Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, November 15, 2006

The Season Finale of “Dancing With the Stars” powers ABC to an easy win in households, viewers and adults 18-49. “Day Break” struggles out of the gate, “Medium” returns to good numbers”

ABC finished in first place for the evening with a 10.5/16 HH rating (16.10M viewers) and a 4.8/12 A18-49 rating.

• Last Week’s Numbers:
  • 9.7/15 HH rating [#1]
  • 15.10M viewers [#1]
  • 5.1/13 A18-49 rating [#1]

• At 8:00 PM, the season finale of “Dancing with the Stars” (17.6/27 HH rating, 27.22M viewers, 7.0/18 A18-49 rating) had no trouble beating its competition, easily winning the evening in households, viewers and adults 18-49.
  • Week to Week Numbers:
    • Households – 13.8/21 to 17.6/27
    • Viewers – 20.64M to 27.22M
    • A18-49 – 5.2/15 to 7.0/18
• From 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM, the series premiere and second episode of “Day Break” (7.1/11 HH rating, 10.54M viewers, 3.7/9 A18-49 rating) lost steam every half-hour, going from 13.96M to 10.18M to 9.43M to 8.57M. That unfortunately does not bode well for the future of the series. Compared to last week’s duo of “Lost” and “The Nine”, the two-hour block was down 18% in households, 15% in viewers and 26% in adults 18-49.

CBS followed in second place with a 8.8/14 HH rating (13.99M viewers), and a 4.4/11 A18-49 rating.

• Last Week’s Numbers:
  • 9.4/15 HH rating [#2]
  • 14.67M viewers [#2]
  • 4.5/12 A18-49 rating [#2]

• At 8:00 PM, “Jericho” (5.8/9 HH rating, 9.41M viewers, 3.0/8 A18-49 rating) dipped slightly from the week prior and is now struggling to reach back up to 10M viewers. Its still holding steady in adults 18-49 though.
  • Week-to-week numbers:
    • Households – 6.2/9 to 5.8/9
    • Viewers – 9.79M to 9.41M
    • A18-49 – 3.0/8 to 3.0/8
• At 9:00 PM, “Criminal Minds” (10.4/16 HH rating, 16.56M viewers, 4.9/13 A18-49 rating) suprisingly dipped. I say that because it was no longer going up against “Lost”, so the losses of 7% in households, 6% in viewers and 4% in adults 18-49 was a bit strange. If anything, it should have risen against weaker competition.
  • Week-to-week numbers:
    • Households – 11.2/17 to 10.4/16
    • Viewers – 17.54M to 16.56
    • A18-49 – 5.1/12 to 4.9/13
• At 10:00 PM, “CSI: NY” (11.2/17 HH rating, 15.99M viewers, 5.1/14 A18-49 rating) grew week-by-week in households and was the top performer on the evening in that category and adults 18-49 for the network.
  • Week to Week Numbers:
    • Households – 10.9/19 to 11.2/17
    • Viewers – 16.69M to 15.99M
    • A18-49 – 5.4/15 to 5.1/14

NBC finished in third place with a 5.5/8 HH rating (8.39M viewers), and a 3.3/8 A18-49 rating.

• Last Week’s Numbers:
  • 4.9/8 HH rating [#3]
  • 7.56M viewers [#3]
  • 3.0/8 A18-49 rating [#3]

• At 8:00 PM, “The Biggest Loser” (4.0/6 HH rating, 6.31M viewers, 2.8/7 A18-49 rating) dipped some from the week prior, providing a weak lead-in for returning “Medium”.
  • Week-to-week numbers:
    • Households -4.6/7 to 4.0/6
    • Viewers -7.30M to 6.31M
    • A18-49 -3.1/8 to 2.8/7
• From 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM, the special two-hour season premiere of “Medium” (6.2/10 HH rating, 9.43M viewers, 3.7/10 A18-49 rating) was fairly close to the numbers where it left off last season in May, but was down compared to its season 2 premiere back in September of 2005. Then again, it held up nicely against the series premiere of “Day Break”.
  • Season 2 Finale to Season 3 Premiere Comparison (May 22, 2006):
    • Households – 6.8 to 6.2
    • Viewers – 10.04M to 9.43M
    • A18-49 – 3.8 to 3.7
  • Season 2/3 Premiere Comparison (September 19, 2005):
    • Households – 8.4 to 6.2
    • Viewers – 12.69M to 9.43M
    • A18-49 -4.5 to 3.7

FOX followed in fourth for the evening with a 4.3/7 HH rating (6.81M viewers) and a 2.5/6 A18-49 rating.

• Last Week’s Numbers:
  • 3.6/6 HH rating [#4]
  • 5.53M viewers [#4]
  • 2.2/5 A18-49 rating [#4]

• At 8:00 PM, “Bones” (5.0/8 HH rating, 7.89M viewers, 2.9/8 A18-49) showed another minimal, but positive, gain from the week prior.
  • Week-to-week numbers:
    • Households – 4.8/7 to 5.0/8
    • Viewers – 7.53M to 7.89M
    • A18-49 – 2.8/7 to 2.9/8
• At 9:00 PM, a repeat of “Bones” (3.7/6 HH rating, 5.74M viewers, 2.0/5 A18-49) ended the evening for Fox. The Fox network sure has had one extremely weak fall season haven’t they?

The CW finished in fifth for the evening delivering a 2.6/4 HH rating (3.96M viewers) and a 1.7/4 A18-49 rating.

• Last Week’s Number’s:
  • 2.9/4 HH rating [#5]
  • 4.45M viewers [#5]
  • 2.1/5 A18-49 rating [#5]

• At 8:00 PM, “America’s Next Top Model” (3.1/5 HH rating, 4.67M viewers, 2.2/6 A18-49 rating) dipped again. Though the numbers are strong for a CW program, they are still a bit low considering how much of a powerhouse the program has been in the past. As you can see from the numbers below, the show is on a bit of a rollercoaster ride as of late.
  • Week-to-week numbers:
    • Households – 3.7/6 to 2.9/5 to 3.5/6 to 3.1/5
    • Viewers – 5.48M to 4.42M to 5.39M to 4.67M
    • A18-49 – 2.7/8 to 2.1/6 to 2.6/7 to 2.2/6
• At 9:00 PM, “One Tree Hill” (2.2/3 HH rating, 3.25M viewers, 1.3/3 A18-49 rating) is also down and still struggles to hold onto its lead-in audience. Then again, The CW has a problem on every night of the week keeping viewers tuned in for two consecutive hours.
  • Week-to-week numbers:
    • Households – 2.3/4 to 2.2/3
    • Viewers – 3.52M to 3.25M
    • A18-49 – 1.5/4 to 1.3/3

The ratings for all the programs that aired last night are viewable below in chart form (click to enlarge).

Note: Fast Nationals are used when comparing week-to-week numbers, while Final Nationals are used when comparing year-to-year numbers, unless otherwise specified.

Source: Fast/Final National Ratings Data from Nielsen Media Research