‘Dino’ a Dud in ABC Series Bow
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) -- ABC’s “Dinotopia,” the last of the broadcast networks’ 33 new series to bow this fall, got off to a slow start on Thanksgiving night, finishing well behind its network rivals. One night later, NBC’s family fare — “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” — did much better, while Fox original TV movie “The Brady Bunch in the White House” bombed. According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, ABC’s two one-hour episodes of “Dinotopia” averaged a mere 1.7 rating/5 share in adults 18-49 — less than half of what NBC, CBS and Fox delivered from 8 to 10. The show, based on the network’s successful miniseries of last May, won its block in kids but didn’t do much in any other demo, averaging about 6 million viewers. CBS, which served up three servings of crime to viewers on Thanksgiving, took the night in overall audience (13.2 million) and tied NBC in adults 18-49 (4.2), according to preliminaries, led by the 9 o’clock repeat of “CSI.” NBC did pretty well with its Faith Hill concert special on Thanksgiving (preliminary 4.2/11 in adults 18-49). Earlier in the day, its coverage of the 76th annual “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” scored a strong 15.0/30 in the top “metered” markets. NBC also shone a night later with its original Muppets movie, which delivered the best Friday 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 for any network this season (preliminary 3.8/12). It also led its time period in kids, teens and total viewers (11 million). At the same time, Fox’s original “Brady Bunch” movie averaged a not-so-groovy 1.4/5 in both adults 18-49 and 18-34 and just 3.4 million viewers overall. Apparently, the network made the right decision to keep it out of sweeps, which ended on Wednesday. Final numbers for the November ratings period, meanwhile, will be released Monday. As previously reported, NBC dominated in key demos, and CBS prevailed by a slim margin in total viewers. The only key race that still isn’t decided is the battle for second in adults 18-49. Based on preliminary estimates for Wednesday, ABC appears to round up to a 4.2, ahead of CBS’ 4.1.
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) -- ABC’s “Dinotopia,” the last of the broadcast networks’ 33 new series to bow this fall, got off to a slow start on Thanksgiving night, finishing well behind its network rivals. One night later, NBC’s family fare — “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” — did much better, while Fox original TV movie “The Brady Bunch in the White House” bombed. According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, ABC’s two one-hour episodes of “Dinotopia” averaged a mere 1.7 rating/5 share in adults 18-49 — less than half of what NBC, CBS and Fox delivered from 8 to 10. The show, based on the network’s successful miniseries of last May, won its block in kids but didn’t do much in any other demo, averaging about 6 million viewers. CBS, which served up three servings of crime to viewers on Thanksgiving, took the night in overall audience (13.2 million) and tied NBC in adults 18-49 (4.2), according to preliminaries, led by the 9 o’clock repeat of “CSI.” NBC did pretty well with its Faith Hill concert special on Thanksgiving (preliminary 4.2/11 in adults 18-49). Earlier in the day, its coverage of the 76th annual “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” scored a strong 15.0/30 in the top “metered” markets. NBC also shone a night later with its original Muppets movie, which delivered the best Friday 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 for any network this season (preliminary 3.8/12). It also led its time period in kids, teens and total viewers (11 million). At the same time, Fox’s original “Brady Bunch” movie averaged a not-so-groovy 1.4/5 in both adults 18-49 and 18-34 and just 3.4 million viewers overall. Apparently, the network made the right decision to keep it out of sweeps, which ended on Wednesday. Final numbers for the November ratings period, meanwhile, will be released Monday. As previously reported, NBC dominated in key demos, and CBS prevailed by a slim margin in total viewers. The only key race that still isn’t decided is the battle for second in adults 18-49. Based on preliminary estimates for Wednesday, ABC appears to round up to a 4.2, ahead of CBS’ 4.1.
