CBS Sticks With Its New Shows
By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/3/2003
CBS moved David E. Kelley's Brotherhood of Poland, NH, off the schedule but last week gave full-season orders to its remaining five new shows: Two and a Half Men, Cold Case, Navy NCIS, Joan of Arcadia and The Handler.
Two and a Half Men—in the protected slot between Everybody Loves Raymond and CSI: Miami—is averaging 15.9 million viewers, a 5.2 rating/12 share in adults 18-49 and 6.6/14 in adults 25-54 and retains an average 85% of its Raymond lead-in. Compared with last year's Still Standing, now airing Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET, Two and a Half Men is underperforming the time period—by 3% in viewers, 13% in adults 18-49 and 8% in adults 25-54—but is still holding its own.
Cold Case, executive-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, is averaging 13.6 million viewers, 3.1/8 in adults 18-49, and 4.3/10 in adults 25-54. Cold Case is improving its Sunday 8-9 p.m. time period year-to-year by 50% in viewers, 15% in adults 18-49 and 39% in adults 25-54. Last year, sitcoms Bram & Alice, Becker and My Big Fat Greek Life aired in the slot; only Becker remains on CBS's schedule.
Navy NCIS is averaging 12.3 million viewers, 2.8/8 in adults 18-49 and 4.1/10 in adults 25-54 in its Tuesday 8 p.m. time slot, down 18% in viewers, 20% in adults 18-49 and 11% in adults 25-54 from JAG a year ago.
CBS has had success on Fridays, leading off with Joan of Arcadia, which is averaging 11.64 million viewers, 3.0/11 in adults 18-49 and 4.4/14 adults 25-54. That's up 36% in viewers and adults 18-49, 57% in adults 25-54.
The relocated JAG follows Joan and leads into The Handler, which also improves its slot vs. last year's 10 p.m. entry, Robbery Homicide Division. Averaging 9.64 million viewers, 2.5/8 in adults 18-49 and 3.7/10 in adults 25-54, Handler is up 30% in viewers, 14% in adults 18-49 and 28% in adults 25-54.
Meanwhile, Fox has begun tweaking its schedule. Last week, it canceled Friday-night sitcom Luis, replacing it with double-runs of original episodes of Wanda at Large. Theatrical movies Dude, Where's My Car? and The Animal will fill Fridays for the last two weeks of November sweeps. Fox has not yet determined what will replace Luis.
