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TV MEDIA INSIGHTS
Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Today in TV History
ABC Nightline, anchored by Ted Koppel, expanded from four to five nights per week in 1981. Also of note: John Tesh stepped down from his 10-year stint as co-host of syndicated magazine Entertainment Tonight in 1996 and was replaced by Bob Goen.

In Today’s Issue

NETWORK
-Metered Market Tuesday Ratings
-Fall 2012 Schedule Analysis: The CW
-ABC Announces Start Date for Final Witness
-Make Room for Another Singing Competition
-Updated Monday Ratings

CABLE
-Record Hatfields & McCoys on History

SYNDICATION
-Remembering Jim Paratore

SCHEDULE BOX
-On the Air Tonight

TRIVIA CHALLENGE
-The Karate Kid in Primetime
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NETWORK

Metered Market Tuesday Ratings
CBS Wins; Lackluster Debut for The Catalina on The CW

Tuesday 5/29/12
Metered Market Results

Household
Rating/Share
CBS 5.2/ 8
NBC 4.8/ 8
ABC 4.7/ 8
Fox 1.6/ 3
CW 0.6/ 1

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-Percent Change from Year-Ago Evening – Tuesday 5/31/11
CW: +20, CBS: -16, Fox: -20, ABC: -39, NBC: -47

(Note: ABC aired Game 1 of The NBA Finals on the year-ago evening)

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-Winners:
America’s Got Talent (NBC), 20/20: The Real Queen: By Her Own Royal Family (ABC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Cougar Town (ABC), The Catalina (CW), The LA Complex (CW)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
A one-hour installment of America’s Got Talent on NBC took top-rated overnight honors, with a 7.3 rating/11 share from 9-10 p.m. But a night of repeats was enough for CBS to win the evening overall, followed by NBC, ABC and distant Fox and The CW. Launching the new season of America’s Got Talent with Howard Stern in the traditional TV season was not beneficial for NBC, with the reality/competition down by 21 percent from its two-hour year-ago season-opener (9.2/15 on 5/31/11).

America’s Got Talent led into a Tuesday 10 p.m. repeat installment of Grimm (#3: 2.3/ 4), which will remain in the Friday 9 p.m. hour next season (out of relocated sitcoms Whitney and Community). Earlier in the evening was an encore telecast of America’s Got Talent at a second-place 4.8/ 8 in the overnights at 8 p.m.

In series-premiere news, docu-series The Catalina on The CW built year-to-year by 60 percent from a year-ago encore telecast of One Tree Hill (#5: 0.5/ 1 on 5/31/11). But the opening overnights, 0.8/ 2 at 8 p.m., finished a distant fifth in the time period, and there was a loss of 22 percent in the second half-hour (0.9/ 2 to 0.7/ 1). Since most new series drop in the vicinity of 10 to 20 percent in week two, the future looks bleak for The Catalina.

Next on The CW was the season (or series) finale of Canadian drama The LA Complex at a last-place 0.5/ 1 at 9 p.m. Since there is a second season of episodes available, chances are this is not the last we will be seeing of The LA Complex.

In season-finale news, a one-hour edition of ABC sitcom Cougar Town did not resonate with a distant third-place 2.7/ 5 from 8-9 p.m. But the move to TBS in early 2013 is a wise one because Cougar Town does have a dedicated cult following. Next on ABC was two-hour 20/20 special: The Real Queen: By Her Own Royal Family at a very respectable 5.6/ 9 from 9-11 p.m. Take a look at the growth by half-hour:

20/20: The Real Queen: By Her Own Royal Family (ABC)
9:00 p.m.: 4.8/ 8 (#2t)
9:30 p.m.: 5.3/ 8 (#2)
10:00 p.m.: 6.4/10 (#1)
10:30 p.m.: 6.1/10 (#1)

Elsewhere, CBS populated the night with encore telecasts of NCIS (#1: 6.7/11), spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles (#3: 4.7/ 8) and a Tuesday edition of 48 Hours Mystery (#2: 4.2/ 7). And Fox ran four repeat episodes of sitcom New Girl, which averaged an uneventful 1.6/ 3 (#4) from 8-10 p.m.

To refresh your memory, he is what is scheduled for Tuesday nights this fall (with new series in bold and in caps). After watching the pilots for upcoming Fox sitcoms Ben and Kate and The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling out of New Girl is the one to keep a positive eye on. Ben and Kate, which will not benefit from expected lack of lead-in support from relocated Raising Hope, was just plain bland.

ABC
8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars Results Show (new time)
9:00 p.m. Happy Endings (new day and time)
9:30 p.m. Don’t Trust the B____ in Apartment 23 (new day)
10:00 p.m. Private Practice

CBS
8:00 p.m. NCIS
9:00 p.m. NCIS: Los Angeles
10:00 p.m. VEGAS

NBC
8:00 p.m. The Voice (new time)
9:00 p.m. GO ON
9:30 p.m. THE NEW NORMAL
10:00 p.m. Parenthood

Fox
8:00 p.m. Raising Hope
8:30 p.m. BEN AND KATE
9:00 p.m. New Girl
9:30 p.m. THE MINDY PROJECT

CW
8:00 p.m. Hart of Dixie (new time)
9:00 p.m. EMILY OWENS, M.D.

