Ratings News - 17th March 2011

Prime-Time Metered Market Wednesday Ratings:
Solid Victory for Idol-Ignited Fox

Wednesday 3/16/11
Note: The overnight data now includes DVR playback until 3 a.m. local time. One year earlier it was based on Live data only. All times are ET/PT.

HH
Rtg/Shr
Fox 15.4/24
CBS 7.2/11
ABC 3.6/ 6
NBC 2.7/ 4
CW 1.4/ 2

----------

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening (Wednesday 3/17/10):
Fox: +62, CBS: +53, ABC: +20, NBC: -46, CW: -50

----------

-Yesterday’s Winners:
American Idol (Fox), Criminal Minds (CBS)

-Honorable Mention:
Survivor: Redemption Island (CBS), Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (CBS)

-Fading Fast:
America’s Next Top Model (CW)

-Yesterday’s Losers (excluding repeats):
Minute to Win It (NBC), Shedding for the Wedding (CW), Mr. Sunshine (ABC)

----------

-Ratings Breakdown:
Ignited by American Idol, Fox took center stage on this third Wednesday in March, more than doubling the overnight average for second-place CBS. In the distant No. 3 spot was ABC, which was marred by repeats from 8-9:30 p.m., followed by NBC and The CW.

American Idol scored a hefty 15.4 rating/24 share in the overnights from 8-10 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows:

American Idol (Fox)
8:00 p.m.: 13.8/22 (#1)
8:30 p.m.: 15.4/24 (#1)
9:00 p.m.: 16.2/25 (#1)
9:30 p.m.: 16.2/24 (#1)

One year earlier, the live American Idol Results Show averaged a 13.6/22 in the 9 p.m. hour on March 17, 2010. Since I did not see the show in its entirety, I really cannot adequately predict who is exiting tonight. But based on the recap at the end, my picks for the bottom three are Paul McDonald, Haley Reinhart and Karen Rodriguez.

Over at CBS, Survivor: Redemption Island remains an option, with a healthy second-place 6.4/10 in the overnights at 8 p.m. Comparably, that remains a significant improvement from year-ago occupants The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried. And it continues to hold up well opposite the American Idol juggernaut. While I won’t give anything away to anyone who has not seen last night’s episode yet, I will say this whole Redemption Island twist is a stroke of brilliance. Eleven years later and Survivor seems as fresh and unique as it did in season one. Mark Burnett…congratulations!

Survivor led into Criminal Minds at a solid second-place 8.6/13 at 9 p.m., followed by week five of spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior at a dominant 6.7/11 at 10 p.m. While leadership, of course, is certainly positive, Suspect Behavior is not necessarily the new breakout hit crime solver the Eye net was hoping for. Five-week overnight track for Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior: 8.4/12 – 6.3/11 – 6.9/12 – 6.1/10 – 6.7/11. With so few time period holes to fill, chances of Criminal Minds returning next season at present are 50-50 at best.

On ABC, the network populated the 8-9:30 p.m. block with back-to-back repeats of The Middle (#3, avg. 3.4/ 6 from 8-9 p.m.) and Emmy winning Modern Family (#3: 4.5/ 7 at 9 p.m.). But the lack of original lead-in support was detrimental to recent entry Mr. Sunshine, which dipped to a series-low 3.6/ 5 in the overnights at 9:30 p.m. Six week overnight night for Mr. Sunshine: 7.7/11 – 5.0/ 8 – 4.5/ 7 – 5.2/ 8 – 3.7/ 6.

A repeat of failing drama Off the Map capped off the evening for ABC with a last-place 3.3/ 5 at 10 p.m. Considering Shonda Rhimes has another potential new drama in the works on ABC for next season (which focuses on the work of a crisis consultant), chances of Off the Map returning are slim to none.

Elsewhere, NBC game show Minute to Win It was virtually invisible in the 8 p.m. hour with a fourth-place 2.2/ 4 in the overnights. That led into back-to-back repeats of Law & Order: SVU at a 2.3/ 4 at 9 p.m. (#4) and a second-place 3.8/ 7 at 10 p.m. And The CW capped off the night with declining America’s Next Top Model (#5: 1.9/ 3), which dipped by 42 percent from the year-ago 90-minute telecast (3.3/ 6 on March 17, 2010), and reality/competition dud Shedding for the Wedding (#5: 0.8/ 1). For news on America’s Next Top Model, see TV Tidbits below.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data (R = repeat)

Source: pifeedback