ABC may finish in second place for November sweeps!

[CTXRover]

As the November sweeps period comes to a close today, the period on which the networks use ratings scores to determine future advertising rates, Disney's ABC TV network may actually come out of the sweeps period as the second most watched network. If not, they will be an incredibly close third or even statistical tie for second.

CBS will easily walk away the winner in total viewers and nearly every age bracket, but ABC is expected to be the only major network to gain in total viewers from last Nov. sweeps, thus taking ABC from a distant and struggling fourth place to an incredibly respectable second place (partly attributable to NBC's loss of viewers also). Even if ABC comes in a close third, congratulations are in order for Disney and the network that so many had dismissed as a failure just last May. ABC has made the rights steps this year thus far and if they can find a way to fix the holes in their schedule (most notably, Thursday nights), the network will be looking very good.

(Source: http://www.showbizdata.com/contacts/picknews.cfm/37205/CBS_SAYS_IT_EXPECTS_A_CLEAN_SWEEP )

 

[DarkMeasures]

Well that is thanks large in part to all the mistakes that NBC has made recently.

 

[Shaman]

Well I'd say thats great news...I hope they build on this year's success....and maybe next year sit at the top...

 

[CTXRover]

Well that is thanks large in part to all the mistakes that NBC has made recently.

Actually, the thanks comes in large part to ABC placing three new shows in the top 10 this fall...Desperate Housewives (#1 show last week with a new series high of 27 million viewers), Lost, Extreme Makeover:Home Edition, and sometimes even Monday Night Football.

While true that NBC-Universal's NBC network has had a difficult time this fall finding replacements for Friends and Frasier as they've watched the ultra-expensive Father of the Pride animated comedy from Dreamworks and Joey on Thursdays perform well below expectations, the focus here is the gains ABC has made. To go from fourth and move all the way up to a possible second place is outstanding, no matter how you slice it. ABC being the only major network to gain viewers during this sweeps period from last year is not because of NBC's mistakes. If ABC does indeed come in second, it is only PARTLY attributed to NBC's losses this fall.

The important thing is ABC has now made some right steps in getting people to watch the network again through shows like Desperate Housewives (honestly, I'm no fan of the show, but obviously 27 million other people are) and Lost (AWESOME show!). This has given them the opportunity to expand that audience. The difficult part of coming back from fourth is how to advertise what you have to offer if nobody is watching. ABC's new team found a way through creative and unique advertising throughout the summer, despite low viewership during the summer months, to get people to tune in this fall. It hopefully will continue to be uphill from here....NBC's problems are their own to worry about and I'm sure they'll fix them....all the more reason for ABC to continue its growth.