ratings

On a night with almost no original competition, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance thrashed the competition. Fox and Dance averaged a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share from 8 to 10 p.m., double the average for Univision and CBS, which tied for second on the night with a 1.2/3 apiece. Dance grew from a 2.2 in its first half hour to a 2.6 in its last.

By the narrowest of margins, NBC finished first last night ahead of Fox, powered by the night’s No. 1 show, America’s Got Talent. NBC averaged a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating/6 share in primetime, with Fox in second with a 2.1/6. Talent was the night’s top program with a 3.4 at 8 p.m., down 8% from last week’s season high but the only show to top a 3.0 on the night.

In the first full week of summer, NBC ascended to No. 1 among adults 18-49, a position it probably won’t relinquish until the new season starts this fall. The network had three of the top six shows on broadcast in the demo last week, the week ended June 3, according to Nielsen. NBC average a 1.5 rating, 15% ahead of No. 2 ABC at 1.3.

Rentrak Corp., a digital media measurement, research and distribution company, on Tuesday said it has expanded contract with National Geographic Channel to provide cross-platform measurement and information.The multiplatform contract includes […]

Fox whipped up a victory last night with two Gordon Ramsay cooking reality shows. Hell’s Kitchen premiered to a solid 2.4 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., down only 0.1 from last summer’s premiere despite facing off with NBC’s America’s Got Talent, the summer’s top show. Talent was actually up 14% week to week to a 3.2, building on last week’s low Memorial Day rating.

The online streaming availability of TV content may have helped TV ratings in the early going, but its benefits are peaking and even reversing for some networks, Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Tony Wible suggests.

The group owner is adding StationView Essentials to its stations in Macon, Ga.; Lexington, Ky.; Columbus, Miss.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Chattanooga, Tenn.

Airing on a new night at a new time, ABC’s second-year summer reality show Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition declined from last year’s solid debut. A two-hour Weight averaged a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., off 38% from last summer’s bow, which averaged a 2.4. The show did grow from a 1.3 in its first half hour to a 1.6 in its last.

NBC’s Today remained No. 1 in the month of May, winning a nail-biting competition with ABC’s Good Morning America. But the tiny margin between the two shows for the month — 13,000 viewers — showed just how close the morning TV contest has become this spring.

The second episode of ABC’s Duets declined after a so-so debut last week, though it was still one of the highest-rated programs on a low-rated night. Duets averaged a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down 12% from a 1.7 for last week’s premiere. The decline came despite very little competition.

Rentrak Corp. has signed Neuhoff Media’s CBS affiliate KMVT Twin Falls, Idaho (DMA 191), as a Station View Essentials subscriber. “The decision to switch to Rentrak was easy, because we […]

CBS’s new fur-focused reality show debuted to a ho-hum 1.3 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m. last night, finishing second in the hour but still 1.1 behind Fox’s leading So You Think You Can Dance. The show did decently among total viewers, topping SYTYCD by just over 100,000 with 6.66 million tuning in.

The third week of the May sweep (ending May 20) saw most syndicated fare flat or down. The few first-run shows posting week-to-week gains included Maury, Judge Mathis and Jeremy Kyle.

NBC’s America’s Got Talent jumped to a season high last night, becoming the highest-rated program since the May sweeps ended a week ago. Talent averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., up 12% from a 3.3 last week.

By the calendar’s measure summer doesn’t start for three more weeks, but it’s already arrived on television. On a low-rated evening for broadcast, ratings for ABC and NBC’s top shows fell from last week, when household television usage was at a higher level for the season finale of Dancing with the Stars and series finale of House. NBC’s America’s Got Talent was the night’s top show with a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., down 16% from last week’s 3.2.

Fox won another TV season, in the viewing metric that matters most to advertisers: 18-49s. But the race was a lot closer, as CBS, in second place, came within two-tenths of a rating point.

On the heels of the American Idol finale, Fox debuted the ninth cycle of So You Think You Can Dance on Thursday night. The first round of auditions pulled a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.2 million viewers over its two-hour broadcast, pushing the network to an easy demo win for the night. The episode marked a 27% drop from last summer’s premiere, which earned a 3.3 adults rating, but it improved on the finale, climbing nearly half of a point.

