TV Jots

As for yesterday’s overnight Nielsen numbers, Tuesday clearly belonged to CBS’ military crime procedural and JAG spinoff NCIS, which won the attention of some 18.28 million viewers. The next top-rated shows were a diverse who’s who of continual performers: Fox’s House (18.12 million), ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (16.96 million), and NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (11.75 million).

This smorgasbord included a show from every broadcast network save the always-last CW, whose two offerings, Beauty and the Geek at 8pm EST and Reaper at 9pm, were incapable of mustering more than 2.51 million watchers on average. How dismal is that, especially considering that the poorest performer on another network, ABC’s woeful Cavemen, outranked that number by 2.38 million?

8pm: CBS’ NCIS led the pack at 8pm in total viewers (18.28m) and the 18–49 demographic (4.1/11). Fox’s Bones was second for both total viewers (9.58m) and 18–49 (3.6/9), as well. The first hour of NBC’s two-hour The Biggest Loser was close behind (4.9/8, 3.3/8), followed at a long distance by ABC’s Cavemen (4.89m, 1.7/5) and Carpoolers (5.51m, 1.9/5), and The CW’s Beauty and the Geek (2.62m, 1.3/3).

9pm: Despite NCIS‘ huge numbers, if you go by the 18–49 demographic that advertisers live and die by, Fox was king on Tuesday, driven by House’s strong showing at 9pm (18.12m, 7.7/18). The results installment for ABC’s reliable staple Dancing with the Stars was second (16.96m, 3.8/9), with CBS’ respectable The Unit at third (11.02m, 3.0/7), the final hour of NBC’s The Biggest Loser at fourth, and The CW’s Reaper—the night’s lowest-rated show—at fifth (2.4m, 1.0/2).

10pm: In the last hour, NBC pulled front and center with its most popular Law & Order spinoff, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (11.75m, 4.2/12). ABC’s offbeat law drama Boston Legal was barely behind (10.97m, 2.7/7), while CBS’ new family serial Cane (7.83m, 1.9/5) trailed at third.

Overall: Fox was top dog in both total viewers (13.85m) and the 18–49 demo (5.6/14). In total viewers, Fox was followed by CBS (12.38m), ABC (11.04m), NBC (9.2m), and The CW (2.51m). But, in terms of adults aged 18–49, NBC earned second place (3.6/9), with CBS (3.0/8), ABC (2.8/7), and The CW (1.1/3) following at third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

November 2007 Sweeps: Day 7 Events

• ABC
  • THE 41ST ANNUAL CMA AWARDS—Pardon me for not watching. But, if country music’s your thing, then this three-hour awards special is Must-See TV for you. [8pm EST]
• The CW
  • AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL—OMG! OMG! OMG! Enrique Iglesias is gonna be on!!! Some girls (and guys) think he’s hot! [8pm EST]
• Comedy Central
  • THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM—Team Sarah’s going away until next spring (except for repeats, of course), so be sure to catch this midseason finale if you’re a fan. [10:30pm EST]
• Court TV
  • MYCASE.COM—You guessed it: That .com in the title is supposed to evoke the spirit of the Web for this new show all about the newfangled phenomenon called Internet crime. I guess you don’t really exist online until you’ve had your identity stolen. How’s that for 21st-century cynicism? [10:30pm EST]
• Fox
  • BACK TO YOU—This is a can’t-miss episode for Joss Whedon fans, as one of his “discoveries,” the always welcome Charisma Carpenter, guest stars. Why isn’t this woman on TV more often? [8pm EST]
• Sci Fi Channel
  • GHOST HUNTERS—Like those who hunt ghosts? Here’s a heads-up that the first half of Ghost Hunters‘ fourth season is closing tonight. And, like their basic-cable brethren Sarah Silverman and Company, the boys will be back in Spring 2008. [9pm EST]
• Sundance
  • SWINGING—And, no. They don’t mean dancing, unless you’re thinking beneath the sheets. The naughty U.K. sketch comedy series about sex, sex, sex opens its second season with more hijinks and just plain kinks, not to mention laughs. [11pm EST]

DATA EXPLANATION: In the households figure 6.4/11, 6.4 is the household RATING that indicates what average percentage of U.S. households tuned into a particular show (6.4%), while 11 is the household SHARE that refers to what average percentage of televisions in use were tuned into a particular show (11%).

Tags: November Sweeps, ratings, television, tv