Big Picture
Good Morning, Nicki! Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (698)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (606)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (504)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (398)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (396)
- Twitter Name Change: Introducing @Ted_Casablanca (242)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (222)
Top 10 Stories
- Gary Busey's Stuff Detailed for Bankruptcy Filing: VHS Tapes, Tepees and Tambourines
- Whitney Houston Remembered by Sparkle Producer: "Almost a Magic About Her"
- Miley Cyrus "Better Watch" Hunger Games, Says Liam Hemsworth
- Colbert Report Mystery Shutdown: Production Suspended Due to "Unforeseen Circumstances"
- Kevin Costner? Aretha Franklin? Bobby Brown? Latest Details on Whitney Houston's Funeral
- Diddy Remembers Whitney Houston: "She Was So Full of Life"
- Royal Feud Shocker! Sean Penn Slams Prince William's "Unthinkable" Deployment
- Real Housewives' Michaele Salahi & Journey's Neal Schon: Tareq Salahi Is the One Tormenting Us!
- Angelina Jolie Tears Up—Watch Her Get Emotional
- Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!
Fashion Police
Our Partners
Audiences Love "Annie," "Millionaire"
ABC's lavish remake of the musical Annie teamed with the return of game-show phenom, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, to bring the troubled third-place network its first solid Nielsen ratings since the Academy Awards telecast in March.
The two Sunday night specials were watched in a combined 29.3 million homes. (Millionaire continues to run nightly through November 21.)
"It's fun here again," Larry Hyams, ABC vice president of audience analysis, told the Associated Press.
The alphabet network won the week in total viewers, averaging 13.5 million eyeballs, and tied NBC for first in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic. Its revival is well timed, coming amid the November sweeps.
In the overall household ratings, CBS was the big winner, with an average 9.1 rating. NBC placed second with an 8.9. Though still in third, ABC made it close with an 8.7 rating. Fox didn't make it close, managing only a 6.4.
Once barely registering, the Smackdown!-powered UPN continued to surprise, challenging the WB's 2.9 weekly average with its own 2.7. (Each rating point represents about 1 million TV homes.)
The clear-cut success story of the week, though, was the Regis Philbin-hosted Millionaire. Proving it was no fluke, the game show drew an estimated 25.7 million viewers--about 3.3 million more than watched the show's debut opposite summer reruns in August.
Reeg and his mind-bending questions helped spoil the season premiere of Fox's venerable The X-Files. The flagging sci-fi show earned a so-so 10.5 rating, running second in its 9-10 p.m. time slot on Sunday to Millionaire. (For the week, the program finished a respectable 16th.)
Mulder and Scully would be wise to learn a dance step or two. It sure worked for the cast of Annie, led by Oscar-winner Kathy Bates. The tuner, about a certain "Tomorrow"-lovin' orphan, was the fifth-highest rated program of the week--the best performance by any Disney Sunday night movie since 1997's magical Cinderella.
The Practice also proved perfect for ABC. Benefiting from its Millionaire lead-in, the drama was watched by 18.9 million viewers, finishing in ninth place. Series star Dylan McDermott and his legal team attracted 3 million more viewers than the little people shenanigans of the first part of NBC's Leprechauns miniseries, also broadcast on Sunday.
In other non-good news for the Peacock: Its latest would-be Must-See Thursday night comedy, Stark Raving Mad, slid out of the Top 10, down to 14th place. Fellow Thursday night underachiever, Jesse, barely hung on, in 10th.
Here's a complete look at the week's Top 10 programs:
1. ER, NBC
2. Friends, NBC
3. (tie) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Sunday), ABC
3. Monday Night Football, ABC
5. Annie (Wonderful World of Disney), ABC
6. Frasier, NBC
7. 60 Minutes, CBS
8. NFL Monday Showcase, ABC
9. The Practice, ABC
10. Jesse, NBC
0 Comments
Now loading...