CBS sweeps past adversity

In a November sweeps ratings period in which it appeared CBS would be overwhelmed by the dual cancellations of a miniseries on the Reagans and a music special about Michael Jackson, the network instead finds itself the clear victor. Not only did it win in overall viewers for the month, but it was the only network to see its audience grow.

With the sweeps about to end, CBS is more than happy to trumpet its triumph.

Three nights of ratings are still to be factored in, but the additional numbers won’t keep CBS from winning the four-week ratings period, when the networks are measured by who has the most total viewers in prime time on average. Three million viewers ahead of NBC, CBS will have its largest margin of victory in the category since November 1980.

CBS’ surging performance was largely overshadowed by the PR nightmare the network had with its miniseries on former President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, that the network exiled to Showtime, as well as a mini-crisis with the Michael Jackson special that was also pulled when the performer’s latest legal troubles erupted. CBS’ rivals would’ve welcomed such headaches; the other networks were forced to find encouragement in isolated programs and performances in more specific demographic categories.

For instance, NBC is crowing that it beat CBS in the advertiser-friendly demographic of 18- to 49-year-old adults. NBC executives noted that the category is the only one they care about. But CBS, which will come in second, has closed the gap among those viewers from a year ago: So far for the month, CBS said it is up 5%, while ABC is off about 10% and NBC and Fox are off about 14%. CBS also posted its first expected November win since 1980 in adults ages 25 to 54, another key ad sales demographic and CBS’ target audience.

Among total viewers, CBS, currently averaging 14.5 million, is up 10%. NBC, with 11.5 million, is down 13%, and ABC, with an average of 10 million, is down 8%. Fox, with an average of 7.1 million, is down 12%.

“We don’t have to be cautious. We have a convincing, dominating and historic sweeps victory,” CBS Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told reporters Monday, likening CBS’ experience with the Reagan and Jackson specials to a winning football team that was thrown for a minor loss in the middle of the game, but “got up, and then won by 45 points.”

Wednesday is the last night of the ratings period, whose results are used to set ad rates at local stations. As a result, networks put particular emphasis on their performance in the major sweeps months of November, February and May.

NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker, though noting his network’s “solid, clear victory” in the age group that advertisers covet most, blamed some of the decline on what networks claim is a problem with the way ratings company Nielsen Media Research is measuring viewing among men between the ages of 18 and 34. “Beyond that,” he added, “we have to continue to look at what we’re developing and putting on air and continue to do a better job.”

CBS benefited from a particularly strong string of Sunday performances, including an original movie that focused on kidnapped Utah teen Elizabeth Smart; other strong programs included an “Andy Griffith Show” cast reunion and the Country Music Assn. awards special (the month’s seventh and 10th most-watched programs, according to CBS). But the network’s regular series including “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (whose four episodes aired during the sweeps were the four most-watched programs on any network), “Without a Trace,” and “Survivor: Pearl Islands,” also fared well.

NBC, meanwhile, found two promising newcomers in its Monday night “Las Vegas” and “Average Joe.”

Some industry executives have questioned whether NBC, with six hours per week of “Law and Order” and its various spinoffs, is becoming overly reliant on a single show, just as ABC did with “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” a few seasons back. Zucker told reporters he sees the franchise as “three distinct cop shows” and doesn’t think they are being overused, noting that a fourth show is in development, although not guaranteed to make the schedule.

NBC also announced that its newest reality show, “The Apprentice,” will debut Thursday, Jan. 8, before moving into the 8 p.m. Wednesday slot the following week. That move will push “Ed” to Fridays at 9, a slot it will share with “Miss Match” through the end of the season.

Contemplating third-place November finishes in both total viewers and young adults, ABC executives focused instead on what Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group, called a “very, very promising season for ABC.” The network, which has emphasized patience with slow-building series, finished first in the 18-to-49 group with its Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday comedy blocks.

ABC executives underscored their commitment to the network’s regular schedule by noting that it kept the Wednesday cop drama “Karen Sisco” on for the first two Wednesdays, despite faltering ratings. ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne said that while the network is “sad that it did not work” in the time slot, “we’re not going to give up on it,” with six new episodes to come in an unnamed time slot.

ABC’s numbers are expected to improve slightly this week, with Wednesday’s first installment in its “Bachelor”/”Bachelorette” franchise, “Trista & Ryan’s Wedding.”

For its part, Fox’s poor showing was all the more disappointing given the success of its broadcast of the baseball playoffs and the World Series, which provided a promotional platform for its delayed fall season.

Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman said the best news for Fox was in the early launch of what she called the season’s first hit, “The O.C.” The youth-oriented drama has grown steadily since its summer debut, and Berman predicted the audience will increase further when the show is preceded by the Jan. 20 return of “American Idol,” which Fox Television Entertainment Group Chairman Sandy Grushow called the network’s “800-pound gorilla.”

One of the biggest mistakes the network made, Berman said, was betting on a second installment of “Joe Millionaire,” the unscripted show about a man posing as a millionaire to woo single women. The series was a phenomenal hit for Fox last year but has scored dismal ratings this season. “We bet on ‘Joe Millionaire’ for two nights, and we were wrong,” Berman said. “We felt that if the show had performed half as well as it did last winter, it would be fine,” adding that the program, which is down about three-quarters from its initial run, dragged down the ratings for the highly touted new drama, “Skin,” which was canceled after three weeks.

Grushow was even more blunt about “Joe Millionaire.” “Our instincts told us early on that this was a one-time stunt, and we got greedy. We thought we could sneak past the American public one more time. And we paid the price.”

Despite its low ratings, Grushow and Berman said they would continue to have faith in the critically acclaimed comedy “Arrested Development.” The network has ordered an additional nine episodes of the series.