My Top 10 for 2008-09

Reposting this from PIFeedback.

2008-09, including summer 2008. It's pretty hard to make a list including cable and network!

1. - Plenty of reasons to be worried about this show around the halfway point in this season, but the second half was almost as consistently good as the show has ever been.

2. - Fully deserves its Emmy.

3. - Went from an OK show with a great Bryan Cranston in its strike-shortened first season to a great show with a great Bryan Cranston this year.

4. - A perennial top 2 or 3 show for me since its inception gets knocked off a bit due to a slightly weirdly paced season and because AMC's shows are just so ridiculously good.

5. - This and BBT are almost interchangeable, as both have their fair share of up and down weeks.

6.

7. - At times, a fairly stock procedural elevated by the cast, but it really knew how to ramp it up towards the end of its seasons. Its series finale was one of the very best episodes of 2008-09.

8. - It's been so long since the finale, but the final season was nice and I didn't want to leave it out of this list.

9. - Truly a show on the wrong network. Debuted completely DOA but was a real treat to its hundreds of thousands of viewers.

10. - This and the similar Leverage on TNT feel like the kinds of shows that the big networks should be greenlighting.

A few honorable mentions, not in an exact order. They wouldn't necessarily be 11 thru 15 but they were shows that I thought deserved recognition.
Reaper (CW)
Leverage (TNT)
24 (Fox)
Fringe (Fox)
Better Off Ted (ABC)

Some previous lists that I posted:

2007-08, network only:
1) The Office (NBC)
2) Lost (ABC)
3) How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
4) Life (NBC)
5) The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
6) Law & Order (NBC)
7) Boston Legal (ABC)
8) Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
9) House (Fox)
10) Desperate Housewives (ABC)

A slew of great newbies just missed the cut, including Gossip Girl (CW), Reaper (CW), Journeyman (NBC), and Miss Guided (ABC).

2006-07, including summer:
1) The Office (NBC)
2) Lost (ABC)
3) Boston Legal (ABC)
4) How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
5) Psych (USA)
6) Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
7) 30 Rock (NBC)
8) Heroes (NBC)
9) Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC)
10)Bones (FOX)

The best of the rest include: 1 vs. 100 (NBC), House (FOX), and Jericho (CBS).

May Sweeps 2009: The Recap

I started on this post at the end of sweeps but couldn't finish it before I had to go out of town for a few days. I meant for it to be a bit longer, but I'm just including the stuff that I got done.

Here we go. The post that the other 65 have been leading up to. What actually went down in this year's May Sweeps? There are other ways to learn how networks or how broadcast TV in general did on a year-to-year basis, but since I don't really root for networks, I created this thing to see how my favorite shows are doing.

Let's start with the most sound-byteable part of the program. Who are the biggest gainers and the biggest decliners in May Sweeps 2009 vs. May Sweeps 2008? These lists will only include shows that aired in the same timeslot both years and had at least three airings in corresponding weeks both years. (Complete list of same timeslot shows can be found here.)

TOP 5 BIGGEST GAINERS, A18-49, MAY SWEEPS 2009 VS. MAY SWEEPS 2008
1. BBT 3.50 vs. 2.93 (+19%, 3 airings)
2. NCIS 3.40 vs. 2.98 (+14%, 4 airings)
3. Supernatural 1.23 vs. 1.08 (+14%, 4 airings)
4. 30 Rock 2.97 vs. 2.67 (+11%, 3 airings)
5. 20/20 (10-11pm) 1.70 vs. 1.63 (+5%, 4 airings)

TOP 5 BIGGEST DECLINERS, A18-49, MAY SWEEPS 2009 VS. MAY SWEEPS 2008
1. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm, plus 2-hr finale) 2.60 vs. 3.74 (-30%, 4 airings)
2. CSI 3.60 vs. 4.93 (-27%, 4 airings)
3. Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) 0.97 vs. 1.30 (-26%, 3 airings)
4. Desperate Housewives (9-10pm, plus 2-hr. finale) 4.52 vs. 6.04 (-25%, 4 airings)
5. Medium (10pm) 2.33 vs. 3.10 (-25%, 3 airings)

All right, so if your least favorite or favorite show is on one of these lists, let the spinning begin. ;-)

Was it a good May or a bad May for your favorite show? Obviously, if you're a top 5 gainer, you did well. Furthermore, if you're a gainer at all, you had a good year. Period. Out of the 46 shows that aired in the same timeslot in May 2008 and May 2009, only ten gained on average from 2008, and only three others were even year-to-year. Only four of these 46 shows rose by a double-digit percentage, while more than half (24) declined by double-digits. This year, like probably every year till the broadcast network model dies, is filled with decliners.

So your favorite show probably dropped. Is it really that bad in the great scheme of broadcast TV? Let's look at this from a few different angles. First, as reported by PIFeedback poster dumont here, broadcast TV has declined by 6% from May 2008 to May 2009. You may use that as the dividing line between success and failure. But it isn't an absolute, and an important reason for that is that this May Sweep has had a lot more original programming than May 2008. Plenty of 2008 days were filled with repeats because networks had burned through their entire midseason slates getting through the writer's strike and hadn't ordered episodes of all their shows after the strike ended.

So I'll look for some other bars for success. Let's take some of these lists that I've been churning out this evening and take the median numbers on those lists - the idea being that half of the shows will be better than these numbers and half will be worse. All of these medians will be among same-timeslot shows, so those not in parentheses.

MEDIAN COMPARISONS:
ALL SHOWS: -10%

ABC: -17.5%
CBS: even
FOX: -10.5%
NBC: -21.5%
CW: -10%
(network list)

SCRIPTED HALF-HOUR: -8%
SCRIPTED HOUR: -10%
UNSCRIPTED: -10%
(genre list)

8:00 HOUR: -11%
9:00 HOUR: -9%
10:00 HOUR: -9%
(timeslot list)

The lesson here is that a 10% decline is pretty much the norm, regardless of what hour you air in or what kind of program you are. If your show gained or only declined by single digits, it was not a bad effort. The network numbers are both more variable and, in my opinion, less useful, because the lists are a lot shorter for the networks. However, it's pretty clear that CBS had a lot more success stories than an ABC or an NBC.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, by timeslot

Weekly timeslot lists: Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

8:00 HOUR
BBT 3.50 vs. 2.93 (+19%, 3 airings)
NCIS 3.40 vs. 2.98 (+14%, 4 airings)
Ghost Whisperer 2.23 vs. 2.18 (+2%, 4 airings)
HIMYM 3.65 vs. 3.63 (+1%, 4 airings)
Simpsons 2.90 vs. 3.15 (-8%, 4 airings)
Gossip Girl 1.13 vs. 1.23 (-8%, 4 airings)
American Idol (Tues.) 8.25 vs. 9.13 (-10%, 4 airings)
Smallville 1.40 vs. 1.58 (-11%, 4 airings)
King of the Hill 2.33 vs. 2.63 (-11%, 3 airings)
Survivor 3.63 vs. 4.13 (-12%, 3 airings)
ANTM 1.80 vs. 2.10 (-14%, 3 airings)
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) 4.63 vs. 5.60 (-17%, 3 airings)
Ugly Betty 2.03 vs. 2.50 (-19%, 3 airings)
According to Jim (8-8:30 pm) 0.95 vs. 1.20 (-21%, 2 airings)
My Name is Earl 2.00 vs. 2.60 (-23%, 3 airings)
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) 0.78 vs. 1.03 (-24%, 4 airings)
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) 2.38 vs. 3.15 (-25%, 4 airings)
According to Jim (8:30-9pm) 1.10 vs. 1.50 (-27%, 1 airing)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm, plus 2-hr finale) 2.60 vs. 3.74 (-30%, 4 airings)
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) 1.35 vs. 2.35 (-43%, 2 airings)

9:00 HOUR
Supernatural 1.23 vs. 1.08 (+14%, 4 airings)
30 Rock 2.97 vs. 2.67 (+11%, 3 airings)
Criminal Minds (9-10pm) 3.28 vs. 3.23 (+2%, 4 airings)
2.5 Men 4.93 vs. 4.90 (+1%, 4 airings)
The Office 3.80 vs. 3.87 (-2%, 3 airings)
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) 4.00 vs. 4.08 (-2%, 4 airings)
American Idol (9-10pm plus 2-hr. finale, Wed.) 8.94 vs. 9.72 (-8%, 4 airings)
One Tree Hill 1.15 vs. 1.28 (-10%, 4 airings)
American Dad 2.70 vs. 3.07 (-12%, 4 airings)
DWTS (9-10pm, plus two-hr. finale, Tues.) 4.00 vs. 4.68 (-15%, 4 airings)
Family Guy 3.10 vs. 3.63 (-15%, 2 airings)
(Wednesday 9pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday 10pm Lost) 4.17 vs. 4.90 (-15%, 3 airings)
Grey's Anatomy (9-10 pm only) 5.28 vs. 6.28 (-16%, 4 airings)
Cold Case 2.10 vs. 2.70 (-22%, 1 airing)
Desperate Housewives (9-10pm, plus 2-hr. finale) 4.52 vs. 6.04 (-25%, 4 airings)
CSI 3.60 vs. 4.93 (-27%, 4 airings)
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) 2.93 vs. 5.23 (-44%, 4 airings)

10:00 HOUR
20/20 (10-11pm) 1.70 vs. 1.63 (+5%, 4 airings)
CSI: NY 3.23 vs. 3.23 (even, 3 airings)
Law & Order: SVU 3.80 vs. 3.85 (-1%, 2 airings)
Numb3rs 2.03 vs. 2.23 (-9%, 4 airings)
CSI: Miami 3.75 vs. 4.13 (-9%, 4 airings)
Brothers & Sisters 3.03 vs. 3.80 (-20%, 3 airings)
Law & Order 2.18 vs. 2.78 (-22%, 4 airings)
Medium (10pm) 2.33 vs. 3.10 (-25%, 3 airings)
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday Without a Trace) 2.63 vs. 3.50 (-25%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

Another note: For shows that regularly air within one hour but had a two-hour finale that was compared, I counted them in the hour in which they usually air. This applies to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Dancing, and Idol. Otherwise, I did what I've been doing for timeslot lists: no 7pm shows included, no 90-minute or regularly 2-hour shows included.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, by genre

Weekly genre lists: Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

SCRIPTED HALF-HOUR
BBT 3.50 vs. 2.93 (+19%, 3 airings)
30 Rock 2.97 vs. 2.67 (+11%, 3 airings)
HIMYM 3.65 vs. 3.63 (+1%, 4 airings)
2.5 Men 4.93 vs. 4.90 (+1%, 4 airings)
The Office 3.80 vs. 3.87 (-2%, 3 airings)
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) 4.00 vs. 4.08 (-2%, 4 airings)
Simpsons 2.90 vs. 3.15 (-8%, 4 airings)
King of the Hill 2.33 vs. 2.63 (-11%, 3 airings)
American Dad 2.70 vs. 3.07 (-12%, 4 airings)
Family Guy 3.10 vs. 3.63 (-15%, 2 airings)
According to Jim (8-8:30 pm) 0.95 vs. 1.20 (-21%, 2 airings)
My Name is Earl 2.00 vs. 2.60 (-23%, 3 airings)
According to Jim (8:30-9pm) 1.10 vs. 1.50 (-27%, 1 airing)

SCRIPTED HOUR
NCIS 3.40 vs. 2.98 (+14%, 4 airings)
Supernatural 1.23 vs. 1.08 (+14%, 4 airings)
Ghost Whisperer 2.23 vs. 2.18 (+2%, 4 airings)
Criminal Minds (9-10pm) 3.28 vs. 3.23 (+2%, 4 airings)
CSI: NY 3.23 vs. 3.23 (even, 3 airings)
Law & Order: SVU 3.80 vs. 3.85 (-1%, 2 airings)
Gossip Girl 1.13 vs. 1.23 (-8%, 4 airings)
Numb3rs 2.03 vs. 2.23 (-9%, 4 airings)
CSI: Miami 3.75 vs. 4.13 (-9%, 4 airings)
One Tree Hill 1.15 vs. 1.28 (-10%, 4 airings)
Smallville 1.40 vs. 1.58 (-11%, 4 airings)
(Wednesday 9pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday 10pm Lost) 4.17 vs. 4.90 (-15%, 3 airings)
Grey's Anatomy (9-10 pm only) 5.28 vs. 6.28 (-16%, 4 airings)
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) 4.63 vs. 5.60 (-17%, 3 airings)
Ugly Betty 2.03 vs. 2.50 (-19%, 3 airings)
Brothers & Sisters 3.03 vs. 3.80 (-20%, 3 airings)
Law & Order 2.18 vs. 2.78 (-22%, 4 airings)
Cold Case 2.10 vs. 2.70 (-22%, 1 airing)
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) 0.78 vs. 1.03 (-24%, 4 airings)
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) 2.38 vs. 3.15 (-25%, 4 airings)
Medium (10pm) 2.33 vs. 3.10 (-25%, 3 airings)
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday Without a Trace) 2.63 vs. 3.50 (-25%, 4 airings)
Desperate Housewives (9-10pm, plus 2-hr. finale) 4.52 vs. 6.04 (-25%, 4 airings)
CSI 3.60 vs. 4.93 (-27%, 4 airings)

