Returning Series: 30 Rock

So-so ratings belie buzz of brilliance

By STUART LEVINE

So what's a girl have to do to get a little ratings attention around here?

Tina Fey is likely asking that question these days. Her sitcom "30 Rock" won the Emmy for top comedy, she co-starred in box office success "Baby Mama" this spring and has been on more magazine covers lately than Madonna.

Yet, "30 Rock" continues to earn modest, if far from impressive, ratings returns. In the recently concluded TV season, the sitcom scored a 3.1 rating/8 share in the 18-49 demo -- the only numbers the networks truly care about -- with 6.4 million viewers overall.

Based on 18-49 ratings, "30 Rock" ranked 56th, behind "Two and a Half Men" (15th place), "The Office" (21st), "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (33rd) and "Scrubs" (46th), which NBC couldn't get rid of fast enough and just landed at ABC for the fall.

On the plus side, the rating is 8% better than in the 2006-07 season, and approximately 700,000 more people are watching. And, where NBC is most appreciative, "30 Rock" ranks No. 4 in the 18-49 demo of those with an income of more than $100,000.

So, all in all, there's little chance the show is going anywhere anytime soon. Yet the Peacock would like to see better fortunes ahead.

"It can be very frustrating when networks put on innovative programming and it doesn't catch on with viewers," says Andrew Donchin, director of national broadcast at media buying agency Carat. "There are a number of shows out there that are brilliantly written and acted that, for whatever reason, don't work."

Some say viewers who don't live in media centers such as New York and Los Angeles have a hard time relating to "30 Rock's" sendup of NBC's corporate culture.

"By design, the show's tonality is an absurdist exploration of network TV and corporate politics, and the more creatively daring the show is, the more narrowing it also is," says John Rash of ad agency Campbell Mithun.

An overall view of the comedy landscape, however, reminds that "30 Rock" is far from the first award-winning sitcom that's had a hard time finding primetime traction. "Arrested Development" went through this dearth-of-viewers scenario for years at Fox, and even shows that come out of the gate with critical huzzahs often die an early death.

"There hasn't been a breakout comedy in 10 years," says Brad Adgate, senior VP of research at Horizon Media. "Now the most popular streaming video on YouTube is all comedic. They don't have to worry about the FCC. It's not a level playing field. It's hard for any new show today to bring in new viewers."