May Sweeps 2009 Week One Analysis by timeslot

Last one. Not including 7pm stuff, two-hour stuff, or 90-minute stuff in this list.

BY TIMESLOT
8:00 HOUR
NCIS +17%
BBT +10%
HIMYM -3%
Ghost Whisperer -4%
Earl -8%
American Idol (Tues.) -10%
America's Next Top Model -10%
Smallville -13%
According to Jim (8-8:30pm) -18%
Survivor -19%
Simpsons: -19%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -21%
Gossip Girl -23%
(Thurs. Bones vs. year-ago Mon. Bones) -28%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm): -31%
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -36%
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) -41%

9:00 HOUR
30 Rock +11%
Supernatural +10%
2.5 Men +2%
Criminal Minds even
Rules even
Office -5%
American Idol (Wed.) -8%
One Tree Hill -8%
American Dad: -17%
Desperate Housewives: -20%
Dancing with the Stars (Tues.) -20%
CSI -20%
Family Guy: -21%
Cold Case: -22%
(Wed. 9pm Lost vs. year-ago Thurs. 10pm Lost) -23%
Grey's -23%
(Thurs. Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tues. Hell's Kitchen) -44%

10:00 HOUR
20/20 (10-11 pm) +47%
CSI:NY even
Law & Order: SVU -5%
Numb3rs -14%
CSI: Miami -15%
Brothers & Sisters: -18%
(Tues. Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thurs. WAT) -24%
Law & Order -27%
Medium -29%

ANALYSIS: No obvious correlations in this one, but I think 9:00 is probably the healthiest hour overall, with each of the other two hours having at least three larger declines than the larges same-day decline at 9:00. Half of 9:00's shows are seeing a single-digit decline or better.

May Sweeps 2009 Week One Analysis by genre

Now for a look at how different kinds of shows are doing year-to-year.

BY GENRE
SCRIPTED HALF-HOUR
BBT +10%
30 Rock +11%
2.5 Men +2%
Rules -3%
HIMYM -3%
Office -5%
Earl -8%
American Dad: -17%
According to Jim (8-8:30pm) -18%
Simpsons: -19%
Family Guy: -21%

SCRIPTED HOUR
NCIS +17%
Supernatural +10%
Criminal Minds even
CSI:NY even
Ghost Whisperer -4%
Law & Order: SVU -5%
One Tree Hill -8%
Smallville -13%
Numb3rs -14%
CSI: Miami -15%
Brothers & Sisters: -18%
Desperate Housewives: -20%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -21%
CSI -21%
Cold Case: -22%
Grey's -23%
(Wednesday Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -23%
Gossip Girl -23%
(Tues. Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thurs. WAT) -24%
Law & Order -27%
(Thurs. Bones vs. year-ago Mon. Bones) -28%
Medium -29%
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -36%

UNSCRIPTED
20/20 (10-11 pm) +47%
60 Minutes: even
Dancing with the Stars (Mon.) -4%
American Idol (Wed.) -8%
American Idol (Tues.) -10%
America's Next Top Model -10%
Survivor -19%
Dancing with the Stars (Tues.) -20%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm): -31%
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) -32%
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.): -38%
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) -41%
(Thurs. Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tues. Hell's Kitchen) -44%

ANALYSIS: You see a list like this and you start to realize why a net like ABC is reportedly going comedy-crazy next year. The best genre year-to-year is comedy, with well over half the holdover programs seeing single digit declines or better. The only comedy block that's really struggling year-to-year is Fox's Sunday animation, and the removal of Sit Down, Shut Up at 8:30 may help that whole night out next Sunday. And keep in mind that many of the comedies were listed among those programs that came back well from the strike last year. Some of the biggest reality programs aren't doing so bad year-to-year, like Monday DWTS and Idol, but most of the very biggest dramas have taken large dives.

May Sweeps 2009 Week One Analysis by network

These sorted lists will only include individual shows, not show vs. show situations in the same timeslot.

BY NETWORK
ABC
20/20 (10-11pm) +47%
Dancing with the Stars (Mon.) -4%
According to Jim (8-8:30pm) -18%
Brothers & Sisters -18%
Desperate Housewives -20%
Dancing with the Stars (Tues.) -20%
(Wed. Lost vs. year-ago Thurs. Lost) -23%
Grey's Anatomy -23%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm) -31%
(Fri. Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wed. Wife Swap) -41%

CBS
NCIS +17%
BBT +10%
2.5 Men +2%
60 Minutes even
Criminal Minds even
CSI: NY even
Rules -3%
HIMYM -3%
Ghost Whisperer -4%
Numb3rs -14%
CSI: Miami -15%
Survivor -19%
CSI -21%
Cold Case: -22%
(Tues. Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thurs. WAT) -24%

