Lower Decks

Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 14 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, December 22nd, 2008 – Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Broadcast Networks

It was a holiday week filled with specials and repeats and thus this will be another abbreviated edition of the Weekly Ratings Roundup. Just the numbers and a minimum of analysis.  A pair of Ghost Whisperer repeats on CBS performed well for the day after Christmas.  On December 25th, a repeat of Supernatural actually beat a repeat of Smallville.  Impressive?  Or were all the Smallville fans who would regularly watch a repeat out enjoying the holiday?  And if the preliminary numbers hold up, the most recent repeat of Jericho on The CW will have seen its audience increase over the previous episode.

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Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 13 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, December 5th, 2008 – Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Broadcast Networks

This will be an abbreviated edition of the Weekly Ratings Roundup.  Just the numbers and a minimum of analysis.

Ghost Whisperer                 10,180,000
Heroes                           7,870,000
Terminator: TSCC                 5,070,000
Fringe (Repeat)                  4,820,000
Smallville (Repeat)              2,130,000
Supernatural (Repeat)            2,070,000
Jericho (CW Repeat)                910,000

Ghost Whisperer was able to top ten million again after slipping to 9.7 million for its last episode (“Pieces of You,” December 5th) while the midseason finale of Heroes managed to pull a 3.7/9 Nielsen rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, its highest since October 27th (“Eris Quod Sum”).  Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, also in its midseason finale, stayed steady at roughly five million viewers and a 1.9/5 A18-49 rating.

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Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 12 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, December 8th, 2008 – Sunday, December 14th, 2008

Broadcast Networks

As was the case last week, there was little of note on the broadcast networks during the second week of December.  NBC’s Knight Rider was once again preempted, as was CBS’s Ghost Whisperer.  FOX’s Fringe and The CW’s Smallville and Supernatural were repeats.

For the first time in ages, Heroes was the most-watched science fiction, fantasy or horror program for the week with 7.72 million viewers for the penultimate episode of Volume Three: Heroes.  That was down slightly from the previous week (7.99 million viewers) while holding steady in the adults 18-49 demographic (3.6/9 Nielsen rating).

31   Heroes                      7,720,000

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Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 11 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, December 1st, 2008 – Sunday, December 7th, 2008

Broadcast Networks

The first week of December was a slow one for the networks.  As usual, the most watched science fiction, fantasy or horror program was CBS’s Ghost Whisperer but the series was off considerably from its previous outings.  Due to the Thanksgiving holiday last week, CBS aired two repeats of Ghost Whisperer and that may have helped to kill the momentum the series had been gathering.  The ninth episode of the fourth season drew 9.7 million viewers, down 1.6 million from the last episode (“Heart & Soul,” 11.3 million viewers on November 21st).

28   Ghost Whisperer             9,710,000

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Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 10 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, November 24th, 2008 – Sunday, November 30th, 2008

Broadcast Networks

The broadcast rankings I usually use when compiling this roundup were not released for the past week, so I’ll just be listing shows in order of viewers with no rankings.  The CW’s Smallville and Supernatural are currently on hiatus, with repeats airing until January.  And due to the Thanksgiving holiday, CBS aired two repeats of Ghost Whisperer on Friday, November 28th.  Knight Rider was pre-empted on Wednesday in favor of “Rosie Live.”

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Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 9 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, November 17th, 2008 – Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

Broadcast Networks

Ghost Whisperer stumbled a negligible amount this week, dropping from 11.57 million viewers to 11.28 million viewers and from a 2.9/10 Nielsen rating in the adults 18-49 demographic to a 2.7/9 rating.  Through the first seven episodes of the season, Ghost Whisperer is averaging 10.2 million viewers and a 2.6/9 A18-49 rating, thanks to strong performances these past few weeks.  Last season, the series averaged 9.25 million viewers and a 2.5/9 A18-49 rating.  In other words, the show is doing quite well in its fourth year on the air.

23   Ghost Whisperer            11,280,000

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Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 8 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, November 10th, 2008 – Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Broadcast Networks

Ghost Whisperer hit another season-high (and then some) last week, proving that even if fans are concerned over the latest plot twists, viewers are watching in droves. The 11.57 million viewers who watched “Threshold” (broadcast Friday, November 14th) was the highest-rated episode of Ghost Whisperer since March 3rd, 2006 (“Demon Child,” 12.4 million viewers) during the show’s first season.

22   Ghost Whisperer            11,570,000

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Weekly Ratings Roundup
Week 7 of the 2008-2009 Television Season
Monday, November 3rd, 2008 – Sunday, November 9th, 2008

Broadcast Networks

As has been the case lately, there were some pre-emptions this week.  On Monday, in lieu of Heroes, NBC broadcast its “SNL Presidential Bash 2008 which drastically outperformed rapidly declining Heroes.  Due to the election on Tuesday, Fringe was also pre-empted.  Otherwise, it was business as normal.  On Friday, Ghost Whisperer rebounded from its season low in the adults 18-49 demographic (a 2.2/8 on October 31st) and grew to a season high 2.8/9 while also hitting a season high in total viewers.

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