In Early Going, 'Millionaire' Loses a Step

By BRIAN LOWRY

Oct. 11, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The $64,000 question entering the new television season was how long “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” could continue to dominate prime time. While it’s hardly fair to form a final answer after just one week, the Regis Philbin-conducted freight train appears to be losing steam, providing hope of staying in the ratings race for ABC’s rivals.

“Millionaire” joined ABC’s lineup as a regular series in January, and through May the game show averaged nearly 28 million viewers, with three weekly broadcasts on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights, instantly emerging as prime time’s top-rated program.

During the first week of the official Olympics-delayed TV season, four “Millionaire” episodes averaged 19.8 million viewers--still formidable numbers, but nearly a 30% decrease from last season’s performance.

Competing networks have been watching for signals the quiz novelty is fading, especially with ABC testing the audience’s loyalty by adding a fourth edition of the show on Wednesday nights.

While the other networks aren’t crowing too much yet, the latest results open the door for them to be competitive against “Millionaire” and especially against the ABC programs that follow it. Last Tuesday, for example, with NBC running baseball in prime time, Fox’s youthful sitcoms “That ‘70s Show” and “Titus” held their own against “Millionaire” in the 8 p.m. hour, actually out-rating the quiz program among viewers under the age of 50.

“ABC is facing a big problem a lot sooner than we thought,” said Chuck Bachrach, who oversees media buying for the Los Angeles ad agency Rubin Postaer & Associates. “Not only are they tracking down, their demographics are definitely older.”

By handing over nearly a fifth of its 22-hour prime-time schedule to a single series, ABC does face the risk that its fortunes can rise and fall with that program’s popularity.

One executive at a competing network, who asked not to be identified, said ABC has to be “a little stunned” to see “Millionaire” experience this level of ratings erosion so quickly.

ABC executives have dismissed suggestions they might be mortgaging the future to cash in on the game show’s success and insisted they are not overly concerned by “Millionaire’s” ratings. People are sampling new programs, the network says, so the question is how many return to “Millionaire” once they go through that annual ritual.

“No matter where it settles in, it’ll still be four of our highest-rated hours,” said ABC Executive Vice President Jeff Bader.

ABC also will employ more special events to keep “Millionaire” fresh, including another celebrity edition and a college competition. Bader said the network probably will offer about one such stunt every month.

From a broader perspective, all the major broadcasters thus far have room for a degree of initial optimism regarding the new season, with sizable audiences at least taking a look at most new series.

Dramatic programs, in particular, seem to be generating interest among viewers--continuing a trend that began last season, when the ratings successes included “Judging Amy,” “The West Wing” and, to a lesser degree “Once and Again,” “Third Watch” and “Family Law.”

CBS was successful in getting viewers to sample all four of its new dramas, led by “C.S.I.” and “The District,” with each winning its time slot over the weekend. “Yes, Dear,” a sitcom sandwiched between “King of Queens” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” also has shown ratings promise.

NBC’s returning dramas have exhibited a ratings spark as well, as “West Wing” exploded out of the starting gate, delivering a far bigger audience than the Emmy winner garnered at any point during its first season. With NBC’s Thursday lineup preempted, “West Wing” ranked No. 1 for the week--the first time an NBC series scheduled outside the “Must-See TV” juggernaut has done that since “Family Ties” in 1989.

NBC’s “Third Watch” is also winning its time period. Both that show and “West Wing” are produced by John Wells, whose production empire already includes NBC’s crown jewel, “ER.”

NBC desperately still needs to introduce a successful comedy, and its one new sitcom to premiere so far, “Tucker,” has failed to get out of neutral along with its Monday night companion, “Daddio.”

In addition, “Cursed”--the Steven Weber series that will occupy the key time slot after “Friends” starting Oct. 26--has been plagued by behind-the-scenes troubles, with the series creators pushed out by the network and new producers brought on board. A major creative overhaul also has taken place on another high-profile new sitcom, “The Michael Richards Show.”

NBC Entertainment President Garth Ancier said he isn’t sure how long NBC would stick with the struggling Monday comedies but maintained viewers shouldn’t read much into the changes in yet-to-premiere programs.

“It’s sort of the nature of the game to make the best possible show for the audience, and if that means doing it late, we do it late,” Ancier said during a conference call Tuesday.

CBS finished atop the ratings last week, but a true picture of viewing patterns has yet to emerge--in part because the schedule has been disrupted by the baseball playoffs as well as presidential and vice presidential debates. Another presidential debate is scheduled tonight, and the third and final face-off will take place next week.

Fox, in fact, capitalized on ABC’s and CBS’ coverage of the debates to launch its new sci-fi series “Dark Angel.” The WB also benefited by offering the second-season premiere of its drama “Charmed” versus the vice presidential debate Thursday.

Nineteen new series have premiered thus far on the six broadcast networks, with two more--CBS’ “Bette” and “Welcome to New York”--due tonight.

Series premieres will continue to dribble out through early November, with both NBC and Fox experiencing preemptions because of televising the Major League Baseball playoffs. Having baseball as competition will create windows of opportunity for some new programs, given that the sport skews heavily to male viewers.

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Top 5 TV Shows Last Week

Viewers (In millions)

1. The West Wing (NBC): 25.1

2. Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS): 22.0

3. Millionaire (ABC, Tuesday): 20.7

4. Millionaire (ABC, Sunday): 20.3

5. Millionaire (ABC, Thursday): 19.3

Top 5 New Shows

1. Dark Angel (Fox): 17.4

2. C.S.I. (CBS): 17.3

3. Ed (NBC): 16.5