ratings

In case you are wondering why The View brought back polarizing Rosie O’Donnell — Monday’s season debut clocked 3.902 million viewers — the show’s biggest overall audience in eight years — which is also since Rosie joined the show the first time back in ’06.

The Labor Day week ending Sept. 7 had a mix of new and repeat episodes. Many talkers were up; courtrooms were all in the plus column; magazines were a mixed bag; while games were either flat or down.

ABC’s long-running hit Dancing with the Stars was a little less jazzy in its 19th season premiere last night. The two-hour bow averaged a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating, down 8% from last spring and a new low for a debut episode. But the program still finished well ahead of Fox’s MasterChef as the No. 1 show on broadcast last night, and it lifted ABC to a tie for first place with Fox for the night.

NBC’s Sunday Night Football once again dominated the ratings last night. SNF averaged a 14.0 metered-market household rating, up 3% from the same night last year, when the game was hit by a long weather delay. The contest between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, which the Bears won 28-20, averaged a 27.0 in San Francisco for the first game in Levi’s Stadium, the best rating for any game in the market since Nov. 17, 2003. Against the NFL, ABC’s Miss America pageant took a hit. The show averaged a 1.5 adults 18-49 overnight rating from 9 to 11 p.m., down from a 2.0 last year.

The group’s outlets in Atlanta, Hartford and Nashville are the latest to subscribe to the rating service.

The conclusion of Utopia‘s three-part launch on Friday night drew 1.9 million total viewers and a 0.7 demo rating, down 24% and 22% from the Fox freshman’s Tuesday outing. Following Tuesday’s drop, Fox Television Group co-CEO Dana Walden acknowledged that Utopia was launched “really early, maybe before viewers were ready for a new fall show … but with patience it will grow and we’re going to have patience.”

CBS cruised to first place Thursday night with its debut Thursday Night Football telecast. The Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens contest propelled CBS to a 5.2 18-49 rating and 17 share. NBC, with the season debut of The Biggest Loser, followed with a 1.4/4.

The first two days of the news season with Terry Crews at the helm average a 1.0 rating/3 share in metered market households.

With their reality programs leading the way, Fox and NBC tied for first place on Wednesday night. Both networks averaged a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating and 5 share. But ratings for the top six networks were thrown off by President Obama’s speech to the nation at 9 p.m., which lasted until 9:16 p.m. and pushed back the start times for the channels’ 9 and 10 p.m. programs.

Coverage of the festivities helps the entertainment mags record some viewing gains in the week leading up to the long Labor Day weekend.

Utopia is not living up to its name for Fox. The new reality show debuted in its regular timeslot last night, following a special sneak preview on Sunday night, and the program lost more than half its debut rating. Utopia averaged a 0.9 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m. In Sunday’s premiere, which aired right after an NFL game and postgame show, Utopia averaged a 2.0, becoming the top reality bow of the year on broadcast.

NBC’s two NFL games last week allowed it to average 11.1 million viewers in primetime and win the week. CBS had 5.9 million viewers, Fox had 5 million, ABC had 3.7 million, Univision had 2.9 million, Telemundo had 1.3 million, Ion Television had 1.2 million and the CW had 1 million.

The trade group’s chairman, Bill Fine, says the TV broadcasters have put up with inaccurate numbers and unchanging sample sizes for too long. “We have hit a tipping point, a point where it is clear a major change is necessary. I know you have heard that from others many times before, but I’m serious. It is time for a reset.”

The season finale of ABC’s Bachelor in Paradise took a big jump last night. The show closed with a series-high 1.8 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 38% from last week. However, it’s hard to say if that rating will hold. ABC affiliates in New York City and Detroit preempted Paradise for Monday Night Football, and so the reality program’s rating may be artificially inflated by what was presumably a big MNF tune-in. But according to overnights, Paradise finished a tenth behind the 9 p.m. edition of Fox’s MasterChef as the No. 2 program of the night.

