Ratings Analysis: The Celtics v. Knicks NBA game (0.59) was the highest-rated broadcast on Saturday night, leading ABC to Nielsen ratings victory once more. NBA Countdown (0.22) also topped its time slot at eight. NBC went with reruns of The Voice (0.15) and SNL (0.18). 48 Hours (0.16, -0.02) dipped on CBS. Super Bowl Soulful Celebration (0.09) and Women's College Basketball (0.09) underwhelmed on Fox. The '90s Boy Band Boom (0.05) was modest on the CW. Key: (R) = repeat.
Ratings Analysis: The 67th Annual Grammy Awards (3.91) dealt with a small Adults 18-49 drop (-3%) on CBS, but the total viewership decline (-10%) was more pronounced. For reference, last year's ceremony posted a 4.05 rating and was viewed by over 17 million. Earlier in the evening, 60 Minutes garnered a 0.59 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. On Fox, the NASCAR Cup Series (0.56) held its own against the Grammys. ABC chose not to air original counterprogramming, instead opting to air reruns of America's Funniest Home Videos (0.41/0.30/0.20/0.15) all night long. NBC aired encores of Deal or No Deal Island (0.11), The Hunting Party (0.07), and Dateline (0.16). The CW aired Point Break (0.05). Key: (R) = repeat.
Ratings Analysis: The series premiere of CBS drama Watson (1.60) got a noticeably larger football lead-in than last week's Hollywood Squares (1.74) but came in a tenth lower. On ABC, The Proposal (0.14) fell below the week-ago airing of Beauty and the Beast (0.22). NBC aired reruns of Deal or No Deal Island (0.07/0.06) and Dateline (0.13). Fox's Doc encore (0.68) had some football inflation baked into it, and that was enough to boost repeats of The Simpsons (0.28), Universal Basic Guys (0.22), The Great North (0.18), and Krapopolis (0.13) to first-run levels. The CW aired Two Weeks Notice (0.05). Key: (P) = premiere. (R) = repeat.
It's been a month since our last Cable Renew/Cancel, and there have been several new entries, including two shows from Hallmark, the return of a sophomore AMC series, and unscripted options on TBS. Keep reading for my initial predictions for all of the new entries, plus my expanded thoughts on several of them!
Ratings Analysis: Despite having an NFL lead-in, the series premiere of The Hunting Party (0.46) did not seem to benefit on NBC. A rerun of Deal or No Deal Island (0.23) and Dateline (0.22) followed. CBS used their football game to boost Hollywood Squares (1.74, +1.38) and got a much better result. On ABC, the network's broadcast of the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast (0.22) improved on the week-ago Marley & Me. Fox went with repeats of Kitchen Nightmares (0.07), The Simpsons (0.11), Universal Basic Guys (0.07), Animal Control (0.07), and Going Dutch (0.10). Bring It On (0.05) aired on the CW. Key: (R) = repeat.