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Banished to Fridays The new television season is three weeks old and by most accounts there are no huge hits such as Desperate Housewives and Lost two years ago.
A few shows are doing surprisingly well, such as NBC’s Heroes and ABC’s Ugly Betty, writes Media Life. While media buyers were optimistic about the high quality of shows this season, most showed a steep decline in viewers from their first outing to their second - not a good sign - and every network had a few rotten apples.
The article points out the so-called winners and losers so far this fall:
ABC’s Ugly Betty, on Thursday at 8 p.m. is doing well, having finished ahead of Survivor twice in households. It is No. 11 in overall in that time slot. Six Degrees, on Thursday at 10 p.m. follows ABC’s big hit Grey’s Anatomy, but loses more than 40 percent of that show’s lead-in.
CBS’s Jericho, on Wednesday at 8 p.m., was tapped as one of the season’s first casualties, but instead it was the only new show to grow in its second week. Smith, on the other hand, was yanked after three weeks. The Class was nearly axed, but a growth of 30 percent from its previous week, thanks to a new 8:30 time slot, has saved it for now.
NBC’s Heroes is its top-rated new show among 18-49s, and the audience built in week three. It was the first to get a full-season order. Friday Night Lights on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Kidnapped on Wednesday at 10 p.m. have not fared as well. Production on Kidnapped has stopped, and Lights may not stay on Tuesday nights, where NBC is pulling an otherwise successful night.
Fox’s Standoff, Tuesdays at 9 p.m., is the network’s top new show. Vanished has been banished to Fridays, and Happy Hour has disappeared already. Justice and Til Death may join this list after baseball is over.
The CW has no real winners. Runaway, Monday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 8 p.m. is lising more than half of 7th Heaven’s lead in and is ranking behind Univision’s telenovelas among younger viewers.
The article includes more on broadcast ratings for the week ended Oct. 8.
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