ABC’s ‘Scandal’ was the #1 program on Thursday.
Thursday, 03.27.14 (Posted 03.28.14)
‘March Madness’ is here and the fight to become one of the Elite Eight brought CBS to #1 on Thursday while the nation watched ‘B-Ball’ at its best. First, with the Dayton Flyers defeating Stanford Cardinal and then came the big transcontinental match which had the Florida Gators defeating the Bruins of UCLA. For the evening, which ended at approximately 1230A averaged an estimated 7.79 million viewers good for a 5.5 rating/9 share in the household overnights for the primetime portion. It was 20% above the year-ago games (4.6/8 on 3/28/13). With half the field now complete, along with the Wisconsin Badgers (defeating the Baylor Bears) and the Arizona (defeating San Diego State) in the West Regional, the remainder of the Elite Eight will be determined on Friday.
ABC at 8P had ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’ which drew 3.3 million viewers and a 2.4/4. Then the Alphabet Network came alive at 9P with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ with 8.13 million viewers and a 6.2/10. At 10P, the top program of Thursday night was the drama ‘Scandal’ with 8.84 million viewers and a 6.7/11/ which was 14% above the year-ago evening. If the suits at the Disney broadcast network can fix the opening hour, it could give CBS a challenge.
FOX had a crazy evening. At 8P, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and its maniac host finished in second-place with 5.25 million viewers and a 3.9/6. At 9P, ‘American Idol’ in a slimmed down 30 minute program rather than its traditional and boring one hour elimination episode, drew 7.94 million viewers and a 5.7/9. Then at 930P, a new series with two exceptional actors, Christopher Meloni & Rachel Harris, brought comedy to the Animal Network of Broadcast, and drew 5.12 million viewers and a 3.5/5. For the record, ‘Surviving Jack’ did outdeliver a 930P telecast of ‘Raising Hope’ on the year-ago evening (2.5/ 4) by 40%. If you did not see this premiere episode, check it out because it was Must See ON DEMAND for a network that desperately needs fresh, new product to full its content chain.
At NBC there is something that is a fun program even if it is a rerun. On Thursday, the Peacock Network pulled it out, twice, with two reruns of ‘Hollywood Game Night’. It’s fun. It’s silly. And it is always fascinating. At 8P, the rerun of celebrities trying to out do one another with quick memory, drew 4.64 million viewers and a 3.2/5. At 9P, another rerun pulled in 3.73 million viewers and a 2.6/4. Together, both shows pulled off the best two Thursday ratings this season despite not being original. If you haven’t seen Jane Lynch do an amazing job as a game host, check it out. At 10P, ‘Parenthood’ drew 4.39 million viewers and a 2.8/5. It finished about even with last year (rerun of ‘Law & Order: SVU’ which drew a 2.9/5.
The History Channel was the top cable channel on Thursday as ‘Pawn Stars’ led the way. At 8P, ‘Pawn Stars’ drew 2.561 million viewers. But at 830P, it picked up to top 2.72 million. It was at 9P, the program made a big jump, drawing 4.050 million viewers. But at 930P, ‘Pawn Stars’ hit its peak with 4.476 million viewers, the top rated program on all of cable for the evening, and #4 in the time slot on all of television. At 10P, ‘Vikings’ reached 3.348 million viewers.
NCAA ‘March Madness Pull TBS to the Top of the Ratings On Thursday. Wisconsin defeating Baylor in game one of the West Regional to make the Elite Eight on Thursday began a powerful TBS night as it began at 730P with 3.025 million viewers. At 951P, after the game one and in preparation for game two 2.753 million viewers continued on the network. At 1009P, the Arizona Wildcats began the defeat of San Diego State and it drew 3.282 million viewers. At the conclusion, late into the morning at 1243A, 3.866 million viewers celebrated.
The CW at 8P presented ‘The Vampire Diaries’ with 1.71 million viewers and a 1.6/3 while at 9P, ‘Reign’ which drew 1.51 million viewers and a 1.3/2.
