Back came ‘NCIS’ with one of the most humorous episodes in its history and it brought the house down, along with it the highest rated show of the evening. Gibbs might have said five words at a time all night. Television’s top rated drama drew 18.84 million viewers and allowed The Tiffany Network to gain another Tuesday night title. It is welcome relief for those who have suffered through reruns for the past weeks. ‘NCIS:LA’ was a bit unsettling as its team divided, and the last words of the night were not those of Hedi over the closing title credits. “Good Night, Dekes!” was a superb cliff hanger. It drew 14.71 million viewers, good for #1 in its time slot and was 3.5 million more than the NBC reality music show, ‘The Voice’ in its countdown selection process. That means either ‘The Voice’ is wearing thin or ‘NCIS:LA’ is the next big program on all of television. Then Mr. Kahl’s favorite holiday program, ‘Victoria Secret’s Christmas’ shill drew 9.71 million. Robin Williams could not have said it better. ‘The secret of Victoria is that women wear underwear’. It was down 6% from a year ago. Whatever, we all look forward to ‘Person Of Interest’ next week. Yet there are two words that can be repeated by all: CBS Wins.
NBC powered to #2 with the strength of ‘Chicago Fire’ at 10P. But first, ‘The Biggest Loser’ at 8P drew 6.22 million while at 9P, ‘The Voice’ drew a disappointing 11.21 million in one of is final elimination shows before its final. But it was ‘Chicago Fire’ which drew an amazing 9.27 million viewers and finished up 40% over last year’s ‘Parenthood’ in this time slot. This episode of ‘Chicago Fire’ was exceptional, not for the cliffhanger in the end with the star of the show on the operating table (we all know how that will come out…you don’t kill the lead who is one of the most favorite stars on television. After all, he is one of the famous ‘House’ doctors.). It was the handling of the closing of Station #51 arc that stole the show. This was Chicago politics at its best. And frankly, it was one of the smoothest transitions between embittered rivals seen this year on television. You are encouraged to view this episode on demand. It is that good. The suits at The Peacock Network did good.
ABC began with ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and slipped a bit at 8P with 5.92 million viewers, down a bunch from previous episodes. Then at 9P came ‘The Goldbergs’. Not high on this program as it finished with 4.85 million viewers who love to journey back into the ’80s and ‘Trophy Wife’ at 930P finished with million. ‘At 10P, What Would You Do?’ just couldn’t compete as it drew a horrible 3.11 million viewers. The Alphabet Network is going to have to take a long, hard look at their Tuesday night offerings and figure out what they are trying to do as an overall attempt to ride some of their strengths and put together a competitive Tuesday evening. And it has nothing to do with a nostalgic look back into the ’80s.
FOX came out with ‘The American Country Awards’ and it finished with 5.09 million viewers and in fourth place.
The CW had two busted shows on Tuesday. First at 8P, ‘iHeartRadio Release Party With Katy Perry’ rerun drew 750,000 viewers and then at 9P ‘iHeartRadio Release Party With Lady Gaga’ rerun drew even less for the gaga chick. It pulled in 440,000 A+2s. If there is one thing that The Little Network That Could does is stick to its demo mandate. It has to remember, many of their prized demos are outa here on some evenings and they are not watching television like their parents and grandparents are doing. There are too many alternatives. Get a grip and get real with this strategy. It is not working except in some really cool dramas. People of any demo will watch good content. It’s about eyeballs dummies.
For the record, CBS was #1 with 14.418 million viewers and a 9.2 rating and 15 share of the audience. They were up million viewers over last year on the comparable day. NBC placed second with 8.9 million viewers and a 5.9/10. FOX was #3 with 5.125 million viewers a 3.2/5. ABC drew 4.402 million viewers and a 3.1/5. Univision had 2.918 million viewers and a 1.5/2 while Telemundo had a 0.8/1. The CW had 592,000 total and complete viewers on average for the entire evening and a 0.6/1.
ADDITIONAL MEDIA NOTES: NBC’s ‘Nightly News with Brian Williams’ remains #1 with 9.572 million viewers (week of 12.02.13) and either ABC’s ‘World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer’ is slipping (7.985 million) or CBS’ ‘Evening News with Scott Pelley’ is gaining (7.487 million). When things like this happen, they tend to be an indicator of changes to come. Pelley and CBS News have come a long way since revamping he mess left behind by their predecessors.
ACROSS THE POND:
Must have been something in the air. Over in the UK, things were upside down as well. With no ‘I’m A Celebrity’ blocking the path, BBC One’s drama, ‘Last Tango in Halifax’ (you have to love this title) pulled in 5.73 million viewers at 9P, that was good for 24.6% of the audience. That is no figure to sneeze at. When you get a quarter of the population watching television and the same program, that’s money in the bank. By the way, that was a 1.2 million increase.
BBC Two had its Tuesday lineup with ‘MasterChef: The Professionals’ drawing 2.97 million (13.2%) at 8P and Simon Reeve’s Pilgrimage with 1.21 million (5.2%) at 9P. ‘Hebburn’ brought in only 879,000 at 10P.
ITV’s Champions League battle saw Manchester United’s win at 730P and drew a strong 3.9 million viewers. It was 17.4% share of the audience.
Channel 4 at 8P had ‘Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners’ and it swept in 1.66 million (7.4%) while at 9P, ‘Heston’s Great Britain’ drew 1.55 million (6.7%). At 10P, ‘Masters of Sex’ did not attract as many as the hour before with only 661,000 tuning in (4.2%). Perhaps, and this is thinking out loud, the learned people in the UK do not need tips on this subject. Again, just a mild thought in passing.
CBS’ great Sunday night anchor in the US, ‘The Mentalist’ on Channel 5 brought in a sizeable crowd of 1.9 million viewers at (5.1%) 9P but ABC’s ‘Castle’ stumbled a bit at 10P with only 721,000 (4.3%) following the exploits of Richard and Kate. Disappointing because it is one of the best program on US television. But then again that is only one person’s opinion.
Alas, I digress. Over on BBC Three, ‘Snow, Sex and Suspicious Parents’ brought in 403,000 (2.7%) viewers at 9P. Again, it’s that sex thing in the UK that does not seem to draw many viewers. Over on BBC Four, the documentary ‘Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home’ brought in 600,000 viewers (2.6%).
As you could tell, if its Tuesday in the U.S., it is CBS so people weren’t…but in the UK they were…
Switching Channels!
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