For Key Demo, "TGIF" Is a Better Motto for Univision Than English-Language Broadcasters

By John Consoli -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/8/2012 2:42:48 PM

While the Big Four English-language broadcast networks continue to struggle on Friday nights in their efforts to draw younger viewers, Spanish-language network Univision is not only winning the ratings battle in the 18-34 demo, but is also making more inroads in the advertiser-desired 18-49 demo.

Early February sweeps -- with all networks airing new episodes of their programming -- offers a telling Friday night picture. Granted, it's only one night, but a look at the Nielsen primetime ratings for Feb. 3 reveals interesting data for media buyers and planners to consider, and watch more closely as sweeps continues:

• Yes, Friday's not a big TV night, but ABC, CBS and NBC combined on Feb. 3 to draw 20.2 million viewers on the night, 2.6 million more than they drew two nights earlier on higher Households Using Television (HUT)-level Wednesday night. And each of those networks individually drew more viewers within that total-CBS 1.9 million more, ABC 500,000 more and NBC 200,000 more. Why did they all fare better Friday than Wednesday? Because they did not have to compete against American Idol.
• Univision won that night among adults 18-34 overall, although it did not win the 8-9 p.m. hour in the demo. Fox's Kitchen Nightmares recorded a 1.2 in the demo and ABC's Shark Tank a 1.1 to beat the Univision novela El Talismán, which did a 1.0. But Univision novelas easily won the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. battle in the demo. At 9 p.m., La Que No Podía Amar recorded a 1.6 and at 10 p.m., Rosa de Guadalupe recorded a 1.4.
• That Friday night drew a high number of 50-plus viewers, most of them to CBS shows. On Feb. 3, CBS averaged an 8.0 rating among viewers 50-plus, compared to a 3.4 for second place NBC, a 3.0 for ABC and a 1.7 for Fox. Univision averaged a 1.0.
• While CBS draws lot of older viewers, it also draws the most viewers, and is tied for the highest-rated network on the night among adults 18-49. CBS averaged 9.9 million viewers on Friday, Feb. 3, far outdistancing second-place ABC with 5.2 million and NBC with 5.1 million. Fox lagged behind with 3.5 million. Among 18-49 viewers, CBS was tied with NBC as the highest-rated with an underwhelming 1.5, while Fox recorded a 1.4 and NBC was tied with Univision with a 1.2 in the demo.
• Fox was the only network that had a higher primetime rating among men 18-49 than it did for women 18-49, but it was mighty close: 1.3 to 1.2.
• The highest-rated show for the night among adults 50-plus was the CBS drama Blue Bloods with a 9.0 in that demo. There was a tie among lowest-rated shows in the 50-plus demo between Fox's Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe, with both recording a 1.5.
• The highest-rated shows A18-49 that Friday were Blue Bloods and ABC's 20/20, each recording a 1.7. The lowest-rated in that demo was Fringe and NBC's show Who Do You Think You Are, each drawing a 1.1.
• The highest-rated show among adults 18-34 was Kitchen Nightmares with a 1.2. The lowest-rated was Who Do You Think You Are and CBS drama The Gifted Man, each pulling a 0.6.
• The show most-watched by teens on Friday night was Shark Tank with a paltry 0.8 in that demo. Clearly, not many teens are watching TV on that night, but you would have thought the NBC sci-fi drama Grimm might have done better in this demo.
• And the most-watched show among total viewers was Blue Bloods (11.2 million), followed by CBS drama CSI: NY (10.1 million) and The Gifted Man (8.4 million). The least-watched show was Fox's Fringe (3.1 million).

Finally, while The CW was a non-factor in the competitive picture, finishing sixth behind Univision in viewers and demos, one interesting piece of data could be gleaned. While The CW's main target audience is women 18-34, its two Friday night shows, Nikita and Supernatural, combined to skew almost equal among men and women in that demo. Among women 18-34 they recorded a 0.5 rating and among men they scored a 0.4 rating.

The broadcast networks, to their credit, have tried to revive Friday nights by putting on scripted programming instead of totally abandoning it with all cheaper unscripted fair. But no matter what they do, they can't force more people to stay home and watch. And while it still seems evident that older people are watching in larger numbers on that night, younger people are not watching quite as much -- unless it's Univision.