Ratings News - 27th September 2011 *Full Tables Added*

We'll have the full tables and updated Cancellation Chart online shortly. Check the Twitter feed for updates.



Metered Market Ratings Results – Monday 9/26/11
Two and a Half Men Dominates; Soft Launches for Terra Nova and Hart of Dixix

Monday 9/26/11
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
ABC 10.7/16
CBS 8.5/13
Fox 6.4/ 9
NBC 3.0/ 4
CW 1.5/ 2

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Monday 9/27/10:
Fox: +36, CBS: +15, CW: no change, ABC: -15, NBC: -35

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-Winners:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC), How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 2 Broke Girls (CBS), Two and a Half Men (CBS), Castle (ABC)

-Soft Launches:
Terra Nova (Fox), Hart of Dixie (CW)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
The Sing-Off (NBC), Gossip Girl (CW), The Playboy Club (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Week two of the 2011-12 season kicked-off with the home of Dancing With the Stars, ABC, finishing first in the overnights with an advantage over second-place CBS of 26 percent. Third overall was Fox, which did not impress with the launch of Terra Nova, followed by distant NBC and The CW.

Two and a Half Men on CBS, as expected, lost considerable steam from last Monday’s bloated season-opener. But the long-running sitcom, which has incorporated Ashton Kutcher into the storyline flawlessly, remained the top-rated show of the evening with a 13.3 rating/19 share in the overnights. Comparably, that increased by 45 percent from the year-ago telecast (9.2/13 on 9/27/10), but was down by 29 percent from the inflated week-ago opener (18.7/26 on 9/19/11).

Two and a Half Men led into the season two premiere of sitcom Mike & Molly (#2: 8.8/13 at 9:30 p.m.), followed by Hawaii Five-O at a second-place 7.3/12 in the overnights at 10 p.m. Although Mike & Molly, featuring Emmy winner Melissa McCarthy, built by its year-ago telecast (7.4/11 on 9/27/10) by 19 percent, the retention out of Two and a Half Men was soft at 66 percent.

In time period-premiere news, episode two of CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls moved into the 8:30 p.m. half-hour with a very solid (and second-place) 7.9/11. Comparably, that built by 18 percent from lead-in How I Met Your Mother (#2: 6.7/10 at 8 p.m.), which finished 16 percent above one year earlier, and it bested year-ago occupant Rules of Engagement (5.1/ 7 on 9/27/10) by 55 percent. Get used to these 2 Broke Girls…they are here to stay.

In series-premiere news, a two-hour edition of Fox’s Terra Nova got sampled with a 6.4/ 9 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. and consistency in each of the four half-hours as follows:

Terra Nova (Fox)
8:00 p.m.: 6.4/10 (#3)
8:30 p.m.: 6.4/ 9 (#3)
9:00 p.m.: 6.4/ 9 (#3)
9:30 p.m.: 6.3/ 9 (#3)

Comparably, the first half of Terra Nova trailed year-ago 8 p.m. Fox occupant House (7.0/10 on 9/27/10) by nine percent. But it built from former short-lived 9 p.m. occupant Lone Star (2.5/ 4 on 9/27/10) by 156 percent. Given the hype and high expectations, however, consider this a disappointing launch for Terra Nova, which sounds more like a short-term arrival than a long-running series.

The other series-premiere last night was quirky CW drama Hart of Dixie, which finished a distant No. 5 at 9 p.m. with a 1.7/ 2 in the overnights. While this is nothing to boast about, Hart of Dixie did build from the season-premiere of lead-in Gossip Girl (#5: 1.3/ 2 at 8 p.m.) by 31 percent. And it outdelivered the year-ago occupant, also Gossip Girl (1.5/ 2 on 9/27/10), by 13 percent

If Hart of Dixie and Terra Nova lose the usual steam in weeks two and three, both face an uphill battle.

Over at ABC, Dancing With the Stars remains the dominant force overall from 8-10 p.m., with an 11.9/18 in the overnights. But compared to one year earlier (14.9/22 on 9/27/10), that was a loss of a noticeable 20 percent. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
8:00 p.m.: 11.7/18 (#1)
8:30 p.m.: 12.1/18 (#1)
9:00 p.m.: 11.8/17 (#2)
9:30 p.m.: 12.2/18 (#1)

Based on performance, Chaz Bono should be the one exiting tonight. My pick to depart, however, is Elisabetta Canalis.

Dancing With the Stars led into Castle, which won the 10 p.m. hour in the overnights with an 8.2/14. Comparably, retention out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Dancing With the Stars was 67 percent.

With all the original competition in place, there was very little audience left for NBC. The Sing-Off, which was better off as a December attraction, dipped to a mere 2.9/ 4 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, that trailed year-ago occupants Chuck (3.6/ 5 on 9/27/10) and The Event (6.3/ 9 on 9/27/10), on average, by a hefty 27 percent. Here is the dismal half-hour breakdown:

The Sing-Off (NBC)
8:00 p.m.: 3.2/ 5 (#4)
8:30 p.m.: 3.1/ 4 (#4)
9:00 p.m.: 2.6/ 4 (#4)
9:30 p.m.: 2.7/ 4 (#4)

Leading out of The Sing-Off was week two of The Playboy Club at a last-place 3.3/ 5 at 10 p.m. Comparably, that was a loss of 15 percent from its already lackluster debut (3.9/ 6 on 9/19/11). And it dipped from failed year-ago occupant Chase (4.1/ 6 on 9/27/10) by 20 percent. Tick, tick…the cancellation clock is ticking.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights