'Big Bang' Begins With a Big Bang
Early success bodes well, especially when paired with 'Two and a Half Men'
By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/17/2011 12:01:00 AM
30 Rock: Lower Number, Less Pressure
NBCUniversal’s 30 Rock, which premiered in syndication Sept. 19, opened at
a 1.4 live plus same day national household rating.
Comparatively, that is a much smaller rating than The Big Bang Theory, but it’s not a bad performance considering that 30 Rock airs almost uniquely in late fringe and late-night time slots. NBCU sold 30 Rock to broadcasters on an all-barter basis, so the sitcom’s ratings don’t need to be as high to cover costs.
30 Rock is considered more niche and upscale than either Big Bang Theory or Two and a Half Men. The show has also been much more widely available via digital platforms, potentially lessening viewers’ interest in seeing it in syndication.
And while 30 Rock is sold on Viacom’s Comedy Central and Tribune’s WGN America, its national rating is almost entirely derived from its broadcast runs. Less than 0.1 of its national rating comes from its cable runs, because Comedy Central bought it for cash and thus includes no barter advertising. 30 Rock’s ratings on WGN America, which is distributed to only 60% of the country, are very low. —PA
Comparatively, that is a much smaller rating than The Big Bang Theory, but it’s not a bad performance considering that 30 Rock airs almost uniquely in late fringe and late-night time slots. NBCU sold 30 Rock to broadcasters on an all-barter basis, so the sitcom’s ratings don’t need to be as high to cover costs.
30 Rock is considered more niche and upscale than either Big Bang Theory or Two and a Half Men. The show has also been much more widely available via digital platforms, potentially lessening viewers’ interest in seeing it in syndication.
And while 30 Rock is sold on Viacom’s Comedy Central and Tribune’s WGN America, its national rating is almost entirely derived from its broadcast runs. Less than 0.1 of its national rating comes from its cable runs, because Comedy Central bought it for cash and thus includes no barter advertising. 30 Rock’s ratings on WGN America, which is distributed to only 60% of the country, are very low. —PA
In fact, Bang’s 4.5 and 5.0 far surpass the 3.6 and 3.9 rating that Two and Half Men opened with in 2007. Men was exclusive to broadcast for its first three years, which some feel gave it an advantage. Bang airs concurrently on TBS on Tuesdays from 8 to 11 p.m. ET and on Thursdays from 9 to 11 p.m., as well as on Saturdays. So far, those runs are only contributing nine-tenths of a ratings point to Bang’s overall ratings average, which means it still opened bigger than Men, even with its cable airings factored out.
One emerging trend is that Bang tends to perform better in markets where it is paired with Men, which isn’t surprising considering that both shows are created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and air on CBS.
For example, on Tribune’s Fox affiliate KCPQ Seattle, Two and a Half Men airs at 7 p.m. and Big Bang airs at 7:30. In that market, Men and Bang pack a one-two punch in access among the key adult 25-54 demographic, winning the time period with Men’s 2.2/6 and Bang’s 3.0/7. Similarly, the two are performing well on Tribune’s independent WPHL Philadelphia at a 2.0/6 and 1.4/4 at 7 and 7:30 p.m. in the demo, although that’s only good enough for fourth place in the time period. And across the Fox-owned stations, Bang is strongest on KMSP Minneapolis, the only market where it is paired with Men.
In markets where the two shows compete against each other, including Los Angeles and Chicago, both take a hit. In Los Angeles, for example, Bang airs on Fox-owned KTTV, which double-runs the show at 7 and 7:30 against Tribune’s double-run of Two and a Half Men. Among adults 25-54, Bang is doing a 0.9/3 at 7 p.m. and a 0.6/2 at 7:30, compared to Men’s 0.4/2 and 0.7/2.
“These shows should not be competing against each other. You water down Bang’s potential that way,” says one broadcaster.
But Fox had strong incentive to keep Bang out of Tribune’s hands specifically to prevent that pairing, says Bill Carroll, VP/programming, Katz Media Group.
“It has to do with where the greatest demand is,” says Carroll. “If you don’t have Men and you are going after a significant sitcom audience, then you were going to be more aggressive in going after Bang. You have incentive to keep that show away from your competitor.”
And it’s still early going. Tribune has renewed Two and a Half Men through 2021, and by then, the show will have been airing in syndication for 14 years. Big Bang is just getting started.
TBS execs also point out that while it’s only the beginning, they are pleased so far with Big Bang, for which the network paid approximately $1.4 million per episode. TBS aired the show for two weeks, then moved it to accommodate postseason baseball.
“We consider these first few weeks a soft launch,” says Jon Marks, TBS senior VP of entertainment research. “We hadn’t been out there promoting it because we knew that baseball, which we are also glad to have, would be disruptive.”
So far, Big Bang has improved its Tuesday time periods on TBS compared to last year by 23% among adults 18-49 and 63% among adults 25-54. The show has improved its Thursday time periods compared to last year by 3% among adults 18-49 and 31% among adults 25-54. Bang is drawing an average of 1 million viewers in each demographic group in primetime.
“Big Bang is a broadly appealing show coming off of CBS. As we get further into the scripted half-hour business, it has the potential to be a very good lead-in, given the nature of its audience base,” says Michael Wright, executive VP of programming for TBS, TNT and TCM.
E-mail comments to palbiniak@gmail.com and follow her on Twitter: @PaigeA
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