The new syndicated talk show launched Monday to a 1.7 household rating and a 5 share.

With the addition of WABC, KABC, WLS, WPVI and WTVD, the entire broadcast group is subscribing to the measurement service.

The debut of fall’s first new show, Utopia, was not quite idyllic. The Fox show got a big lead-in from the NFL at 8 p.m. and posted a solid number in its first half hour. But against strong competition from NBC’s Sunday Night Football, Utopia quickly slid. The show averaged a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating over its full two hours from 8 to 10 p.m.

Two days after announcing a startling plan to introduce mathematical modeling to estimate nearly half the viewing in its national TV audience sample, a top Nielsen executive overseeing the initiative clarified the move, saying that the method will not be included into its official ratings until clients have had time to review its impact and approve it.

The NFL returned bigger than last year last night. NBC’s annual Thursday evening NFL Kickoff ame earned a 16.8 household rating, up 4% from last year and the third-highest Kickoff ever in the metered markets. The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks thrashed the Green Packers 36-16. Among the local markets, Milwaukee drew a 44 rating/64 share, while Seattle posted a 42.2 rating and an impressive 73 share.

In what likely is the biggest methodological change in the way it measures national TV viewers since it introduced people meters in 1987, Nielsen Wednesday began informing clients of a new twist in its sample expansion plan that will effectively utilize mathematical modeling to estimate viewing for about half of its sample. While an email sent to clients Thursday implied that details of the plan were “previously discussed,” some clients were surprised — and befuddled — by what they said was the new twist, which Nielsen described as an enhancement of its “viewer assignment methodology.”

The season finale of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance boogied to better numbers than last week. In fact, the show hit a two-month high. Dance averaged a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., jumping 18% over last week. The show drew its best rating since July 2, though it was down a tenth from last year’s season finale. Elsewhere Wednesday, CBS’s Big Brother was the night’s top show with a 2.2 at 8 p.m., off a tenth from last week.

NBC’s long-running hit America’s Got Talent sank to a series low for a Tuesday episode last night. The show posted a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., down 14% from last week. The show was still the No. 1 program of the night on broadcast, 0.3 ahead of the No. 2 show, a repeat of NCIS that aired on CBS at 9 p.m.

There are just three weeks left in the summer, and ABC and NBC remain locked in a tie for first place among adults 18-49. Both networks are averaging a 1.4 rating and 5 share in the demo, according to Nielsen ratings from May 26 to Aug. 24, the most recent available. The two channels are both down 7% from the same point last year.

With the fall television season approaching, it was a mixed bag for the Labor Day holiday. Both Fox and NBC notched the Monday victory with a 1.6 average among adults 18-49 on the strength of Masterchef (5.4 million, 1.9) and American Ninja Warrior (5.8 million, 1.9), respectively. Both programs were the top two-rated on the evening in primetime and were steady.

Big Brother will take home another victory, even with NFL preemptions on CBS for a portion of the country. Boosted by preseason football, early numbers — subject to some adjustment — indicate Big Brother averaged 7.5 million total viewers and a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. Thursday. CBS was preempted in 27% of the U.S. in the 8 p.m. hour, 23% at 9 p.m. and 13% at 10 p.m. CBS will likely win the evening in viewership and 18-49.

Fox’s long-running reality show surged 22% over last week, to a 1.1 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights. The show hit its highest rating among women 18-49 in five weeks, drawing a 1.6. Dance was one of several shows to see week-to-week gains on broadcast last night.

Tuesdays are a night of sparse original content on broadcast, with Fox and CBS in repeats. As usual, NBC won the night, with slight ratings gains over last week. America’s Got Talent was the night’s top show with a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., That was up a tenth, or 5%, over last week. At 8 p.m., lead-in Food Fighters rose a tenth from the previous week, posting a 1.1.

