New Fox Shows Can’t Match Series
By Steve McClellan -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/21/2003 8:04:00 AM
With the World Series between games Monday night, Fox premiered two highly anticipated series and neither one hit the ball out of the park -- far from it.
Joe Millionaire was fourth in households, viewers and adults 18-49. The best story in the key categories for Joe was a distant second (behind NBC) among adults 18-34.
From 9 p.m.-10 p.m., it was a similar story for the premiere of new series Skin , which was fourth across the key categories, including 18-34. And that is how Fox finished for the night, with less than a 500,000-total-viewer advantage ahead of fifth-place The WB Television Network.
Skin retained its Millionaire household lead-in (what there was of it, anyway) and dropped one or more share points in the key demos, according to Nielsen Media Research’s fast-affiliate ratings for Monday night.
This was not good news for Fox, which has been heavily promoting both shows during the Major League Baseball playoffs, which have drawn huge audiences.
ABC and CBS finished neck-and-neck Monday night, tied in households while CBS’ Monday comedy block (led by Everybody Loves Raymond ) and CSI: Miami had the edge in total viewers and adults 25-54. Threat Matrix and Monday Night Football on ABC had a half-rating point advantage among adults 18-49 and easily won adults 18-34.
NBC -- with Fear Factor , Las Vegas and Third Watch -- was third for the night across most of the key categories but second among adults 18-34, ahead of both CBS and Fox.
The WB, with 7thHeaven and Everwood , was fifth for the night, and UPN was sixth with Monday comedies The Parkers , Eve , Girlfriends and Half and Half .
The total-viewer averages for the night: CBS 15.2 million, ABC 14.7 million, NBC 10.9 million, Fox 6.5 million, WB 6.1 million and UPN 4.3 million.
Adults 18-49: ABC 5.7/15, CBS 5.2/13, NBC 4.4/11, Fox 2.9/7, WB 2.1/5 and UPN 1.9/4.
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