UNSCRIPTED
20/20 (10-11pm) 1.70 vs. 1.63 (+5%, 4 airings)
The Bachelorette (2 hrs.) 3.00 vs. 2.90 (+3%, 1 airing)
DWTS (8-9:30pm plus one-hr. finale, Mon.) 4.35 vs. 4.35 (even, 4 airings)
60 Minutes 1.63 vs. 1.63 (even, 4 airings)
AFHV (2 hrs. Fri.) 1.60 vs. 1.70 (-6%, 1 airing)
American Idol (9-10pm plus 2-hr. finale, Wed.) 8.94 vs. 9.72 (-8%, 4 airings)
American Idol (Tues.) 8.25 vs. 9.13 (-10%, 4 airings)
America's Funniest Home Videos (Sun.) 2.15 vs. 2.40 (-10%, 2 airings)
Survivor 3.63 vs. 4.13 (-12%, 3 airings)
ANTM 1.80 vs. 2.10 (-14%, 3 airings)
DWTS (9-10pm, plus two-hr. finale, Tues.) 4.00 vs. 4.68 (-15%, 4 airings)
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) 1.40 vs. 1.77 (-21%, 3 airings)
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) 0.97 vs. 1.30 (-26%, 3 airings)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm, plus 2-hr finale) 2.60 vs. 3.74 (-30%, 4 airings)
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) 1.35 vs. 2.35 (-43%, 2 airings)
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) 2.93 vs. 5.23 (-44%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, by network

Weekly network lists: Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

ABC
20/20 (10-11pm) 1.70 vs. 1.63 (+5%, 4 airings)
The Bachelorette (2 hrs.) 3.00 vs. 2.90 (+3%, 1 airing)
DWTS (8-9:30pm plus one-hr. finale, Mon.) 4.35 vs. 4.35 (even, 4 airings)
AFHV (2 hrs. Fri.) 1.60 vs. 1.70 (-6%, 1 airing)
America's Funniest Home Videos (Sun.) 2.15 vs. 2.40 (-10%, 2 airings)
(Wednesday 9pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday 10pm Lost) 4.17 vs. 4.90 (-15%, 3 airings)
DWTS (9-10pm, plus two-hr. finale, Tues.) 4.00 vs. 4.68 (-15%, 4 airings)
Grey's Anatomy (9-10 pm only) 5.28 vs. 6.28 (-16%, 4 airings)
Ugly Betty 2.03 vs. 2.50 (-19%, 3 airings)
Brothers & Sisters 3.03 vs. 3.80 (-20%, 3 airings)
According to Jim (8-8:30 pm) 0.95 vs. 1.20 (-21%, 2 airings)
Desperate Housewives (9-10pm, plus 2-hr. finale) 4.52 vs. 6.04 (-25%, 4 airings)
According to Jim (8:30-9pm) 1.10 vs. 1.50 (-27%, 1 airing)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm, plus 2-hr finale) 2.60 vs. 3.74 (-30%, 4 airings)
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) 1.35 vs. 2.35 (-43%, 2 airings)

CBS
BBT 3.50 vs. 2.93 (+19%, 3 airings)
NCIS 3.40 vs. 2.98 (+14%, 4 airings)
Ghost Whisperer 2.23 vs. 2.18 (+2%, 4 airings)
Criminal Minds (9-10pm) 3.28 vs. 3.23 (+2%, 4 airings)
HIMYM 3.65 vs. 3.63 (+1%, 4 airings)
2.5 Men 4.93 vs. 4.90 (+1%, 4 airings)
60 Minutes 1.63 vs. 1.63 (even, 4 airings)
CSI: NY 3.23 vs. 3.23 (even, 3 airings)
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) 4.00 vs. 4.08 (-2%, 4 airings)
Numb3rs 2.03 vs. 2.23 (-9%, 4 airings)
CSI: Miami 3.75 vs. 4.13 (-9%, 4 airings)
Survivor 3.63 vs. 4.13 (-12%, 3 airings)
Cold Case 2.10 vs. 2.70 (-22%, 1 airing)
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday Without a Trace) 2.63 vs. 3.50 (-25%, 4 airings)
CSI 3.60 vs. 4.93 (-27%, 4 airings)

FOX
Simpsons 2.90 vs. 3.15 (-8%, 4 airings)
American Idol (9-10pm plus 2-hr. finale, Wed.) 8.94 vs. 9.72 (-8%, 4 airings)
American Idol (Tues.) 8.25 vs. 9.13 (-10%, 4 airings)
King of the Hill 2.33 vs. 2.63 (-11%, 3 airings)
American Dad 2.70 vs. 3.07 (-12%, 4 airings)
Family Guy 3.10 vs. 3.63 (-15%, 2 airings)
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) 4.63 vs. 5.60 (-17%, 3 airings)
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) 2.38 vs. 3.15 (-25%, 4 airings)
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) 2.93 vs. 5.23 (-44%, 4 airings)


NBC
30 Rock 2.97 vs. 2.67 (+11%, 3 airings)
Law & Order: SVU 3.80 vs. 3.85 (-1%, 2 airings)
The Office 3.80 vs. 3.87 (-2%, 3 airings)
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) 1.40 vs. 1.77 (-21%, 3 airings)
Law & Order 2.18 vs. 2.78 (-22%, 4 airings)
My Name is Earl 2.00 vs. 2.60 (-23%, 3 airings)
Medium (10pm) 2.33 vs. 3.10 (-25%, 3 airings)
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) 0.97 vs. 1.30 (-26%, 3 airings)

CW
Supernatural 1.23 vs. 1.08 (+14%, 4 airings)
Gossip Girl 1.13 vs. 1.23 (-8%, 4 airings)
One Tree Hill 1.15 vs. 1.28 (-10%, 4 airings)
Smallville 1.40 vs. 1.58 (-11%, 4 airings)
ANTM 1.80 vs. 2.10 (-14%, 3 airings)
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) 0.78 vs. 1.03 (-24%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

May Sweeps 2009 Week Four Analysis by timeslot

Previous timeslot lists: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

8:00 HOUR
NCIS (8-9pm) +13%
HIMYM +12%
Ghost Whisperer +5%
Simpsons even
King of the Hill even
DWTS (8-9pm, Mon.) even
American Idol (Tues.) -15%
Smallville -18%
Gossip Girl -21%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -24%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (7-9pm) -24%
Ugly Betty -26%
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) -36%

9:00 HOUR
2.5 Men +10%
Supernatural +8%
American Dad +4%
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) +2%
Grey's Anatomy (9-10pm) -8%
Criminal Minds -9%
One Tree Hill -19%
CSI -31%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -38%

10:00 HOUR
Numb3rs -9%
CSI: Miami -16%
Law & Order -23%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -31%

ANALYSIS: This is another list that gets a little messed up by all the two-hour finales and such, but as usual, the 10:00 hour is the most brutal. Most fluctuations in week 4 were across entire nights, not entire timeslots, so the other analyses this week will probably be more pertinent.