Late Night
Russell Crowe singing Johnny Cash’s classic, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’ Thursday.
NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’ with guest star Russell Crowe both pitching his new movie, ‘Noah’ and singing a Johnny Cash classic, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ scored big by being the #1 late night program on Thursday with a 3.2/8. ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, with guest Jason Bateman, drew a strong 2.6/7. And, CBS’ ‘David Letterman’ with a rerun drew a 1.3/5. At 1235A, ‘Seth Meyers’ pulled a 1.4/5. ABC’s ‘Nightline’ had an above average 1.6/9. A rerun of CBS’ ‘Craig Ferguson’ did a 0.9/4, which was an extremely poor showing because at 135A, NBC’s ‘Carson Daly’ drew the same, a 0.9/4.
For The Record
CBS behind ‘March Madness’ finished #1 on Thursday by drawing 7.791 million viewers and a 5.5 rating and a 9 share of the available audience. ABC came in #2 with 6.757 million viewers and a 5.1/8. FOX finished #3 with 5.887 million viewers and a 4.2/7. NBC had 4.252 million viewers and a 2.9/5. The History Channel finished next with an average of 3.417 million viewers. TBS finished next on Thursday with 3.113 million viewers. Univision drew 2.613 million viewers and a 1.4/2. The CW had 1.608 million viewers and a 1.4/2. Telemundo finished with a 0.7/1.
Today In TV History
On this date in 1962, Jack Paar made his final appearance on the ‘Tonight Show’ on NBC.
Broadcast TV News
ABC has pulled ‘Mind Games’ from its schedule, replacing it in the short-term with repeats of new Sunday drama ‘Resurrection’. Christian Slater and Steve Zahn starred on the extremely short-lived series. It only aired 5 times.
‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’ found out it wasn’t on ABC.
The network also cancelled ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’ for next season. ABC plans to air a special ‘Shark Tank’ in the hour on April 10, and will follow that with encores of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ for the duration of the television season,
‘CBS Sunday Morning’ remains on top on Sunday mornings. Based on the live plus same day data for the week of March 17th, the news program mainstay ‘CBS Sunday Morning With Charles Osgood’ rose to 6.09 million viewers in the 9-1030P Sunday time period. Compared to a year ago, that was an increase of 14% in total viewers as this was the ninth time this season the legendary program topped the six million viewer mark. Season to-date, ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ is averaging 5.98 million viewers (up 6% from one year earlier).
Aloha Catherine
Michelle Borth, Steve McGarrett’s main squeeze, Catherine, in ‘Hawaii Five-O’ is not returning for a fifth season. That is a huge loss for the favorite show in the 50th State. She is the one that saved the show from sameness and brought the lead actor, Alex O’Loughlin’ within a watchable range as she seemed to temper the anger and franticness he brought to the screen. And she removed the anger of the audience as Christine Lahti’s became more and more of a presence in the series. Will she miss the Navy too much any reenter the service and sail away? Regardless, we will be brought to boredom with Grace Park’s below par acting performances and the needless mother guest stirrings (Lahti & Melanie Griffith) will come in and out of episodes. There is something strange when the producers can’t find a clue to what makes this program great after five years. Dudes: It is great scenery and relationships that make it #1 at 9P on Fridays. Catherine was a PLUS in this series, not a minus. Catherine will be saying aloha in an episode coming up before the show’s May 9 finale.
Media Note
The Hispanic radio audience is growing across the U.S., increasing by more than half a million listeners over the past year based on Nielsen’s March 2014 RADAR report. As a result, Hispanics have the highest propensity to listen to the radio of any ethnic group. According to the latest Nielsen Audio Today report, 94.2 percent of all Hispanics (aged 12+) listen to the radio during the week. So where is this listening growth coming from? Here’s a hint: it’s NOT occurring in the 10A-3P daypart, which has the highest ratings among Hispanics.
The most significant growth, speaking strictly about audience size, among Hispanic listeners over the past year has occurred during the morning drive daypart (6A-10A). The morning radio listening audience among Hispanics is growing at a much faster pace than any other time during the day, to the tune of 448,000 new listeners in the March 2014 RADAR report.
NATIONAL WEEKLY CUME AUDIENCE (MILLIONS)
………………………………….March……………March
Hispanic 12+……………… 2013 RADAR…2014 RADAR… Difference (%).. Difference#
Mon-Sun Mid-Mid……… 39,586,000…..40,160,000…… 1.50%……………. 574,000
AM drive (6 AM-10 AM).28,939,000…..29,387,000…… 1.50%……………. 448,000
Mid day (10 AM-3 PM)…31,333,000……31,511,000……. 0.60%……………. 178,000
PM drive (3 PM-7 PM)….32,686,000…..33,000,000….. 1.00%……………. 314,000
Evenings (7 PM-Mid)……24,281,000…..24,095,000…..-0.80%……………-186,000
Weekends (Mid-Mid)……33,481,000…..33,612,000…….0.40%…………… 131,000
Source: Nielsen
While the afternoon drive daypart has the largest Hispanic audience during the work week, and mid-day is the top-rated daypart (combining both total audience and time spent listening), the morning drive daypart is outperforming the rest of the week when it comes to adding new Hispanic radio listeners to the dial.
Sports On TV
o On Saturday, March 22, Univision’s broadcast of the ‘America vs. Veracruz’ match, which aired from 6:55 p.m. to 9 p.m., delivered an average of 1.2 million Total Viewers and 654,000 Adults 18-49. This match outperformed the following sports programs last week:
o 9 NCAA Men’s ‘March Madness’ games on truTV and TNT, the top game, Tulsa vs. UCLA, by +9% among Adults 18-49, which delivered 598,000 Adult 18-49 viewers on Friday, March 21.
o All 5 English Premier League (EPL) matches on NBCSN and Mun2 including the top EPL match, ‘Liverpool vs. Cardiff’, by +160% among Adults 18-49, which delivered 252,000 Adult 18-49 viewers on Saturday, March 22.
o All 4 NHL games on NBC Sports Network including the top NHL match, Minnesota vs. Boston, by +117% among Adults 18-49, which delivered 301,000 Adult 18-49 viewers on Monday, March 17.
o Two live NBA games on NBATV including the top game, Toronto vs. Atlanta, by +419% among Adults 18-49, which delivered 126,000 Adult 18-49 viewers on Tuesday, March 18.
Cable News
Cable Rankings – Wednesday 3/26/14
The Top 10 most-watched shows on basic cable for Wednesday, March 26, 2014
#1 ‘Duck Dynasty’ A&E 6.01 million viewers @ 10P
#2 ‘The Big Bang Theory’ TBS 3.87 million viewers @ 930P
#3 ‘The Big Bang Theory’ TBS 3.54 million viewers @ 10P
#4 ‘The Big Bang Theory’ TBS 3.37 million viewers @ 9P
#5 ‘NBA Regular Season’ ESPN 3.35 million viewers @ 803P
#6 ‘The Big Bang Theory TBS 3.05 million viewers # 830P
#7 ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ FOX News Channel 2.87 million viewers 8P
#8 ‘Duck Dynasty A&E 2.37 million viewers @ 930P
#9 ‘The Kelly File FOX News Channel 2.29 millin viewers @ 9P
#10 ’16 Wishes’ Disney 2.25 million viewers @ 8P
Mobile & Digital News
Starz Digital announced two new web series for ‘Union Pool’. The Starz Digital Media will introduce two new series for its YouTube comedy channel ‘Union Pool’. One will be the live action comedy ‘Llama Cop’ and the second, a sketch comedy called ‘Popcorn Addicts’. Debuting on Tuesday, April 1, ‘Llama Cop’ will follow a by-the-book detective (Walter Masterson) who is partnered with an unpredictable rookie that breaks all the rules and just happens to be a llama. ‘Popcorn Addicts’, which launches on Tuesday, April 15, will parody current blockbuster films, hit TV shows and pop culture.
