Ratings Clack – The calm before the NFL storm, and Chloe King

FOX - Now that the catastrophe of not having an NFL season has been averted, things are ramping up quickly. That is… unless your team has decided that Tavaris Jackson is the answer at QB… That might be the worst managerial decision since The Glee Project cut Marissa instead of Cameron. (Worst sports analogy ever?) FOX had a pretty solid matchup in prime-time last week, with the Eagles vs Steelers (8.59m/3.1). A good summer-TV number, as evidenced by the fact that the only other show to top 3 in the demo on the broadcast networks last week was Big Brother. But it’s not half of what can be expected once the regular season games roll around. Proving once again that preseason football is ridiculous folly, at best.

The other good news for FOX came in the form of a nice boost for the finale of MasterChef (7.12m/2.9). Two earlier episodes weren’t quite as strong (6.08m/2.4 – 6.29m/2.4), but were still solid. As was the latest edition of Hell’s Kitchen (6.99m/2.9). The fly in the ointment for what was an otherwise dood week came with the debut of In The Flow With Affion Crockett (2.66m/1.3 – 2.25m/1). They may as well have gone with repeats of Animation Domination.

CBS - Big Brother (7.19m/2.5 – 8.14m/3.1 – 7.74m/2.9) again led the way, joining the NFL as the only programming to top 3 in the demo last week. The rest of the week was rather quiet, with only Same Name (4.81m/1.5) and Flashpoint (6.87m/1.4) bringing new episodes.

ABC - Things started a bit slow with the CMA Music Festival (6.97m/1.6) on Sunday. Business picked up just a bit with Bachelor Pad (6.41m/2.1) on Monday. That’s not a huge number, but it is worth noting that it was up from the premiere. And given the state of the post-Bachelorette schedule, anything in the 2s is looking pretty good. The rest of the schedule was made up of Take The Money & Run (3.63m/1.4), Combat Hospital (3.63m/.9), Wipeout (6.47m/1.9), Expedition Impossible (4.45m/1.3), Rookie Blue (4.57m/1.2), and Karaoke Battle USA (3.82m/1.1).

NBC - A double-shot of Marriage Ref (2.67m/.9 – 2.66m/.9) started the ball rolling (slowly), before things started to take off with America’s Got Talent (10.4m/2.9 – 9.74m/2.5). AGT is slowing as it heads to the finish line, but remains a solid summer hit. The rest of the NBC summer remains rather suspect, including It’s Worth What (4.17m/1.1), Love In The Wild (4.41m/1.4), and Friends With Benefits (3.09m/.9). (That FWB number is an average of the two episodes that is likely to shring when regional NFL is removed.)

CABLE - As has become the norm, Jersey Shore (7.8m/4.2) was the big winner on cable last week. But the more interesting story comes from a show that could only manage  14% of that viewer number, and 7% of the demo – The Nine Lives of Chloe King (1.08m/.3). I find it interesting because while those are numbers that certainly suggest cancellation, the show does have quite a following online. Have a look at our favorite  new summer show poll, if you haven’t already. That’s the stuff that breeds crazed fan campaigns, and surprise renewals. And it makes Chloe one to keep an eye on.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Aug 22, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT