Ratings Roundup: 27th Feb

Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days

WINNERS

TOSH 2.0: We’ve talked about Comedy Central’s Tosh 2.0 a few times here on Remote Patrolled, but in a week of across the board falls Tosh is one of the few TV bright spots.

On Tuesday night the comedy show bought in 3.36 million viewers and a 2.0 18-49 share. To put that into perspective that’s as good as The Good Wife on the same night in terms of demo numbers – a show which attracts almost FOUR times Tosh’s total viewers.

Plus the cable good news continued for Teen Mom, MTV’s second highest rated smash which managed over 4 million viewers and probably costs around $250,000 an episode – compared to $2-3 million an episode for a network drama! And you wonder why the main networks are becoming dinosaurs?

AMERICAN IDOL: We’re about to begin the live Idol shows, so what better time to take stock of TV’s biggest show and compare how it’s doing sans Simon!

As you’ve probably read in my postings I’ve slowly come around to the new revamped version of the show after a VERY shaky start! And it seems I’m not alone. Sure Idol is down year on year by around 10-15% (though comparisons are tough since the show now airs on different nights and the format has been slightly tweaked) – but heck, the show is still attracting over 20 million viewers every show!

Thursday night’s unveiling of the final 24 pulled in 21.75 million and a towering 7.2 18-49 share, actually ahead of last year’s equivalent episode. And with some darn good singers in the bunch this year – including this guy – I don’t think Fox have too much to worry about. Simon has left the building – and you know what, American Idol has survived.

LOSERS

SHEDDING FOR THE WEDDING: Well here’s a shocker! The CW’s new weight loss competition show go off to a shaky start on Wednesday night, pulling in just over a million viewers (1.07) and a paltry 0.5 18-49 share!

Remember The CW is a BROADCAST network – though of course it’s hard to tell at times. On the same night Wedding was out-rated by everything from Face Off on Syfy (1.32 million), I Used To Be Fat on MTV (1.24 million) and Top Chef on Bravo (2.61 million).

I had a feeling Shedding was going to be a big fat flop (see my Coming Soon piece for more) but The CW actually thought the show was a mini-triumph, after all it rated higher than the likes of Fly Girls and High Society. Oh brother, talk about low expectations!

And there was more bad news for the network with the Cycle 16 premiere of America’s Next Top Model. Last season the show adopted a ‘high fashion’ angle but this time around the producers couldn’t be bothered to come up with any kind of fresh twist – and the viewers responded accordingly. With 2.24 million eyeballs and a 1.1 18-49 share the aging model competition is fading fast.

NO ORDINARY FAMILY: Hard to believe now, but when ABC’s Incredibles like fantasy series launched in the Fall, insiders were predicting it would be the breakout hit of the season. But boy were they wrong (I hate to say ‘I told you so’ – but I did!)

On Tuesday, Family continued it’s inevitable slide towards cancellation with just 4.76 million viewer and a series low 1.4 18-49 share. That’s shockingly bad for a network that still has plenty of hits in its arsenal – Grey’s Anatomy, The Bachelor, Desperate Housewives and of course, Dancing With The Stars.

Put it this way – one hour later V is delivering just over 5 million viewers and a 1.9 18-49 and that show’s also a dead cert to be cancelled! So if you’re a fan I’d start saying your family goodbyes now…

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MIAMI: Has the Real Housewives franchise finally run out of steam? Let’s hope so…

On Tuesday, Bravo launched the show’s 7^th incarnation – Miami – and pulled in a measly 1.21 million viewers and a 0.6 18-49 share. That’s well down on previous seasons and actually less than long in the tooth franchises like Dirty Jobs (1.49 million) and the aforementioned Teen Mom, both of which aired the same night. Better get down to some more table flipping and hair pulling ladies…