Half of U.S. smartphone owners used their devices last year for mobile banking, with many of these part of the 17% of the population that is under-banked, the Federal Reserve Board says in a report. The report also notes the growing use of mobile for shopping, with 44% of device owners using their phones last year for price comparisons.
This week’s Media Notes Canonical Briefs are out. The game plan has changed. Sales are a must. Here’s where customers are going. http://eepurl.com/RrpJ9
Welcome to new visitors from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Germany, Republic of South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and Guadeloupe.
Across The Pond
‘MasterChef’ was #1 program in the UK on Thursday as BBC One tops all.
BBC One was #1 again on Thursday as at 9P ‘MasterChef’ stayed on top of the ratings (outside of soaps) for its second episode as the cooking competition brought in a strong 4.48 million viewers (20.9%). At 1035P, ‘Time’ had 2.49 million viewers (22.4%).
ITV at 830P presented ‘Ade at Sea’ and it brought 2.10 million viewers (9.6%) to the network. At 9P ‘Dangerous Dogs’ increased the audience to 2.22 million viewers (10.4%).
BBC Two at 8P had ‘Lambing Live’ drawing 1.99 million viewer (9.2%). It was followed at 9P by the finale of ‘The Worricker Trilogy’ with could only muster 1.56 million viewers (7.9%).
Channel 4 at 8P, ‘The Hoarder Next Door’ drew 1.21 million viewers (5.6%). At 9P, ‘Mayday: The Passenger Who Landed a Plane’ increased the network’s audience with 1.46 million viewers (6.8%). At 10P, ‘8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown’ dropped to 981,000 viewers (6.3%).
Channel 5 at 8P brought on ‘It Takes a Thief To Catch a Thief’ and it brought in 834,000 viewers (3.9%). At 9P, ‘The Hotel Inspector’ had 1.13 million viewers (5.2%)). The superb CBS import, ‘Person of Interest’ drew 694,000 viewers (4.4%).
BBC Three showed their limited budget as at 9P, ‘Junior Paramedics’ could only draw 600,000 viewers (2.8%). At 10P, ‘Bluestone 42’ in its final two episodes could only bring in 422,000 viewers (2.4%) and at 1030P, 467,000 viewers (3.4%).
E4 began at 830P with ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and it brought in 676,000 viewers (3.1%). At 9P, it was followed by ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ with 559,000 viewers (2.6%).
ITV2 at 9P presented ‘The Big Reunion’ as it finished its second season with 403,000 viewers (2.0%). At 10P, ‘Celebrity Juice’ brought in 610,000 viewers (4.9%).
On Sky1, at 8P, The CW’s ‘Arrow’ drew 317,000 viewers (1.5%). It was followed by ‘The Smoke’ with 253,000 viewers (1.2%) at 9P.
Down Under
Nine’s ‘The Block: Fans v Faves’ was the #1 program in Australia on Thursday evening and Nine was the top network.
Nine, with a 31.6% share of the available audience was the #1 network in Australia on Thursday. And the #1 program was Nine’s ‘The Block: Fans v Faves’ which pulled in 1,434,000 viewers with 463,000 in Sydney; 394,000 in Melbourne; 307,000 in Brisbane; 116,000 in Adelaide and 153,000 in Perth. #2 program on the evening, and the top newscast in the nation, was ‘Nine News’ with 1,160,000 viewers. #3 was ‘Nine News 6:30’ which also drew 1,067,000 viewers. #5 was ‘A Current Affair’ with 965,000 tuning in.
Seven finally got into the action on Thursday with the #4 program, ‘Seven News’ which drew 983,000 viewers. The #6 show was ‘Seven News/Today Tonight’ which drew 909,000 viewers. #9 was ‘Home and Away’ which drew 791,000 viewers.
ABC1 got in on the action with ‘ABC News’ with 851,000 viewers and the baton’s #7 program on the evening. The #8 program was ‘The Checkout’ which drew 823,000 viewers. And the #10 program of the evening was ‘Janet King’ which was seen by 772,000 viewers.
As you can see, no matter where you are in the world, people were…
Switching Channels
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