Ratings News - 29th February 2012 *Full Tables Added*

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METERED MARKET TUESDAY RATINGS
Idol Leads Fox to Victory, but Erosion is Visible

Tuesday 2/28/12
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
Fox 10.6/16
CBS 9.5/15
ABC 3.8/ 6
NBC 3.8/ 6
CW 0.9/ 1

-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Thursday 3/01/11
Fox: - 9, CBS: - 5, NBC: -12, ABC: -14, CW: -25

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-Winners:
American Idol (Fox), NCIS (CBS), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

-Fading Fast:
The Biggest Loser (NBC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Cougar Town (ABC), The River (ABC), Ringer (CW), Parenthood (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Fox led the Tuesday overnight troops care of American Idol, beating second-place CBS overall by 1.1 rating points. But the tired singing competition dropped year-to-year from a 13.7 rating/21 share in the 8 p.m. hour (on March 1, 2011) to a 10.6/16 from 8-10 p.m. That’s a loss of 23 percent. While I am no Idol expert, the constant accolades by the judges last night were unwarranted. Many of the performances were absolutely dreadful, and I am not the only person who feels this way. For Douglas Pucci’s review of American Idol, click on the following: http://www.tvmediainsights.com/2012/02/american-idol-review/.

CBS was on the Tuesday map, of course, with its combination of NCIS (#1: 11.7/18), spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles (#2: 10.2/15) and Unforgettable (#2: 6.8/12), which slid by 16 percent from year-ago occupant The Good Wife (8.1/13 on 3/01/11) and is iffy on renewal for a second season. Both ABC and NBC each trailed significantly.

Sitcom Last Man Standing on ABC, which is expected back in 2012-13, opened with a third-place 4.6/ 7 in the overnights at 8 p.m. Compared to the first half of year-ago failed time period occupant No Ordinary Family (3.1/ 5 on 3/11/11), that was an increase of 48 percent. Cougar Town at 8:30 p.m., however, dipped to fourth with a 3.1/ 5 and the retention out of Last Man Standing could have been better at 67 percent. Next was week four of drama The River at a series-low 2.6/ 4 from 9-10 p.m. (26 percent below year-ago occupant V – 3.5/ 5 on 3/11/11), followed by older-skewing Body of Proof at a second-place 5.0/ 9 at 10 p.m. Overnight growth of 100 percent for Body of Proof out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of The River (2.5/ 4) is worth positively noting.

Over at NBC, tired The Biggest Loser remained just that, with a 3.7/ 6 from 8-10 p.m. and erosion from one year earlier (4.6/ 7 on 3/11/11) of 20 percent. At this point, two hours each week is one hour too much for The Biggest Loser. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

The Biggest Loser (NBC)
8:00 p.m.: 3.7/ 6 (#4)
8:30 p.m.: 3.5/ 5 (#3)
9:00 p.m.: 3.7/ 6 (#3)
9:30 p.m.: 4.1/ 6 (#2)

At 10 p.m., the third season-premiere of NBC’s on-the-fence Parenthood did not pick up steam with a last-place 3.9/ 7 at 10 p.m. One year earlier, it scored a 3.7/ 6 on 3/11/11. Had NBC been in better shape, Parenthood would be a goner. But as it stands, a fourth season for the family drama is not out of the question.

Capping off the evening was non-competitive The CW with its pairing of a repeat of Hart of Dixie (#5: 0.8/ 1) and freshman drama Ringer (#5: 1.1/ 2). Unfortunately for Sarah Michelle Gellar there is no reason to believe Ringer will be back next season.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Source: Marc Berman@TVMediaInsights