and dominated in adults 18-34 (5.3/15) while the Eye net prevailed in adults 25-54 (6.0/14) and won easily in total viewers (15.27 million).
For CBS, this was its best delivery in adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 in nearly two years. Net closed the week with huge numbers, as a 68-minute NFL overrun from the most-watched conference semifinal game in five years (Jets-Raiders) combined with a season-high from "60 Minutes" to give the net its strongest showing on a Sunday since the movie "9/11" in March.
And on Saturday, coverage of the thrilling Titans-Steelers NFL game spilled 50 minutes into primetime -- enough to more than double the net's average on the night this season in adults 18-49 (4.3 vs. 2.1).
The Eye also had strong perfs on the entertainment side, with "CSI" remaining the most-watched series (25.48 million), Sunday's "People's Choice Awards" winning its slot in 18-49 (5.6/14), Tuesday's drama lineup moving on top in adults 25-54 and the revival of "Star Search" doing a solid job on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Friday bow of drama "Queens Supreme" was a modest success, building on its "Hack" lead-in among adults 18-49 and 25-54 but drawing less than half the ratings of drama rival "Law & Order: SVU" on NBC, which hit a season high (5.8/17 in A18-49).
CBS has now won four weeks this season in adults 25-54 -- one more than all of last season -- and has trimmed NBC's advantage for the season in this category to 6%.
Fox, which drew its third-best Saturday primetime 18-49 average ever for the Falcons-Eagles NFL playoff contest (9.3/25), was solid elsewhere during the week, including Monday's premiere of reality skein "Joe Millionaire," which delivered the best 18-49 rating for any series premiere on any net this season (10.1/22).
Net also won Tuesday in 18-49 behind "24" (4.8/12) and "That '70s Show" (4.7/11), was a strong second on Sunday behind "The Simpsons" (6.1/14) and enjoyed its best Thursday of the season with a two-hour repeat of "Cops' Top 15 Moments" (3.6/9).
Overall, Fox had eight of the week's top 15 shows in men 18-34.
NBC had a mostly solid week but was no match for football-boosted nets on Saturday or Sunday and its Thursday lineup looked shaky. Although "Friends" was again the week's top draw in 18-49 (11.5/30) and the net won the night, it did so with its lowest firstrun 18-49 average (9.2/23) in years.
As Thursday fades, though, the net is making strides on other nights, with Monday's "Fear Factor" (6.3/16 in adults 18-49) and "Crossing Jordan" (4.9/12) hitting season highs, as did Sunday's "Law & Order: CI" (5.4/12).
The Friday premiere of drama "Mister Sterling" led its hour in 18-49 (3.5/11) but wasn't, well, sterling. Net is hopeful that it doesn't drop much in future weeks.
ABC, without football now until the Super Bowl, fell to a distant fourth -- closer to sixth-place UPN in adults 18-49 than first-place Fox.
Preem of "Any Given Sunday" on Monday (2.6/6) settled for less than half of ABC's average on the night this season with "Monday Night Football," while another theatrical, "Snow Day," sent the net to a sixth-place finish on Thursday.
Only real highlights of the frame were the strong Wednesday premieres for "The Bachelorette" and "Celebrity Mole Hawaii" (
Daily Variety, Jan. 10).
The WB started the new year off very well, up 25% or more in key demos. Reality skeins "High School Reunion" and "Surreal Life" helped freshen up the net's sked, with the latter establishing all-time Thursday bests for a Frog series bowing on the night.
UPN received solid sampling on Monday for new laffer "Abby" (
Daily Variety, Jan. 8), but it may take auds time to adjust to seeing the net's laffers on Tuesday, where the new skein now regularly airs. In its first Tuesday try, "Abby" built on its "Girlfriends" lead-in but didn't do much biz overall.
For the week, UPN was off 11% vs. the same week a year ago in 18-34.
Big boys go down
Overall, the first full week of January usually produces some of the highest ratings of the season for hit series, but last week very much appeared like a changing of the guard.
Everywhere you looked, there was something shaking up the status quo, with veteran shows hitting season -- or in some cases, series -- lows opposite atypical competition.
On Monday, the premiere of "Joe Millionaire" sent CBS' "Everybody Loves Raymond" to a season-low firstrun 18-49 score (6.4/14), and a night later, the second-season premiere of FX's "The Shield" seemed to hurt ABC's "NYPD Blue" (firstrun season low of 4.1/11 in A18-49).
Wednesday saw ABC's "Bachelorette" send NBC's "West Wing" (13.96m, 4.7/11 in A18-49) to the lowest scores since its first season, while the WB's "Surreal Life" (10 share in women 18-34) contributed to some season lows for Thursday hits "CSI" and "Will & Grace."
And later that night, CBS' rookie drama "Without a Trace" achieved its largest aud yet (16.34m) at the same time nine-year vet "ER" delivered its smallest firstrun aud ever (21.52m).
It looks to be a wacky, wide-open year.
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com