May Sweeps 2009 Week Four Analysis by genre

Previous genre lists: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

SCRIPTED HALF-HOUR
HIMYM +12%
2.5 Men +10%
American Dad +4%
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) +2%
Simpsons even
King of the Hill even

SCRIPTED HOUR
NCIS (8-9pm) +13%
Supernatural +8%
Ghost Whisperer +5%
Grey's Anatomy (9-10pm) -8%
Numb3rs -9%
Criminal Minds -9%
CSI: Miami -16%
Smallville -18%
One Tree Hill -19%
Gossip Girl -21%
Law & Order -23%
Desperate Housewives (9-11pm) -24%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -24%
Ugly Betty -26%
CSI -31%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -31%
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) -36%

UNSCRIPTED
The Bachelorette (2 hrs.) +3%
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) even
DWTS (8-9pm, Mon.) even
DWTS (9-11pm, Tues.) -4%
60 Minutes -6%
AFHV (2 hrs., Fri.) -6%
American Idol (2 hrs., Wed.) -12%
American Idol (Tues.) -15%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (7-9pm) -24%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -38%

ANALYSIS: Comedy is still king, though this is a bit misleading because NBC's comedy block was down this week but wasn't accounted for due to the lack of 2008 half-hour breakdowns. Most dramas posted below-average performances, especially the CW's slate, while a solid ending for DWTS on Tuesday night and a rare decent year-to-year showing for Dateline NBC helped to lift unscripted a bit.

May Sweeps 2009 Week Four Analysis by network

Previous network lists: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

BY NETWORK
ABC
The Bachelorette (2 hrs.) +3%
DWTS (8-9pm, Mon.) even
DWTS (9-11pm, Tues.) -4%
AFHV (2 hrs., Fri.) -6%
Grey's Anatomy (9-10pm) -8%
20/20 -16%
Desperate Housewives (9-11pm) -24%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (7-9pm) -24%
Ugly Betty -26%

CBS
NCIS (8-9pm) +13%
HIMYM +12%
2.5 Men +10%
Ghost Whisperer +5%
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) +2%
60 Minutes -6%
Numb3rs -9%
Criminal Minds -9%
CSI: Miami -16%
CSI -31%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -31%

FOX
American Dad +4%
Simpsons even
King of the Hill even
American Idol (2 hrs., Wed.) -12%
American Idol (Tues.) -15%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -24%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -38%

NBC
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) even
Law & Order -23%

CW
Supernatural +8%
Smallville -18%
One Tree Hill -19%
Gossip Girl -21%
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) -36%

ANALYSIS: The comparisons are a little sparser this week, with finales wonking up the schedule and leaving a lot fewer direct comparisons, especially on NBC. ABC had a strong ending for DWTS, especially the Tuesday show, which really benefited from simply having the night to itself rather than being sandwiched between a couple awful shows. The Grey's comparison is also above average, though notably is taken against a non-finale from last year. EM:HE, Housewives, and Betty continued to struggle. Another solid week for CBS, especially the comedies, but Miami had a below-average week and CSI continued its downward spiral. The double-digit losses for Idol in the last week were not indicative of a cycle that was usually down only a bit, but the Sunday block did better than usual (though there was a Family Guy original mixed in this year that wasn't there last year). Supernatural remains the only good news on the CDub.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Complete

Lost (9pm) vs. year-ago Supernanny 4.17 vs. 2.17 (+92%, 3 airings)
Mentalist vs. year-ago Shark 3.53 vs. 2.10 (+68%, 3 airings)
House vs. year-ago Bones 4.63 vs. 3.07 (+51%, 3 airings)
Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Don't Forget the Lyrics 2.90 vs. 2.27 (+28%, 3 airings)
BBT 3.50 vs. 2.93 (+19%, 3 airings)
NCIS 3.40 vs. 2.98 (+14%, 4 airings)
Supernatural 1.23 vs. 1.08 (+14%, 4 airings)
Lie to Me vs. year-ago 'Til Death/Back to You 2.53 vs. 2.23 (+13%, 3 airings)
Bones vs. year-ago 5th Grader 2.38 vs. 2.10 (+13%, 4 airings)
30 Rock 2.97 vs. 2.67 (+11%, 3 airings)
Reaper vs. year-ago B&tG 0.80 vs. 0.73 (+9%, 3 airings)
20/20 (10-11pm) 1.70 vs. 1.63 (+5%, 4 airings)
The Bachelorette (2 hrs.) 3.00 vs. 2.90 (+3%, 1 airing)
Christine/Gary vs. year-ago Price is Right 1.85 vs. 1.80 (+3%, 2 airings)
Ghost Whisperer 2.23 vs. 2.18 (+2%, 4 airings)
Criminal Minds (9-10pm) 3.28 vs. 3.23 (+2%, 4 airings)
HIMYM 3.65 vs. 3.63 (+1%, 4 airings)
2.5 Men 4.93 vs. 4.90 (+1%, 4 airings)
DWTS (8-9:30pm plus one-hr. finale, Mon.) 4.35 vs. 4.35 (even, 4 airings)
CSI: NY 3.23 vs. 3.23 (even, 3 airings)
60 Minutes 1.63 vs. 1.63 (even, 4 airings)
90210 vs. year-ago Reaper 1.03 vs. 1.03 (even, 4 airings)
Law & Order: SVU 3.80 vs. 3.85 (-1%, 2 airings)
The Office 3.80 vs. 3.87 (-2%, 3 airings)
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) 4.00 vs. 4.08 (-2%, 4 airings)
AFHV (2 hrs., Fri.) 1.60 vs. 1.70 (-6%, 1 airing)
Flashpoint vs. year-ago Moonlight 1.83 vs. 1.98 (-8%, 4 airings)
Simpsons 2.90 vs. 3.15 (-8%, 4 airings)
American Idol (Wed. 9-10pm plus 2-hr. finale) 8.94 vs. 9.72 (-8%, 4 airings)
Gossip Girl 1.13 vs. 1.23 (-8%, 4 airings)
Numb3rs 2.03 vs. 2.23 (-9%, 4 airings)
CSI: Miami 3.75 vs. 4.13 (-9%, 4 airings)
American Idol (Tues.) 8.25 vs. 9.13 (-10%, 4 airings)
One Tree Hill 1.15 vs. 1.28 (-10%, 4 airings)
Castle vs. year-ago The Bachelor 2.40 vs. 2.67 (-10%, 3 airings)
America's Funniest Home Videos (Sun.) 2.15 vs. 2.40 (-10%, 2 airings)
King of the Hill 2.33 vs. 2.63 (-11%, 3 airings)
Smallville 1.40 vs. 1.58 (-11%, 4 airings)
Survivor 3.63 vs. 4.13 (-12%, 3 airings)
American Dad 2.70 vs. 3.07 (-12%, 4 airings)
ANTM 1.80 vs. 2.10 (-14%, 3 airings)
DWTS (9-10pm, plus two-hr. finale, Tues.) 4.00 vs. 4.68 (-15%, 4 airings)
Family Guy 3.10 vs. 3.63 (-15%, 2 airings)
(Wednesday 9pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday 10pm Lost) 4.17 vs. 4.90 (-15%, 3 airings)
Grey's Anatomy (9-10 pm only) 5.28 vs. 6.28 (-16%, 4 airings)
Parks & Recreation vs. year-ago Scrubs 2.20 vs. 2.63 (-16%, 3 airings)
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) 4.63 vs. 5.60 (-17%, 3 airings)
Ugly Betty 2.03 vs. 2.50 (-19%, 3 airings)
Cupid vs. year-ago WMC 1.57 vs. 1.93 (-19%, 3 airings)
Brothers & Sisters 3.03 vs. 3.80 (-20%, 3 airings)
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) 1.40 vs. 1.77 (-21%, 3 airings)
According to Jim (8-8:30 pm) 0.95 vs. 1.20 (-21%, 2 airings)
Law & Order 2.18 vs. 2.78 (-22%, 4 airings)
Cold Case 2.10 vs. 2.70 (-22%, 1 airing)
My Name is Earl 2.00 vs. 2.60 (-23%, 3 airings)
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) 0.78 vs. 1.03 (-24%, 4 airings)
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) 2.38 vs. 3.15 (-25%, 4 airings)
Medium (10pm) 2.33 vs. 3.10 (-25%, 3 airings)
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday Without a Trace) 2.63 vs. 3.50 (-25%, 4 airings)
Desperate Housewives (9-10pm, plus 2-hr. finale) 4.52 vs. 6.04 (-25%, 4 airings)
Fringe vs. year-ago Hell's Kitchen 3.90 vs. 5.23 (-25%, 3 airings)
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) 0.97 vs. 1.30 (-26%, 3 airings)
According to Jim (8:30-9pm) 1.10 vs. 1.50 (-27%, 1 airing)
CSI 3.60 vs. 4.93 (-27%, 4 airings)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm, plus 2-hr finale) 2.60 vs. 3.74 (-30%, 4 airings)
Private Practice vs. year-ago Lost 3.40 vs. 5.00 (-32%, 2 airings)
Southland vs. year-ago ER 2.00 vs. 3.05 (-34%, 4 airings)
24 (9pm) vs. year-ago House 3.28 vs. 5.65 (-42%, 4 airings)
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) 1.35 vs. 2.35 (-43%, 2 airings)
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) 2.93 vs. 5.23 (-44%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Same Show, Different Day

