Strike barely hits late-night TV ratings
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While loyal viewers undoubtedly noticed the absence of striking writers at the late-night comedy shows, it made little difference in their viewing habits, ratings show.
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Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Stewart all plan returns to late-night television the next two weeks, but aside from their familiar faces, viewers may not recognize much.
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With an ongoing writers' strike forcing many TV shows into reruns, tube viewers are wondering what they are missing. Some shows are back in production with or without their writers, placing the strike at the forefront of many comedians' routines.
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News programming has proved to be unpopular on network television, even as the writers' strike creates holes in prime time schedules, the Associated Press reports: With the exception of CBS ordering a few more ''48 Hours: Mysteries'' true crime yarns, the networks haven't looked to their news divisions to fill holes expected when viewers' favorite dramas [...].
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NBC dominated primetime  Tuesday with "The Biggest Loser" and "Law & Order: SVU," while  CBS' strike-impacted, pretaped People's Choice Awards hit an  all-time low.
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NEW YORK  - CBS' "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" won a week against NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" for the first time ever, but there's a catch.
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For the first time since televisionâs late-night shows returned to the air last week, David Letterman was able to nose out Jay Leno in the ratings. It was just for one show, Monday night, and Mr. Lettermanâs lead was not sizable, but Mr. Leno had won the first three nights. Their competition resumed last Wednesday, when most of the late-night hosts came back after supporting the writersâ strike for two months. Mr. Leno is working without his writing staff, which is still on strike against his âTonight Showâ on NBC, while Mr. Letterman, above, was able to return with writers to his CBS show because of a separate deal his production company made with the Writers Guild of America. Mr. Letterman has also been able to book the normal roster of movie-star guests; on Monday night he had Tom Hanks, while Mr. Leno had the upstart Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. In the overnight ratings, measuring the countryâs 65 largest cities, Mr. Letterman had a 4 rating on Monday to Mr. Lenoâs 3.8. (Each point is worth 787,659 households.) But in their showsâ first half-hour, when Mr. Leno is performing a monologue over the opposition of the writersâ guild, he still beat Mr. Letterman, with a 4.5 rating to a 4.3. CBSâs thin victory margin continued on the 12:35 a.m. shows, where Craig Ferguson enjoyed a rare ratings victory over NBCâs Conan OâBrien, with a 1.9 rating to a 1.8 for Mr. OâBrien.
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CBS and ABC shared the lead in the ratings on Sunday, with CBS averaging the most total viewers and ABC earning the highest ratings among adults 18 to 49. ABC got a lift in that demographic group from the nightâs top-rated show, a two-hour edition of âExtreme Makeover: Home Edition,â which averaged 13.6 million total viewers at 8 p.m., according to Nielsenâs estimates. CBS, meanwhile, got a boost at 7 p.m. from â60 Minutes,â the nightâs most-watched show (14.4 million), followed by âSharkâ at 8 (11.1 million) and the made-for-TV movie âThe Russell Girlâ from 9 to 11 (12.7 million). Fox ranked third for the night but ahead of CBS in second place in the 18-to-49 segment thanks to its comedy lineup, including âThe Simpsonsâ at 8 (7.6 million) and âKing of the Hillâ at 8:30 (7.5 million). NBC, in fourth place, broadcast back-to-back specials, the âU.S. Figure Skating Championshipsâ from 7 to 9 (4.8 million), followed by the âGuinness World Records: Top 100â from 9 to 11 (6.3 million).
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The average national rating for "Monday Night Football" this season was the lowest in the ABC program's 35 years, though it still ranked among the top 10 prime-time shows for the 15th straight season.
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Arts & entertainment: Strike which has paralysed the entertainment industry could end as early as the weekend
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The bawdy Team America: World Police fell short of expectations this weekend, taking in $12.3 million for third place, according to estimates from box office trackers Nielsen EDI.
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Even as their supply of new programs dwindles during the months-long writers' strike, major TV networks continue to try to capture online viewers. Streaming free full-length episodes on their own websites was just the beginning. Episodes from ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are showing up on an assortment of sites, from big destinations such as AOL to newcomers Veoh and MeeVee.
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For the Fox network, the television season so far has amounted to a limbo contest: how low can they go?
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The premiere of the fourth season of âLostâ delivered 16.1 million viewers on Thursday, Nielsen estimated, lifting ABC to a No. 1 finish on the night, though the audience was down from the 18.8 million who watched last seasonâs debut. The premiere followed an 8 p.m. show summarizing the seriesâs complicated back story (13.1 million).Fox and NBC ranked second and third on the night among adults 18 to 49. CBS was fourth in that demographic but managed to finish second in total viewers. And CNNâs broadcast of the debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton drew an average of 8.3 million viewers, the most ever for a primary debate on cable news.
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âHollywood Weekâ on âAmerican Idolâ had a promising start on Tuesday as a two-hour edition of that Fox talent competition trounced its competitors in the ratings, drawing 29.9 million viewers, according to Nielsenâs estimates. Although Tuesdayâs âIdolâ audience grew by 2 million compared with last weekâs, the first installment of âHollywood Weekâ last year attracted 31.2 million viewers. Trailing far behind Fox in the nightâs ratings, CBS drew the second most viewers, earning a solid 11.7 million at 8 p.m. for a rerun of âNCIS.â Later in the night, however, a more modest 7.3 million viewers tuned in at 9 for the premiere of âBig Brother: âTil Death Do You Part,â the first winter edition of that CBS summer mainstay. At 10 the second season debut of âJerichoâ attracted 7.2 million viewers, tying ABCâs âBoston Legal,â but trailing a repeat of NBCâs âLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitâ (8.3 million). NBC finished third for the night while edging past CBS for second place among adults 18 to 49 thanks to âThe Biggest Loser,â from 8 to 10 (7.5 million). ABC was a distant fourth overall.
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NBC won a slim victory over second-place CBS in the ratings on Wednesday, largely because of its game-show programming at 8.
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Monday's Game 5 of the Red Sox-Yankees series showed an interesting ratings pattern. The window from 5:15-8 p.m., the time allotted for the telecast, did a 42.2 rating and 66 audience share in Boston. Those are terrific numbers for any market. The better news for Fox was that the game was only half-over at that point.