Thursday’s Numbers [10.09.2008]
By fred | October 10, 2008
A big night of television last night, much to talk about. First things first, the winner of the night was with no contest CBS, winner of the night both in total viewers and on the demo thanks to a very strong start for CSI, most-watched program of the night. And obviously ABC came in second, no surprises there. What might be is that ABC was also second on the demo, and NBC was very close (4.0 vs 3.9)
At 8.00 Ugly Betty keeps going down, with only 8.48 million viewers (about 400 000 less than a week ago) but remained stable on the demo. On NBC My Name Is Earl was slightly up with 7.09 million viewers, leading in to the series premiere of Kath & Kim. I have yet to see how it looks, but one thing for sure is that it started pretty well : the show gained 350 000 viewers from My Name Is Earl, with 7.46 million viewers and a 3.2 on the demo (2.7 for Earl).
That’s a good start, of course we’ll have to see if it stays that way. Also, on NBC it seems awful series do well (see Knight Rider) while great ones struggle (see Life).
Meanwhile on The CW, a new Smallville was slightly up with 4.08 million viewers.
At 9.00 there’s absolutely no question : CSI was a clear winner, with 22.98 million viewers and a 7.0 on the demo !! Now last season opened with 24.8 million viewers, but that’s still some pretty amazing results as well as an improvement over last season’s finale. Even better is how it wasn’t winner in viewers only, but on the demo as well. While ABC medical-drama usually wins over the demo despite fewer total viewers, this time Grey’s Anatomy “only” had 14.54 million viewers and a 5.5 on the demo.
Last season, when CSI opened with 4.3 million more viewers than ABC hit-drama, it was referred to as “its largest margin of victory to date opposite ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy at 9.00 (with 20.5 million viewers)“. Now that the show had 8.44 million more viewers, I guess it’s obvious that CSI is off a great start, while Grey’s Anatomy is suffering.
There was still some competition on other networks, and The Office managed to do well with 9.00 million viewers (only 200 000 less than two weeks ago) and a 4.6 on the demo for NBC. Pretty good given the circumstances, and yet the Saturday Night Live Special managed to improve over that, growing to 10.59 million viewers and a 5.0 on the demo !
On The CW Supernatural was losing 500 000 viewers, but 3.14 million viewers and a 1.4 on the demo (just like last week) is quite a solid performance actually.
At 10.00 it was the battle of the new British import, and the winner was ABC’s Life On Mars. Both series, with CBS’ Eleventh Hour, actually performed quite similarly with 11.60 million and 3.8 on the demo for Life On Mars, and 11.59 million viewers and 3.4 on the demo for Eleventh Hour. Of course, the big difference is that the later had no other than CSI as lead-in, which means it had a pretty poor retention (50% in viewers, 48% on the demo) while the former performed much better (80% in viewers, 69% on the demo).
Nevertheless, the best performer of all on the demo was on NBC, where E.R. managed to get a 4.0 with only 9.34 million viewers, so a pretty good retention out of SNL (88% in viewers, 80% on the demo).
All numbers of the night below :
| Thursday, October 9th | ||
| Show | Network | Viewers (18-49) |
| 8.00 | ||
| Survivor | CBS | 13.31 M (4.3) |
| Ugly Betty | ABC | 8.48 M (2.6) |
| Kath & Kim [8.30] | NBC | 7.46 M (3.2) |
| My Name Is Earl | NBC | 7.09 M (2.7) |
| MLB Playoff [8.30-11.00] | Fox | 6.80 M (2.2) |
| MLB Playoff Pregame | Fox | 5.26 M (1.5) |
| Smallville | The CW | 4.08 M (1.6) |
| 9.00 | ||
| CSI | CBS | 22.98 M (7.0) |
| Grey’s Anatomy | ABC | 14.54 M (5.5) |
| The Office | NBC | 9.00 M (4.6) |
| MLB Playoff [8.30-11.00] | Fox | 6.80 M (2.2) |
| Saturday Night Live Special [9.30] | NBC | 10.59 M (5.0) |
| Supernatural | The CW | 3.14 M (1.4) |
| 10.00 | ||
| Life On Mars | ABC | 11.60 M (3.8) |
| Eleventh Hour | CBS | 11.59 M (3.4) |
| E.R. | NBC | 9.34 M (4.0) |
| Global | Adults 18-49 | ||
| CBS | 15.96 M | CBS | 4.9 |
| ABC | 11.54 M | ABC | 4.0 |
| NBC | 8.80 M | NBC | 3.9 |
| Fox | 6.54 M | Fox | 2.1 |
| The CW | 3.61 M | The CW | 1.5 |
Posted in Numbers/Ratings
Shows: CSI, E.R., Eleventh Hour, Grey's Anatomy, Kath & Kim, Life On Mars, My Name Is Earl, Smallville, Supernatural, The Office, Ugly Betty
