Primetime Ratings: Knight Rider Debut Can’t Speed NBC
CBS takes Wednesday night on strength of Criminal Minds , CSI: NY .
By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/25/2008 11:33:00 AM EDT
NBC’s much-hyped premiere of Knight Rider was unable to connect with viewers in the 8 p.m. hour, finishing third in the 18-34 demo behind Fox’s Bones and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars results show.
Knight Rider earned a 2.3/7 share and 6.7 million viewers, while Bones received a 2.9/9 and 9.1 million viewers and Dancing garnered a 3.2/10 with 14.4 million viewers. CBS earned a 2.2 rating/6 share with two sitcoms, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried.
All three of the networks got a ratings bump at the 9 p.m. hour, with President Bush delivering a speech on the economy. Following the speech, CBS picked up the pace, earning a 4.2 rating/1 share with Criminal Minds, while ABC’s David Blaine special earned a 2.8/7, narrowly beating America’s Got Talent on NBC with a 2.7/7.
The 10 p.m. hour belonged to CBS, as well, with CSI: NY earning a 3.9/11, followed by Lipstick Jungle on NBC with a 2.5/7 and the finale to Blaine’s special on ABC garnering a 2.5/7.
For the night, the crime procedurals gave CBS a win with a 3.5 rating/10 share, while Dancing and David Blaine gave ABC a second-place finish with a 2.9/8. Knight Rider and America’s Got Talent left NBC with a 2.5/7, with Til Death and Bones delivering Fox a 2.3/ 6. The CW, with America’s Next Top Model and a rerun of 90210, earned a 1.6/ 4 for primetime.
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And what was up with David Blaine? I happened to catch the stunt at the end and was totally clueless what was going on with all the confused camera sweeps and lights going out until the announcers told me what was going on. David Blaine should have at least told the technical director what was going on so we could at least see a static shot that made sense of what was happening! Glad I didn't watch the whole thing to be completely let down!