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OTHER NETWORK NEWS

Fall 2012 Schedule Analysis: CW
With three new series (dramas Emily Owens, M.D., Arrow and the remake of Beauty and the Beast) and six returning shows moving to new time periods (only The Vampire Diaries will remain intact), an unprecedented 90 percent of The CW’s line-up will be revamped. Change, no doubt, is necessary for the struggling network. But the obstacle, of course, is the glut of low-rated returnees, with new time periods for 90210, Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie, Supernatural, America’s Next Top Model and Nikita unlikely to make much of a difference, if any. For more, click on the following: http://tinyurl.com/82rnxqx

For a review of The Big 4, click below:
ABC: http://tinyurl.com/cmxcohv
CBS: http://tinyurl.com/cyumddr
NBC: http://tinyurl.com/6qbrnl4
Fox: http://tinyurl.com/cterjvz

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ABC Announces Start Date for Final Witness
ABC will launch true-crime themed reality series Final Witness, which takes a look at some of the country’s most shocking murders, on Wednesday, June 27 at 10 p.m. ET. Shot around the world, each episode will examine one case from start to finish, taking viewers inside the murder from the victim’s point of view. Seven episodes have been ordered.

Make Room for Another Singing Competition
Following the success of The Voice, NBC will introduce another singing competition from John De Mol called The Winner Is, which will pit aspiring singers against each other in pursuit of a grand prize of one million dollars. The singers, who will be judged by an in-studio panel led by one celebrity host (to be determined), will have the opportunity to negotiate along the way for a cash payment. Each round will be worth an increasing amount of money.

The Winner Is comes via Talpa Media USA, the company that’s also behind NBC’s version of The Voice. There is no premiere date yet.

Updated Monday Ratings
Led by America’s Got Talent, NBC dominated Memorial Day Monday with an average of 6.18 million viewers and a 1.9 rating/5 share among adults 18-49, according to the fast nationals. America’s Got Talent stood well above anything else at 10.03 million viewers and a 2.7/ 8 in the demo in the 8 p.m. hour. But also worthy of positive mention was AGT lead-out American Ninja Warrior at 5.73 million viewers (#2) and a first-place 2.0/ 5 in the demo (tied with the second half of The Bachelorette on ABC) at 9 p.m. Elsewhere, repeat was the operative observation with 69 percent of the schedule in non-originals.

For a complete listing by network and by individual program, click on the following: http://tinyurl.com/ce2w4qs

Source: Nielsen Media Research data
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CABLE

Record Hatfields & McCoys on History
Part one of six-hour History miniseries Hatfields & McCoys, which tells the tale of the two legendary feuding families, opened on Memorial Day Monday with a record 13.9 million viewers, 4.8 million adults 18-49 and 5.8 million adults 25-54. Comparably, this is now the top-rated non-sports telecast in ad-supported cable television history, with over 17 million viewers for the original and encore debut telecast. Hatfields and McCoys concludes in the 9-11 p.m. block on tomorrow.
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SYNDICATION

Remembering Jim Paratore
Television executive and TMZ founder Jim Paratore died yesterday from a heart attack while cycling in France. Paratore, 58, was president of Telepictures, a production arm of Warner Bros. Television, from 1992 to 2006. During that time he was instrumental in getting mainstays like The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The People’s Court and The Bachelor on the air.

More recently, Paratore ran a production company, Warner Bros. TV Group-based paraMedia, and was executive producer on Ellen and first-run magazine TMZ. His latest series, game show Let’s Ask America, will test-run on Scripps stations in seven markets.

“The Warner Bros. Television family has lost an incredibly talented and creative friend and colleague in Jim,” said Bruce Rosenblum, president, Warner Bros. Television Group. “He has left an indelible mark not only on our company’s success but on each of us who worked with him during the past 26 years. Jim had a passion for life, both inside and outside the entertainment industry, and he will truly be missed.”

DeGeneres tweeted: “My friend, producer and champion Jim Paratore died today. He gave me a chance when no one else would. I love you, Jim.”

Paratore is survived by his wife, Jill Wickert, and his daughter, Martinique.

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SCHEDULE BOX

Wednesday, May 30

ABC
8:00 p.m. The Middle (R)
8:30 p.m. Suburgatory (R)
9:00 p.m. Modern Family (R)
9:30 p.m. Happy Endings (R)
10:00 p.m. The B____ in Apartment 23 (R)
10:30 p.m. Modern Family (R)

CBS
8:00 p.m. Dogs in the City (series premiere)
9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds (R)
10:00 p.m. CSI (R)

NBC
8:00 p.m. 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Finals

Fox
8:00 p.m. So You Think You Can Dance (two hours)

CW
8:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion (R)
9:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion (R)

New Program Descriptions

Dogs in the City (CBS)
New York City comedian and dog trainer Justin Silver attempts to help clients with any situations – relationship, lifestyle and domestic driven, included – that involve their canine friends.

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TRIVIA CHALLENGE
The Karate Kid in Primetime

Which one of the following series featured a young Ralph Macchio?

a) Eight is Enough
b) The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
c) Lucas Tanner
d) Mulligan’s Stew
e) Rags to Riches

Yesterday’s answer was…

Who played Lynette’s father on Desperate Housewives?

a) Ed Asner
b) Richard Chamberlain
c) William Devane
d) Ken Howard
e) Sam Waterston

…b) Richard Chamberlain, who was actually her step-father.

-Today’s Trivia All-Stars:
Steve Albright, Gerry Bixenspan, Tom Condosta, Maureen Goldman, Ed Griffis, Bob Ingersoll (2x), Tom Joyce, Tom Kilgallon, Synda Kollman, Rick Locke, Jody McIntyre, Barbara Oates, Aaron Paquette, Gordon Purcell