NBC - PEACOCK PLUNGES

PEACOCK PLUNGES

Only a day after NBC fired Kevin Reilly, its entertainment president and chief programmer, the network got word that its ratings for the previous week had sunk to embarrassing levels -- the worst ever during a regular season. (The season ended on Thursday.) A special embarrassment accompanied the return of its Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The Aaron Sorkin "dramedy," which network executives had once predicted would be a huge hit for the 2006-07 season, drew fewer than four million viewers. (Media buyers said Wednesday that they doubted that the schedule Reilly had unveiled for next season would lift the network out of fourth place. Susan Hajny, broadcast research manager for media buyers GSD&M, told Media Life magazine that the programs represented the "quirky, offbeat stuff that [Reilly's] been supporting, but I don't think it fits the image NBC still has of itself from when they were No. 1." Serge Del Grosso of Lowe New York told the trade publication, "You can argue that Reilly invested in the quality of content but it wasn't popular enough to draw in the masses.") NBC placed only two shows in the top 20 last week -- Heroes at No. 10 and Law & Order: SVU at No. 16. Thanks to the season finale(s) of American Idol, Fox finished the week in the lead with an average 6.9 rating and a 12 share. CBS placed second with a 6.0/11. ABC came in third with a 5.8/10, while NBC trailed with a 3.7/7.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 17.8/28; 2. Dancing With the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 15.0/24; 3. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 14.9/23; 4. Dancing With the Stars (Monday), ABC, 13.4/22; 5. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 9.1/15; 6. NCIS, CBS, 9.0/14; 7. The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, ABC, 8.6/13; 8. CBS Tuesday Movie "Jesse Stone: Sea Change," CBS, 8.3/13; 8. (Tie) Two and a Half Men, CBS, 8.3/12; 10. Heroes, NBC, 8.0/12; 10. (Tie) Lost, ABC, 8.0/14.

31/05/2007