Slow start for newbies
'Duel' debut settles for 2.5 rating/7 share
Both nets were using the same stripped sked pattern that NBC employed a few years back in launching "Deal or No Deal" in the week prior to Christmas, when most series have gone into repeats. But neither has exactly stormed out of the gate.
According to Nielsen nationals that include same-day DVR playback, "Clash of the Choirs" was the stronger performer of the pair, earning a 2.4 rating/6 share in adults 18-49 and 7.95 million viewers overall from 8 to 10 p.m. and growing from its first half-hour to its last.
It beat Fox and ABC in the time period, but by comparison, the Peacock did a much stronger 3.3/8 in the demo one week earlier with a two-hour "Deal or No Deal."
"Clash of the Choirs" kicks off the lineup for NBC each night this week through Thursday.
At ABC, "Duel" settled for a 2.1/6 in 18-49 and 6.72 million viewers overall from 8 to 9:30 p.m. and failed to build throughout the telecast. The 2.1 demo score reps a 19% dropoff from the 2.6 average the net garnered the previous week with a holiday spec and comedy.
The Alphabet entry was hampered some by local preemptions for football in both Chicago and Minneapolis. As a result, the gameshow didn't air on these stations until well after midnight.
"Duel," a six-night event, concludes with a big payout to one contestant Sunday.
CBS was the top broadcaster Monday, winning from 9 to 11 p.m. with an hour of "Two and a Half Men" repeats (3.7/9 in 18-49, 11.19m) and an original seg of "CSI: Miami" (3.9/10, 14.01m). Latter beat the combined scores of competing firstrun dramas "Journeyman" on NBC (1.5/4, 4.24m) and "October Road" on ABC (1.5/4, 4.06m).
ESPN's "Monday Night Football" game between the Bears and Vikings was Monday's highest-rated program overall in key demos (5.2/14 in 18-49, 12.67m).
Another standout was VH1's season finale of "I Love New York 2" (2.7/7 in 18-49, 5.43m), which was the top nonsports cablecast of the night and delivered a 14 share in key female demos. Overall, it was up more than 20% vs. last year's finale.
