For a trio of a new reality shows obsessed with money--The Rebel Billionaire, $25 Million Dollar Hoax [sic] and Life of Luxury--the results were pretty chintzy.
Fox's Rebel Billionaire debuted in a tawdry 78th place (5.1 million viewers) for the TV week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research.
NBC's redundantly titled $25 Million Dollar Hoax (66th place, 7.1 million) and ABC's Life of Luxury (75th place, 5.6 million) likewise failed to impress.
The three shows' down-market debuts underscored the struggles of reality TV this fall.
Last week, only four unscripted series, excluding sports and news, cracked the top 30: CBS' Survivor: Vanuatu (fourth place, 20 million); NBC's The Apprentice 2 (11th place, 16.2 million); NBC's Fear Factor (25th place, 12.4 million); and ABC's Wife Swap (27th place, 11.8 million).
When new reality shows (Fox's The Next Great Champ) aren't bombing, returning shows are slipping.
The second edition of Fox's The Swan (69th place, 6.8 million) is down nearly 30 percent from last spring's inaugural plastic-surgery pageant. Even Donald Trump's The Apprentice 2, still a hot water-cooler topic, is down more than 20 percent from last season.
Fortunately, Trump's ego has not been bruised in the fall.
Last week, the real-estate developer turned TV star gloated over the ratings for The Rebel Billionaire, starring Virgin mogul Richard Branson as a sort of outward-bound version of his rival.
"I wish him a lot of luck in the businesses," Trump told TV's Extra. "But I can tell you on television, he's a total failure."
Elsewhere:
Chalk up another victory for red-state America: CBS' Tuesday telecast of the 38th annual Country Music Association Awards (seventh place, 18.5 million) upstaged the city folk on ABC's Sunday telecast of the 32nd annual American Music Awards (23rd place, 12.9 million).Chalk up two victories for Jimmy Smits: His debut as a regular on NBC's The West Wing boosted the series to a season high (14th place, 15.3 million); his cameo on ABC's NYPD Blue produced the same result (32nd place, 10.8 million).
You take the good, you take the bad, and there you have 19.3 million people watching Nancy McKeon get rained on in the first part of the CBS stormy-weather epic Category 6: Day of Destruction (sixth place).
Joey watch: Stabilizing in 28th place (11.7 million), but now getting outdrawn by the show that follows it, Will & Grace (26th place, 12 million).
The O.C. (58th place, 8.1 million) is still finding its way on Thursdays, down 10 percent from last season. Not that Fox is complaining. It's up nearly 50 percent in the time slot over last season.
ABC's Veteran's Day offering of Saving Private Ryan was observed by 7.7 million (61st place)--not bad considering the controversy-provoking broadcast didn't air in nearly 30 percent of the TV nation.
Cross-over episodes of NBC's Las Vegas (18th place, 14.8 million) and Crossing Jordan (20th place, 13.8 million) worked out well for all parties involved.
ABC's Complete Savages continued to put up brutal numbers (70th place, 6.5 million), but won a season-long pickup, as did fellow sitcoms Rodney (50th place, 8.7 million), also on ABC, and CBS' Listen Up (35th place, 10.3 million).
CBS' Center of the Universe (30th place, 11 million), gaining on Joey as the season's most watched, for-what-that's-worth new sitcom, won a rousing commitment of two more episodes and six more we'll-see-if-we-like-them scripts.
The WB's The Mountain (106th place, 1.6 million) was the least watched network show of the entire week, making even the Friday night "encore" of The Rebel Billionaire (97th place, 3.2 million) seem event-like by comparison.
Overall, CBS continued to dominate the November sweeps, scoring wins in total viewers (averaging 15 million) and 18-to-49-year-old ones.
NBC settled for second in both categories, with 11.3 million viewers. ABC, minus Desperate Housewives and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition thanks to the AMA Awards, scored a pair of third-place finishes (10.4 million).
Fox (7.4 million) had fourth all to itself.
The WB edged UPN, 3.8 million to 3.7 million.
Here's a rundown of the 10 most watched prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:
1. CSI, CBS, 29.6 million
2. CSI: Miami, CBS, 22.1 million
3. Without a Trace, CBS, 20.5 million
4. Survivor: Vanuatu, CBS, 20 million
5. ER, NBC, 19.8 million
6. CBS Sunday Movie--Category 6: Day of Destruction, Part 1, CBS, 19.3 million
7. 38th annual Country Music Association Awards, CBS, 18.5 million
8. Lost, ABC, 18.44 million
9. Cold Case, CBS, 18.43 million
10. Monday Night Football, ABC, 17.1 million