NBC may be onto something with talk of cutting back on early-evening scripted shows after its new comedies “30 Rock” and “Twenty Good Years” took a tumble in their second outings.
On the same day that the net’s parent company detailed plans to tighten the purse strings by shifting to lower-cost unscripted fare from 8 to 9 o’clock, the Peacock’s opening-hour laffers combined for a fifth-place finish in demos.
Fox, meanwhile, got its first real break of this baseball postseason when the result in Wednesday’s game between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals meant the net would get a seventh and deciding game last night.
According to Nielsen nationals for Wednesday, Tina Fey comedy “30 Rock” (2.3 rating/7 share in adults 18-49, 5.71 million viewers overall) declined 21% in the demo from its decent preem, and John Lithgow-Jeffrey Tambor skein “Twenty Good Years” (2.0/5, 5.09m) slid 20%.
These numbers make for the lowest-rated comedies on the major nets and the Peacock’s lowest-rated 8 o’clock hour of the week (excluding Saturday).
ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (5.0/14 in 18-49, 19.23m) dominated the hour with its best result-show scores of the season, while CBS rookie drama “Jericho” placed second (3.1/9, 10.88m), down a tick week to week.
The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” (2.5/7 in 18-49, 5.15m) ran second in 18-34 in the slot (2.9/9).
ABC’s “Lost” (6.6/16 in 18-49, 16.31m) ruled the 9 o’clock hour in demos despite more week-to-week declines, while CBS’ “Criminal Minds” (4.5/11, 16.20m) was flat week to week and again on par with the Alphabet drama in total viewers.
At 10, ABC’s “The Nine” (3.1/8 in 18-49, 8.21m) maintained its score from last week, placing second to CBS’ “CSI: NY” (5.2/14, 15.99m).
Fox’s coverage of the Mets-Cards contest (3.5/10 in 18-49, 11.67m) was down from the comparable game of last year, but Thursday’s Game 7 was expected to score nicely. World Series begins Saturday on Fox.
National ratings, meanwhile, for MyNetworkTV show the first-year primetime service averaged a 0.4 rating/1 share in adults 18-49 (519,000 viewers in the demo) and 1.03 million viewers overall during the week of Oct. 9-15. “Fashion House” drew 1.07 million viewers, “Desire” 984,000.
While these numbers repped the highest numbers since early September, MyNet still lagged six broadcast nets and 11 cable nets in adults 18-49 delivery. It also trailed six broadcast nets and 14 cablers in total viewers.