Here  are complete series rankings for the 2011-12 season in adults 18-49 and total viewers.

As expected, American Idol had its lowest-rated finale ever last night, though it was still the highest-rated program of the May sweeps, which concluded last night. Idol averaged a 6.1 adults 18-49 rating for the two-hour episode starting at 8 p.m. Fox projects that will increase to a 6.3 once final numbers come out this afternoon.

The Hispanic network will end the 2011-12 broadcast season with 94% live viewing, 68% unduplicated audience and median age of 36 vs. competitors’ combined average of 50-plus.

Stern’s debut last week as a panelist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent was the least-watched season premiere of the NBC series dating back to 2006.

The final performance episode of season 11 of American Idol fell steeply compared to last year, but it still did well enough to lift Fox to No. 1 on the penultimate night of sweeps. Idol averaged a 4.2 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., sliding 34% from a 6.4 for last year’s last performance show.

Other shows bucking the flat to down trend in the week ending May 13 included Dr. Phil, Ellen, Anderson, and a few magazine and game shows.

The series finale of House was by turns shocking, daring and absurd, just the way the show had been for the past eight years. And it earned a ratings bump. House aired its highest-rated episode since Jan. 30, averaging a 2.9 in adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. That was up 32% from last week, when it averaged a 2.2.

Comcast has reached an agreement with Nielsen to begin testing commercial ratings for viewing that takes place on iPads and mobile devices starting this summer.

The 2012 Billboard Music Awards lifted ABC to another victory on the final Sunday of the May sweeps. The three-hour special averaged a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating, the highest-rated program on a generally low-rated night. It marked ABC’s fifth straight Sunday victory, its longest winning streak on the night in three years.

The ABC drama’s eighth-season finale last night improved on last year’s as the show killed off one main character and saw a second leave the hospital for good. Grey’s averaged a 3.9 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., finishing as the evening’s No. 2 show behind Fox’s American Idol (4.2) on the final Thursday of the May sweeps.

CBS chief Les Moonves diverted from the pack in this year’s upfront presentations by talking up the ad value of conventional television over digital media. “Everyone is still talking about the first screen, the TV screen.”

ABC’s Desperate Housewives drew a little more than 11 million viewers for the two-hour series finale of creator Marc Cherry’s primetime soap. That wasn’t enough to land it back in the Nielsen company’s list of top 10 shows for the week, where it was a regular in its early years, but it was nearly three million more viewers than usually watched this season.

The season finale of NCIS paced CBS to a Tuesday win last night, topping NBC’s America’s Got Talent as the night’s top show. NCIS averaged a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 11% from last week’s penultimate episode. NCIS was one of three Big Four shows to see gains over last week.

Rentrak Corp. today announced an expanded multi-year StationView Essentials contract with Raycom for its NBC affiliate WIS Columbia, S.C. (DMA 77). With the addition of WIS, Rentrak provides its audience […]

All the game shows post losses, as were most magazines, talk shows, courtrooms. The few gainers included Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, Maury and a couple off-net sitcoms.

The Howard Stern era of America’s Got Talent got off to a solid start last night. Talent averaged a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., tying for No. 1 in the timeslot and down just 5% from what The Voice averaged in the slot last week.

Desperate Housewives left the air the same way it came on eight years ago: As the No. 1 show on Sunday. The two-hour series finale of the comedy helped lead ABC to a first-place finish last night. Housewives averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., up 19% over last week’s 2.7.

It was very close, but Fox prevailed over CBS on the third Thursday of the May sweeps. Fox averaged a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating and 9 share in primetime, slightly ahead of CBS’s 2.8/8. As usual, American Idol provided the winning edge for Fox, finishing as the night’s No. 2 show with a 3.9 average at 8 p.m. That was flat to last week.

Fox won its 17th straight Wednesday last night on the strength once again of American Idol, the night’s top show, though not by much. Idol averaged a 4.4 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down 4% from last week. The show finished just a tenth ahead of the night’s No. 2 program, Modern Family on ABC, which was up 5% from last week.