Fringe Benefits Big-Time from House Debut
Fox wins Tuesday night on strength of House premiere lead-in, second episode of Fringe .
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/17/2008 8:30:00 AM
Fox's new drama, Fringe, appeared to get a big boost from the debut of House Tuesday night.
Fringe, from Lost creator J. J. Abrams, averaged a 5.2/13 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. after House delivered a 5.5/16 in its new time period of 8 p.m.-9 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research overnights. House was down significantly from the 7.8/19 it drew in its Sept. 25 debut last season, but that was at 9 p.m., when it didn't have to lead off, and it was in line with Fox's internal projections.
In contrast, Fringe debuted last week at a 3.2 rating/9 share in the 18-49 demo. But the show last week was 90 minutes and led off the night at 8 p.m. Fox was looking for a boost from House this week, Fringe's 8 p.m.-9 p.m. lead-in. It was not disappointed.
Fox also tried to give Fringe a boost with a reairing of the premiere over the weekend, which might have accounted for some of the additional interest.
Fox dominated the night in the 18-49 demo thanks to those back-to-back performances with a 5.3/14, almost double its nearest competitor, NBC, at a 2.7/8. NBC's top show was the debut of The Biggest Loser: Families at a 3.4/9. NBC points out matched its year-ago debut rating, which was not against as tough competition.
None of the other networks could top a 2 rating average on the night.
