KTVG PROGRAMMING RESEARCH

FOX/WB/UPN/INDEPENDENT SUMMARY - November 2000

The following summaries are based on the overall average of the top 100 markets in the November ‘00 sweep.  The rankings, which follow this write-up, are based on a program having a minimum of 5 occurrences in a daypart in at least 5 markets. Keep in mind that this November fell in a presidential election year, which included a long and drawn out post-election controversy, leading to a fair amount of program preemptions and interruptions.  Aside from the daypart program rankings at the end of this write-up, be sure to take a look at the five-year daypart average trends which not only include the key demos, but HUTS and PUTS as well.

 

FOX/UPN/WB/INDEPENDENT DAYTIME                                   

Though a combination of talk and court make up daytime’s top tier in HH’s, talk is no doubt the dominant genre in key women with eight talk programs in the top 10 versus two court.  The talk category is led by LIVE! WITH REGIS (3/10), MAURY (3/8) and SALLY (2/7).  JUDGE JOE BROWN (3/8) and DIVORCE COURT (2/6) take the lead as the strongest court cases.  

 

While no program has really distinguished itself from the crowd this sweep, of the veteran talk shows, MAURY is #1 in W18-49 (12 share) and ties for #2 with DIVORCE COURT in W25-54 (9 share).  Though MAURY has been on an upswing as of late, this survey he holds relatively steady, flat to down a share point versus Nov ’99 time period and his own year ago performance. SALLY, on the other hand, tying for 2nd place with JERRY in W18-49 (10 share) and for 4th place with JOE and SPRINGER (4 share), posts larger 2 to 3 share point declines versus year ago time period and its own Nov ’99 performance.  JENNY (2/6), LATIFAH (2/5) and RICKI (1/5), remain on a relatively even keel from year ago.  The two new talkers this season, DR. LAURA (1/3) and MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS (1/2), barely register on the meter.  While DR. LAURA scores the higher of the two in key women, both are more than substantially below year ago time period levels with LAURA down 57-67% (-4 shares) and MARS/VENUS down 83% (-5 shares).  Below is a chart outlining the performances of returning talk shows in markets where they have aired in the same time period as last November.  (The time period performance chart can be found at the end of this section.)    

    

RETURNING TALK/OWN PERFORMANCE*

 

W18-49 Shr

W18-49 Shr

 

W25-54 Shr

W25-54 Shr

 

 

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

MAURY (19)

14

15

-7%

11

12

-8%

SALLY (24)

12

14

-14%

10

13

-23%

LATIFAH (17)

12

12

-

10

10

-

JERRY (26)

11

13

-15%

10

11

-9%

RICKI (34)

10

10

-

8

8

-

JENNY (31)

10

11

-9%

8

8

-

MONTEL (13)

9

10

-10%

7

9

-22%

REGIS (8)

8

12

-33%

9

13

-31%

MARTHA (4)

3

6

-50%

4

5

-20%

*Markets that have aired the program in the same time period over the past year, minimum 3 occurrences.  ROSIE did not meet the minimum 3 occurrence cut.

 

Joining the court circuit this season, but unfortunately not the top 10, are POWER OF ATTORNEY (2/5), CURTIS COURT (1/4) and JUDGE HATCHETT (1/4).  These rookie programs have each experienced fall-off from Nov ’99, anywhere from 2 to 4 shares below time period, but do manage a top 20 showing in HH’s and key women (except for CURTIS in W18-49).  Of the three, the lawyer-based POWER OF ATTORNEY ranks the highest among key women, scoring a 14th place showing in W18-49 and a 15th place in W25-54.  Of the returning shows, JUDGE JUDY (2/7) remains solid in key women versus Nov ’99 time period as does PEOPLE’S COURT (2/6) and DIVORCE COURT.  JOE is down 20% (from a pair of 10 shares to a pair of 8’s) and JUDGE MATHIS (2/6) is up 20% (from a pair of 5 shares to a pair of 6’s).  Take a look at the chart on the following page, which illustrates the court shows’ own Nov ’00 versus Nov ’99 performances.  (The time period performance chart can be found at the end of this section.)       

RETURNING COURT/OWN PERFORMANCE*

 

W18-49 Shr

W18-49 Shr

 

W25-54 Shr

W25-54 Shr

 

 

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

DIV CT (29)

12

13

-8%

12

13

-8%

JOE (17)

9

12

-25%

10

13

-23%

PEOPLE’S (27)

8

7

+14%

8

7

+14%

MATHIS (26)

7

5

+40%

7

6

+17%

MILLS (25)

5

7

-29%

5

7

-29%

*Markets that have aired the program in the same time period over the past year.  JUDGE JUDY did not meet the 3 occurrence minimum.