Against strong competition from the Emmy Awards, ABC and Fox’s schedules held up quite well. In fact, two of their programs even saw week-to-week gains despite the additional competition. Fox’s Hotel Hell was up 7% among adults 18-49 to a 1.6 rating, finishing second in its 9 p.m. timeslot behind the Emmys. ABC’s Mistresses grew 13% from last week, to a 0.9. Fox’s MasterChef was the night’s top non-Emmy program, posting a 2.0 at 8 p.m. That was also even to last week, meaning the Emmys really didn’t steal viewers from original shows.

CBS’s Big Brother continues to post strong ratings. In fact, Brother bumped up to a season high last night. The program posted a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., jumping 14% over last week. That also led lead-out Unforgettable to a week-to-week improvement, rising 13 percent to a 0.9 at 9 p.m. Meanwhile, on ABC, the season finale of Rising Star posted a 0.9 from 9 to 11 p.m., up 13% from last week as well.

Growing TV-media measurement company Rentrak continues to add millions of TV set-top boxes it can access — double its levels of three years ago. By the end of this year, Rentrak will glean data from 26 million homes, helped to these higher levels through deals made with pay TV providers DirecTV and Cox.

At first glance, it appears Thursday was a pretty good night for broadcast. Original shows on ABC, CBS and NBC all saw gains in the overnight ratings compared to last week. But those numbers aren’t entirely accurate. ABC, CBS and NBC carried preseason NFL coverage on several affiliates, which may have artificially increased their ratings. True numbers for the networks won’t be clear until final ratings are issued later this afternoon. All that being said, it was another Thursday night win for CBS, led by Big Brother, which posted a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating.

CBS’s Big Brother remains the hottest show on Wednesday night. The long-running reality program, now in its 15th season, posted a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 10% over last week. It was enough to lift CBS to a nightly victory over NBC, which had the No. 2 program with America’s Got Talent. Talent averaged a 1.8 at 9 p.m., even to last week’s series-low overnight rating.

Twelve weeks into the summer season, ABC and NBC are tied for the lead. Both ABC and NBC have a 1.4 rating/5 share among key 18-49 viewers. Both networks are down 7% versus the same time period a year ago. Fox and CBS are next with Fox at 1.2/4, down 14%, and CBS slipping to a 1.1/4 — off 8%. The CW is flat at a 0.3/1.

The network’s hit reality show America’s Got Talent was well ahead of the competition, despite falling to a season low on the night. Talent averaged a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., down 10% from a 2.1 last week. Still, it was 0.8 ahead of the night’s No. 2 show on the Big Four, Food Fighters, which averaged a 1.1 at 8 p.m. on NBC. Food was up a tenth from last week.

Broadcast network TV ratings erosion could worsen next year, according to one prominent senior media agency executive. Rino Scanzoni, chief investment officer of WPP’s Group M, says broadcast TV networks could face steeper viewership declines next year — especially because networks will not be able to replicate viewership gains made last year.

Fox’s reality lineup saw gains Monday night, helping the network tie NBC for first place in primetime. The 8 p.m. Gordon Ramsay program MasterChef was the night’s top show with a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating, up 11% over last week. MasterChef finished as the night’s top program, a tenth ahead of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior.

The program averaged 6.85 million viewers, up from 5.93 million last week. That marks the show’s best viewership on any night this season if the numbers hold. The show was also up a tenth over last week in 18-49s, posting a 2.1 in its 8 p.m. timeslot and finishing as the night’s top show. Though CBS usually wins Sunday on the strength of Brother, last night Fox placed No. 1 with an NFL preseason game.

NBC’s reality stand-up comedy competition Last Comic Standing ended on a high note on Thursday. The two-hour season finale of “Comic” posted a 1.4 rating among viewers 18-49, up 40% from a 1.0 for last week’s penultimate episode. The show was also up 43% week-to-week among total viewers, and it helped NBC win the 9-11 p.m. timeslot among viewers 25-54.