FOX
American Idol (Wed.) -8%
American Idol (Tues.) -10%
American Dad: -17%
Simpsons: -19%
Family Guy: -21%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -21%
American Dad: -26%
(Thurs. Bones vs. year-ago Mon. Bones) -28%
(Thurs. Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tues. Hell's Kitchen) -44%

NBC
30 Rock +11%
Office -5%
Law & Order: SVU -5%
Earl -8%
Law & Order -27%
Medium -29%
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) -32%
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.): -38%

CW
Supernatural +10%
One Tree Hill -8%
America's Next Top Model -10%
Smallville -13%
Gossip Girl -23%
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -36%

ANALYSIS: I'm not a CBS-aholic, but they're the winner on a year-to-year basis, with Tuesdays improving and Mondays and Wednesdays looking pretty good, which is a lot more than almost anyone else can say. Idol is down by only single digits year-to-year, but a lot of Fox's scripted tentpoles are struggling. NBC is pretty steady on Tuesday and Thursday (we won't get much of a picture year-to-year on Biggest Loser using this method since it was done by May sweeps last year), but time period filler Dateline has become a disaster this year, and midseason saviors L&O and Medium are both sputtering. ABC is in pretty awful shape year-to-year on almost every night except for Friday and the first half of Monday. The CW's biggest problems are sophomores GG and Reaper.

Other May Sweeps 2009 Week 1 Comparisons

Here are a few additional comparions. Much like the comparisons between different programs in the same timeslot, these are also perilous, because programs are most likely in very different situations year-to-year if they've changed nights.

(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -31%
(Wednesday Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -17%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -24%
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) -41%

Friday 4/24/09

Out of town over the weekend, so this one's a Spotted exclusive!!!

20/20 (10-11 pm) +38%
Ghost Whisperer -9%
Numb3rs -18%
Dateline (2 hrs.) -32%

Flashpoint vs. year-ago Moonlight -24%
20/20 9-10pm vs. year-ago Duel +50%

Not gonna bother with Saturdays. Sorry, Cops and America's Most Wanted fans.

Wednesday 4/29/09

Criminal Minds +3%
CSI:NY +3%
American Idol -7%
Law & Order -27%
America's Next Top Model -10%

Lost vs. year-ago Supernanny +82%
Unusuals vs. year-ago Boston Legal -11%
Lie to Me vs. year-ago 'Til Death/Back to You +4%

Tuesday 4/28/09

According to Jim (incl. one repeat last year) -23%
Dancing with the Stars results -20%
NCIS +13%
American Idol -9%
Law & Order: SVU -5%

Cupid vs. year-ago Women's Murder Club -11%
The Mentalist vs. year-ago Shark +68%
Fringe vs. year-ago Hell's Kitchen -24%
Reaper vs. year-ago Beauty & the Geek -13%
90210 vs. year-ago Reaper -18%
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -36%

Monday 4/27/09

DWTS -2% BBT +13% HIMYM -3% 2.5 Men +4% Rules even CSI: Miami -15% Medium -29% Gossip Girl -23% One Tree Hill -8% Surviving Suburbia vs. year-ago Samantha Who? -33% Castle vs. year-ago The Bachelor -19% House vs. year-ago Bones +41% 24 vs. year-ago House -40% (House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -21% Chuck/Heroes vs. year-ago Deal or No Deal -7%

Sunday 4/26/09

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm): -28%
Desperate Housewives: -19%
Brothers & Sisters: -23%
60 Minutes: +14%
Cold Case: -19%
Dateline (7-8pm): -33%
Simpsons: -19%
Family Guy: -21%
American Dad: -17%

AFHV vs. year-ago Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: -4%
The Amazing Race vs. year-ago Big Brother: +35%
Sit Down, Shut Up vs. year-ago King of the Hill: -37%

Thursday 4/23/09

Hi. Some day this may become Yet Another PIFeedback TV Blog, but for now I'm just archiving my PIFeedback posts tracking timeslots year-to-year during May Sweeps 2009. Only original vs. original comparisons are included with a few rare exceptions. For now, these are just fast national vs. fast national comparisons, but I hope to get around to updating them for finals at some point. Still, they're gonna usually be pretty close, since most shows that overran in 2008 also overrun in 2009.

Survivor -17%
CSI -22%
Grey's -22%
Earl -4%
Office -5%
30 Rock +11%
Smallville -7%
Supernatural +10%

Harper's Island vs. year-ago Without a Trace -39%
Private Practice vs. year-ago Lost -29%
Parks & Rec vs year-ago Scrubs -4%
Southland vs. year-ago ER -14%
Bones vs. year-ago 8:00 5th Grader +5%
Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago 9:00 5th Grader +20%