 

As the only freshman off-net hour strip, 7TH HEAVEN (1/3) received a slight push from above, up 25% (from a 4 to a 5 share) in W18-49 (#14) and up 67% (from a 3 to a 5 share) in W25-54 (#15).

 

FOX/UPN/WB/INDEPENDENT EARLY FRINGE                            

 

The top tier of players in early fringe also includes talk and court, but with some sitcoms added to the mix.  This select group of double-digit key women share earners includes, at the very top, JUDGE JUDY (5/10), FRIENDS (5/7) and JERRY SPRINGER (3/7).  JUDGE JUDY takes first place honors in HH’s and W25-54 (12 share) and ties for #2 with JERRY and SALLY in W18-49 (11 share).  However, JUDY does seem to be having a bit of trouble deciding those cases -- down 13-21% (-2 to –3 shares) from both Nov ’99 time period and her own year ago performance.  The FRIENDS gather together to garner the #1 spot in W18-49 with a 14 share and the #3 position in W25-54 with a 10 share.  In the talk category, none of the gabbers have made any time period improvements versus year ago or their own Nov ’99 performances, though all still make the top 10 list in key women (with the exception of JENNY JONES in W25-54).  Take a look at how these talkers fared versus their own year to year performances. (The time period performance chart can be found at the end of this section.)            

 

RETURNING TALK/OWN PERFORMANCE*

 

W18-49 Shr

W18-49 Shr

 

W25-54 Shr

W25-54 Shr

 

 

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

SALLY (3)

19

20

-5%

14

18

-22%

JERRY (10)

11

14

-21%

11

12

-8%

JENNY (5)

10

12

-17%

6

10

-40%

RICKI (21)

9

11

-18%

8

8

-

MONTEL (6)

8

9

-11%

7

8

-12%

*Markets that have aired the program in the same time period over the past year.  ROSIE, MAURY, LATIFAH and MARTHA did not meet the minimum 3 occurrence cut. 

 

In the court arena, aside from JUDY, JOE BROWN (3/7) and DIVORCE COURT (3/6) are the jurists of choice among key women, each pulling in a top 10 ranking.  Of all the court choices, the honorable JUDGE MATHIS (2/5) was the only series to either retain or slightly improve year ago time period or his own Nov ’99 performance.  Achieving the highest shares, thus having the farthest to fall, JUDY and JOE posted the largest declines among the court shows.  Of the freshman bunch, none have made a dent in early fringe this survey.  CURTIS COURT (2/4), JUDGE HATCHETT (2/4) and POWER OF ATTORNEY (2/4) each tie for #17 in W25-54, delivering a 5 share in the demo.  HATCHETT retains the Nov ’99 time period delivery while the other two are down 17% (-1 share).   In W18-49, POWER posts the greater decline, down 43% (from a 7 to a 4 share) from year ago time period. The chart on the next page outlines the returning courts shows’ Nov ’00 versus Nov ’99 performances. (The time period performance chart can be found at the end of this section.)

 

 

 

 

 

RETURNING COURT/OWN PERFORMANCE*

 

W18-49 Shr

W18-49 Shr

 

W25-54 Shr

W25-54 Shr

 

 

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

NOV ‘00

NOV ‘99

%Chg

JUDY (31)

12

15

-20%

13

15

-13%

JOE (18)

7

9

-22%

8

11

-27%

DIV CT (5)

7

9

-22%

8

10

-20%

PEOPLE’S (8)

7

7

-

8

9

-11%

MATHIS (6)

5

5

-

7

6

+17%

*Markets that have aired the program in the same time period over the past year.  MILLS LANE did not meet the 3 occurrence minimum.

 

Off-net programs make up slightly more than half of the early fringe landscape and take up half of the top 10 slots.  As a group, with the exception of 3RD ROCK (3/5), the veteran sitcoms are relatively stable, flat to slightly off their mark by 1-2 shares in key women versus Nov ‘99 time period.  Joining FRIENDS, the prominent performers among key women include THE SIMPSONS (4/7), FRASIER (4/6), DREW CAREY (3/5) and THE NANNY (3/5).  The following chart takes a look at some of the key returning sitcoms in markets where they aired in the same time slot in both Nov ’00 and Nov ’99 -- the results were mixed.  Of note is that while 3RD ROCK was down 16-33% (-3 shares) in key women and teens, DREW was up 33-57% (+2 to +4 shares).

 

RETURNING OFF-NET/OWN PERFORMANCE

 

 

W18-49 Shr

W25-54 Shr

Teens Shr

Kids Shr