(Wednesday 9pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday 10pm Lost) 4.17 vs. 4.90 (-15%, 3 airings)
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday Without a Trace) 2.63 vs. 3.50 (-25%, 4 airings)
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) 2.38 vs. 3.15 (-25%, 4 airings)
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) 1.35 vs. 2.35 (-43%, 2 airings)
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) 2.93 vs. 5.23 (-44%, 4 airings)

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Complete (Same Show, Same Timeslot)

BBT 3.50 vs. 2.93 (+19%, 3 airings)
NCIS 3.40 vs. 2.98 (+14%, 4 airings)
Supernatural 1.23 vs. 1.08 (+14%, 4 airings)
30 Rock 2.97 vs. 2.67 (+11%, 3 airings)
20/20 (10-11pm) 1.70 vs. 1.63 (+5%, 4 airings)
The Bachelorette (2 hrs.) 3.00 vs. 2.90 (+3%, 1 airing)
Ghost Whisperer 2.23 vs. 2.18 (+2%, 4 airings)
Criminal Minds (9-10pm) 3.28 vs. 3.23 (+2%, 4 airings)
HIMYM 3.65 vs. 3.63 (+1%, 4 airings)
2.5 Men 4.93 vs. 4.90 (+1%, 4 airings)
DWTS (8-9:30pm plus one-hr. finale, Mon.) 4.35 vs. 4.35 (even, 4 airings)
60 Minutes 1.63 vs. 1.63 (even, 4 airings)
CSI: NY 3.23 vs. 3.23 (even, 3 airings)
Law & Order: SVU 3.80 vs. 3.85 (-1%, 2 airings)
The Office 3.80 vs. 3.87 (-2%, 3 airings)
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) 4.00 vs. 4.08 (-2%, 4 airings)
AFHV (2 hrs. Fri.) 1.60 vs. 1.70 (-6%, 1 airing)
Simpsons 2.90 vs. 3.15 (-8%, 4 airings)
American Idol (9-10pm plus 2-hr. finale, Wed.) 8.94 vs. 9.72 (-8%, 4 airings)
Gossip Girl 1.13 vs. 1.23 (-8%, 4 airings)
Numb3rs 2.03 vs. 2.23 (-9%, 4 airings)
CSI: Miami 3.75 vs. 4.13 (-9%, 4 airings)
American Idol (Tues.) 8.25 vs. 9.13 (-10%, 4 airings)
One Tree Hill 1.15 vs. 1.28 (-10%, 4 airings)
America's Funniest Home Videos (Sun.) 2.15 vs. 2.40 (-10%, 2 airings)
Smallville 1.40 vs. 1.58 (-11%, 4 airings)
King of the Hill 2.33 vs. 2.63 (-11%, 3 airings)
American Dad 2.70 vs. 3.07 (-12%, 4 airings)
Survivor 3.63 vs. 4.13 (-12%, 3 airings)
ANTM 1.80 vs. 2.10 (-14%, 3 airings)
DWTS (9-10pm, plus two-hr. finale, Tues.) 4.00 vs. 4.68 (-15%, 4 airings)
Family Guy 3.10 vs. 3.63 (-15%, 2 airings)
Grey's Anatomy (9-10 pm only) 5.28 vs. 6.28 (-16%, 4 airings)
Ugly Betty 2.03 vs. 2.50 (-19%, 3 airings)
Brothers & Sisters 3.03 vs. 3.80 (-20%, 3 airings)
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) 1.40 vs. 1.77 (-21%, 3 airings)
According to Jim (8-8:30 pm) 0.95 vs. 1.20 (-21%, 2 airings)
Law & Order 2.18 vs. 2.78 (-22%, 4 airings)
Cold Case 2.10 vs. 2.70 (-22%, 1 airing)
My Name is Earl 2.00 vs. 2.60 (-23%, 3 airings)
Medium (10pm) 2.33 vs. 3.10 (-25%, 3 airings)
Desperate Housewives (9-10pm, plus 2-hr. finale) 4.52 vs. 6.04 (-25%, 4 airings)
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) 0.97 vs. 1.30 (-26%, 3 airings)
According to Jim (8:30-9pm) 1.10 vs. 1.50 (-27%, 1 airing)
CSI 3.60 vs. 4.93 (-27%, 4 airings)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm, plus 2-hr finale) 2.60 vs. 3.74 (-30%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Wednesday

Criminal Minds (9-10pm) 3.28 vs. 3.23 (+2%, 4 airings)
CSI: NY 3.23 vs. 3.23 (even, 3 airings)
American Idol (Wed. 9-10pm plus 2-hr. finale) 8.94 vs. 9.72 (-8%, 4 airings)
ANTM 1.80 vs. 2.10 (-14%, 3 airings)
Law & Order 2.18 vs. 2.78 (-22%, 4 airings)

Lost (9pm) vs. year-ago Supernanny 4.17 vs. 2.17 (+92%, 3 airings)
Lie to Me vs. year-ago 'Til Death/Back to You 2.53 vs. 2.23 (+13%, 3 airings)
Christine/Gary vs. year-ago Price is Right 1.85 vs. 1.80 (+3%, 2 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Tuesday

NCIS 3.40 vs. 2.98 (+14%, 4 airings)
Law & Order: SVU 3.80 vs. 3.85 (-1%, 2 airings)
American Idol (Tues.) 8.25 vs. 9.13 (-10%, 4 airings)
DWTS (9-10pm, plus two-hr. finale, Tues.) 4.00 vs. 4.68 (-15%, 4 airings)
According to Jim (8-8:30 pm) 0.95 vs. 1.20 (-21%, 2 airings)
According to Jim (8:30-9pm) 1.10 vs. 1.50 (-27%, 1 airing)

Mentalist vs. year-ago Shark 3.53 vs. 2.10 (+68%, 3 airings)
Reaper vs. year-ago B&tG 0.80 vs. 0.73 (+9%, 3 airings)
90210 vs. year-ago Reaper 1.03 vs. 1.03 (even, 4 airings)
Cupid vs. year-ago WMC 1.57 vs. 1.93 (-19%, 3 airings)
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) 0.78 vs. 1.03 (-24%, 4 airings)
Fringe vs. year-ago Hell's Kitchen 3.90 vs. 5.23 (-25%, 3 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Monday

BBT 3.50 vs. 2.93 (+19%, 3 airings)
The Bachelorette (2 hrs.) 3.00 vs. 2.90 (+3%, 1 airing)
HIMYM 3.65 vs. 3.63 (+1%, 4 airings)
2.5 Men 4.93 vs. 4.90 (+1%, 4 airings)
DWTS (8-9:30pm plus one-hr. finale, Mon.) 4.35 vs. 4.35 (even, 4 airings)
Rules of Engagement (9:30pm) 4.00 vs. 4.08 (-2%, 4 airings)
Gossip Girl 1.13 vs. 1.23 (-8%, 4 airings)
CSI: Miami 3.75 vs. 4.13 (-9%, 4 airings)
One Tree Hill 1.15 vs. 1.28 (-10%, 4 airings)
Medium (10pm) 2.33 vs. 3.10 (-25%, 3 airings)

House vs. year-ago Bones 4.63 vs. 3.07 (+51%, 3 airings)
Reaper vs. year-ago B&tG 0.80 vs. 0.73 (+9%, 3 airings)
90210 vs. year-ago Reaper 1.03 vs. 1.03 (even, 4 airings)
Castle vs. year-ago The Bachelor 2.40 vs. 2.67 (-10%, 3 airings)
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) 4.63 vs. 5.60 (-17%, 3 airings)
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) 0.78 vs. 1.03 (-24%, 4 airings)
24 (9pm) vs. year-ago House 3.28 vs. 5.65 (-42%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

Wednesday 5/20/09

Last one of these posts till November! But there's much more to come later today...

Criminal Minds (9-10pm) -6%
American Idol (2 hrs.) -14%
Law & Order -20%

Criminal Minds (10-11pm) vs. year-ago CSI:NY +23%
(Criminal Minds 9-11 pm vs. year-ago Criminal Minds 9-10pm) +3%
Christine/Gary vs. year-ago Price is Right -6%

Tuesday 5/19/09

DWTS (9-11pm) -2%
NCIS (8-9pm) +13%
American Idol -14%

(NCIS 8-9pm vs. year-ago NCIS 8-10pm) even
Mentalist vs. year-ago NCIS (9-10pm) even
Without a Trace vs. year-ago Shark even
Glee vs. year-ago Hell's Kitchen -21%
90210 vs.year-ago Reaper -8%
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) -42%

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Sunday

60 Minutes 1.63 vs. 1.63 (even, 4 airings)
Simpsons 2.90 vs. 3.15 (-8%, 4 airings)
America's Funniest Home Videos 2.15 vs. 2.40 (-10%, 2 airings)
King of the Hill 2.33 vs. 2.63 (-11%, 3 airings)
American Dad 2.70 vs. 3.07 (-12%, 4 airings)
Family Guy 3.10 vs. 3.63 (-15%, 2 airings)
Brothers & Sisters 3.03 vs. 3.80 (-20%, 3 airings)
Cold Case 2.10 vs. 2.70 (-22%, 1 airing)
Desperate Housewives (9-10pm, plus 2-hr. finale) 4.52 vs. 6.04 (-25%, 4 airings)
Dateline (7-8pm) 0.97 vs. 1.30 (-26%, 3 airings)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8-9pm, plus 2-hr finale) 2.60 vs. 3.74 (-30%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Friday

20/20 (10-11pm) 1.70 vs. 1.63 (+5%, 4 airings)
Ghost Whisperer 2.23 vs. 2.18 (+2%, 4 airings)
AFHV (2 hrs.) 1.60 vs. 1.70 (-6%, 1 airing)
Numb3rs 2.03 vs. 2.23 (-9%, 4 airings)
Dateline (2 hrs.) 1.40 vs. 1.77 (-21%, 3 airings)

Flashpoint vs. year-ago Moonlight 1.83 vs. 1.98 (-8%, 4 airings)

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

Monday 5/18/09

DWTS (one hour) even (-2%, +9%, -5%)
The Bachelorette (two hours) even
HIMYM +16% (-3%, even, -5%)
2.5 Men +8% (+4%, +2%, -12%)
Rules (9:30pm) +2% (even, +5%, -12%)
CSI: Miami -14% (-15%, even, -3%)
Gossip Girl -21% (-23%, +20%, even)
One Tree Hill -13% (-8%, +9%, -8%)

Rules (8pm) vs. year-ago BBT -4%
24 (8pm) vs. year-ago Bones -12%
24 (9pm) vs. year-ago House -44% (-40%, -35%, -43%)

Sunday 5/17/09

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (7-9pm) -22% (-28%, -36%, -35%)
Desperate Housewives (9-11pm) -24% (-19%, -30%, -25%)
60 Minutes -6% (+14%, +25%, -21%)
Simpsons even (-19%, +3%, -14%)
King of the Hill even (-11%, -28%)
American Dad +4% (-17%, -10%, -11%)
Dateline (7-8pm) even (-33%, -33%)

Survivor vs. year-ago Academy of Country Music Awards (8-11pm) +41%

Finals vs. finals updates

All of the complete-week summary posts are now updated for finals vs. finals. I tried to tweak the analysis things somewhat to reflect the updates, so hopefully there won't be any egregious inconsistencies in those. Here's a complete list:

by network: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1
by genre: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1
by timeslot: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

Look for the Week 4 posts on Thursday night, along with several posts about the whole of sweeps.

Friday 5/15/09

AFHV (2 hrs.) -6%
20/20 -16% (+38%, +50%, -37%)
Ghost Whisperer even (-9%, even, +5%)
Numb3rs -9% (-18%, -8%, -9%)

Flashpoint vs. year-ago Moonlight even (-24%, even, -5%)
(Dateline 8-9pm vs. year-ago Dateline 10-11pm) -7%

Didn't have a breakdown on the Farrah Fawcett special so I couldn't do Dateline vs. Farrah at 10, but suffice to say it was a really, really big gain year-to-year.

May Sweeps 2009 Comparison Averages, Thursday

Supernatural 1.23 vs. 1.08 (+14%, 4 airings)
30 Rock 2.97 vs. 2.67 (+11%, 3 airings)
The Office* 3.80 vs. 3.87 (-2%, 3 airings)
Smallville 1.40 vs. 1.58 (-11%, 4 airings)
Survivor 3.63 vs. 4.13 (-12%, 3 airings)
Grey's Anatomy (9-10 pm only) 5.28 vs. 6.28 (-16%, 4 airings)
Ugly Betty 2.03 vs. 2.50 (-19%, 3 airings)
My Name is Earl* 2.00 vs. 2.60 (-23%, 3 airings)
CSI 3.60 vs. 4.93 (-27%, 4 airings)

Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Don't Forget the Lyrics 2.90 vs. 2.27 (+28%, 3 airings)
Bones vs. year-ago 5th Grader 2.38 vs. 2.10 (+13%, 4 airings)
Parks & Recreation vs. year-ago Scrubs 2.20 vs. 2.63 (-16%, 3 airings)
Private Practice vs. year-ago Lost 3.40 vs. 5.00 (-32%, 2 airings)
Southland vs. year-ago ER 2.00 vs. 3.05 (-34%, 4 airings)

*-week 4 Earl/Office finales not included; I don't want to compare a half-hour vs. an hour and couldn't find half-hour breakdowns on the Earl/Office 2008 finales... if anybody has those numbers, let me know

Note: Averages don't necessarily include every sweep airing of a show. I'm only including an airing if the show (or two shows being compared) aired both this year and on the year-ago evening.

Didn't want to get too deep into the bureaucracy on the PIF post, but I will add another note that the comparisons between two different shows are included in these lists only if there is more than one instance of that comparison. On the other hand, ALL comparisons between the same show will be included, even if there's only one data point.

Also, these are ranked from best to worst, not separated by network as in the daily posts. But that was not too hard to figure out. ;-)

Thursday 5/14/09

The weekly Thursday reminder: comparisons in parentheses are identical comparisons that occurred in previous weeks.

Ugly Betty -26% (-17%, -13%)
Grey's Anatomy (9-10pm) -7% (-22%, -17%, -13%)
CSI -28% (-22%, -28%, -29%)
Smallville -18% (-7%, -7%, even)
Supernatural +8% (+10%, +30%, +20%)

Grey's Anatomy (10-11pm) vs. year-ago Lost +24%
CSI: NY vs. year-ago Without a Trace -17%
Bones vs. year-ago 5th Grader +14% (+5%, even, +21%)
Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Lyrics +35% (-12%, +35%)
(My Name is Earl 8-8:30 pm vs. year-ago My Name is Earl 8-9pm) -33%
(The Office 9-9:30 pm vs. year-ago The Office 9-10pm) -15%
Southland vs. year-ago ER -48% (-14%, -30%, -31%)

May Sweeps 2009 Week Three Analysis by timeslot

Previous timeslot lists: Week 2 | Week 1

BY TIMESLOT
8:00 HOUR
BBT +28%
NCIS +10%
Ghost Whisperer +5%
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) even
Gossip Girl even
Smallville even
HIMYM -5%
Survivor -7%
American Idol (Tues.) -11%
Ugly Betty -13%
Simpsons -14%
America's Next Top Model -17%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -20%
According to Jim (8:00) -23%
King of the Hill -24%
According to Jim (8:30) -27%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -30%
My Name is Earl -35%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -35%

9:00 HOUR
Supernatural +20%
30 Rock +12%
Criminal Minds +10%
The Office +8%
American Idol (Wed.) -5%
(Wednesday 9-10pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -6%
One Tree Hill -8%
American Dad -11%
2.5 Men -12%
Rules -12%
Grey's Anatomy -16%
DWTS (Tues.) -24%
Desperate Housewives -27%
CSI -28%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -47%

10:00 HOUR
CSI: NY even
CSI: Miami -5%
Numb3rs -9%
Law & Order -15%
Brothers & Sisters -21%
Medium (10-11pm) -23%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -26%
20/20 -37%

ANALYSIS: 8:00 may have made the pass this week, and definitely would have if not for a few comedy hours completely stinking up the joint. No positives at 10:00, and half of that list has gone down at least 20% this week.

May Sweeps 2009 Week Three Analysis by genre

Previous genre lists: Week 2 | Week 1

BY GENRE
SCRIPTED HALF-HOUR
BBT +28%
30 Rock +12%
The Office +8%
HIMYM -5%
American Dad -11%
2.5 Men -12%
Rules -12%
Simpsons -14%
According to Jim (8:00) -23%
King of the Hill -24%
According to Jim (8:30) -27%
My Name is Earl -35%

SCRIPTED HOUR
Supernatural +20%
Criminal Minds +10%
NCIS +10%
Ghost Whisperer +5%
CSI: NY even
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) even
Gossip Girl even
Smallville even
CSI: Miami -5%
(Wednesday 9-10pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -6%
One Tree Hill -8%
Numb3rs -9%
Ugly Betty -13%
Grey's Anatomy -16%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -20%
Brothers & Sisters -21%
Medium (10-11pm) -23%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -26%
Desperate Housewives -27%
CSI -28%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -30%

UNSCRIPTED
DWTS (Mon., 8-9:30pm) -5%
American Idol (Wed.) -5%
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) -7%
Survivor -7%
American Idol (Tues.) -11%
Law & Order -15%
America's Funniest Home Videos -17%
America's Next Top Model -17%
60 Minutes -17%
DWTS (Tues.) -24%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -35%
20/20 -37%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -47%

ANALYSIS: The picture darkened for comedy a bit in the third week of sweeps. The two year-to-year stalwarts, Big Bang and 30 Rock, kept on trucking, and The Office saw its first positive result, but Earl continued to fall apart and Fox animation took a hit, with even Dad seeing a double-digit decline despite having a repeat lead-in last year. A decent week for drama with two high-profile exceptions (DH and CSI). Week 3 Unscripted became our first all-negatives in the genre post, though usually there aren't the catastrophic drops seen in other categories (EM:HE excepted).

May Sweeps 2009 Week Three Analysis by network

Previous network lists: Week 2 | Week 1

BY NETWORK
ABC
DWTS (Mon., 8-9:30pm) -5%
(Wednesday 9-10pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -6%
Ugly Betty -13%
Grey's Anatomy -16%
America's Funniest Home Videos -17%
Brothers & Sisters -21%
According to Jim (8:00) -23%
DWTS (Tues.) -24%
According to Jim (8:30) -27%
Desperate Housewives -27%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -35%
20/20 -37%

CBS
BBT +28%
Criminal Minds +10%
NCIS +10%
Ghost Whisperer +5%
CSI: NY even
HIMYM -5%
CSI: Miami -5%
Survivor -7%
Numb3rs -9%
2.5 Men -12%
Rules -12%
60 Minutes -17%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -26%
CSI -28%

FOX
American Idol (Wed.) -5%
American Idol (Tues.) -11%
American Dad -11%
Simpsons -14%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -20%
King of the Hill -24%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -30%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -47%

NBC
30 Rock +12%
The Office +8%
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) -7%
Law & Order -15%
Medium (10-11pm) -23%
My Name is Earl -35%

CW
Supernatural +20%
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) even
Gossip Girl even
Smallville even
One Tree Hill -8%
America's Next Top Model -17%

ANALYSIS: Fox puts up negatives from top to bottom for the second time in three weeks, but Idol is still having a pretty decent cycle. CBS still has the most to crow about out of the big four, but their week was not as impressive as the Week 2 performance that saw just four negatives in fifteen comparisons. ABC starts with an OK Monday Dancing and then just gets ugly, even seeing the usually-improved 20/20 take a huge hit this week thanks to an incompatible Disney movie lead-in. No real changes for NBC, though L&O escapes the triple-negative-20 club and Earl continues to implode. CW's scripted stuff had a very healthy week.

Other May Sweeps 2009 Week 3 Comparisons

(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -26%
(Wednesday 9pm Lost vs. year-ago Thursday 10pm Lost) -6%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -30%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -47%

Wednesday 5/13/09

Criminal Minds +13% (+3%, +6%)
CSI: NY +3% (+3%, even)
American Idol -7% (-7%, +1%)
Law & Order -19% (-27%, -21%)
ANTM -22% (-10%, -15%)

Lost clips vs. year-ago Wife Swap -4%
Lost 9pm vs. year-ago Supernanny +79% (+111%)
Lost 10pm vs. year-ago Boston Legal +91%
Rules/Christine vs. year-ago Price is Right +43%
Lie to Me vs. year-ago 'Til Death/Back to You +8% (+4%, +35%)

More housekeeping

Been setting up my spreadsheet for the finale-laden fourth week of sweeps and I've run into a problem; lots of shows have finales that are different lengths than the regular show! So here's what I'm gonna do.

• If the finale is double-length and the year-ago finale was double-length at the same time (Idol Wednesday, DWTS Tuesday, EM:HE, Desperate Housewives) I will not break it down, I'll just compare one two-hour finale against another, average into the show's regular average, but count it twice. I'm not sure about AFHV, which falls under this column too but the finales occur on an irregular night.
• DWTS Monday is the only time that a finale is a shorter-than-usual length. It'll be counted in the DWTS Mon. average but only at two-thirds weight of the usual 8-9:30 breakdowns.
  
• For Criminal Minds, which has a two-hour finale this year and a one-hour last year, I will compare the first hour with the year-ago finale. Making a two-hour vs. one-hour comparison a part of CM's average seems unfair. (Arguably so does leaving out CM's last hour of the season, but I like this better.)
  
• If the finale is regular-length and the year-ago finale is double-length (NCIS, Earl, Office) then there's a problem, because there were not readily available breakdowns for finals this time last year. Might just have to email Marc or something... otherwise, the numbers won't get averaged in with other Earl and Office airings. If I can get breakdowns, I'll do 8-8:30 and 9-9:30 comparisons in the averages.
• NBC next Monday will be left out entirely, as there are two 90-minute programs last year and a 120-minute plus a 60-minute this year, and all four things are different programs. I'm too lazy to find a really cool way of doing it.
  

Sorry for another ridiculously boring post. It is more for me than for you. :-)

Tuesday 5/12/09

According to Jim (1 hr.) -21% (-23%)
DWTS results -23% (-20%, -27%)
NCIS +3% (+13%, +17%)
American Idol -11% (-9%, -1%)

Cupid vs. year-ago WMC -24% (-11%, -20%)
Mentalist vs. year-ago Shark +57% (+68%, +71%)
Fringe vs. year-ago Hell's Kitchen -16% (-24%, -27%)
The Biggest Loser (10-11pm) vs. year-ago Law & Order: SVU +42%
Reaper vs. year-ago B&tG +29% (-13%, +14%)
90210 vs. year-ago Reaper +22% (-18%, -10%)
(Reaper 8pm vs. year-ago Reaper 9pm) even (-36%, -20%)

Finals update

I have updated my entire May sweeps comparison spreadsheet with final national numbers. Unfortunately, I do not have the time/willpower to update the calibrated percentages into each post on this blog, so my method going forward will be as follows:

• The afternoon posts will still be fast national vs. fast national comparisons and will remain the same numbers that I post on PIFeedback. The previous comparisons listed in parentheses will also be based on fast national vs. fast national comparisons just to keep those posts consistent; the only exceptions will be previous comparisons from those four days in Week 2 when finals were the first numbers available.
  
• Beginning with this Thursday's finals, I will be making daily evening posts using FINAL vs. FINAL comparisons to sum up the four-week history of various shows.
• The last two weekly summaries will be delayed till the Wednesday finals come out, and each comparison in those lists will be FINAL vs. FINAL. That will mean that there will be discrepancies between the daily fast nat posts and the weekly summaries, but the weekly summaries and the evening comparison histories should be seen as the definitive sources. (And hopefully I'll get around to editing finals comparisons into the previous two weeks of lists, though that has not happened yet. Will post if I get it done.)
  
• My last posts, a summary of the complete four-week period, will also consist entirely of FINAL vs. FINAL comparisons.

I'm sure all of my loyal reader(s) found that riveting. :-)

Monday 5/11/09

DWTS (8-9:30 pm) -5% (-2%, +9%)
BBT +24% (-13%, +21%)
HIMYM -5% (-3%, even)
2.5 Men -12% (+4%, +2%)
Rules -12% (even, +5%)
CSI: Miami -3% (-15%, even)
Medium (10-11 pm) -21% (-29%, -22%)
Gossip Girl even (-23%, +30%)
One Tree Hill -8% (-8%, +9%)

DWTS 9:30-10pm vs. year-ago Samantha Who? +44% (+79%)
(DWTS 8-10pm vs. year-ago DWTS 8-9:30pm) -2% (+12%)
Castle vs. year-ago The Bachelor -24% (+22%)
House vs. year-ago Bones +44% (+41%, +70%)
24 vs. year-ago House -43% (-40%, -35%)
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -21% (-21%, -10%)
Deal or No Deal/Medium 8-10pm vs. year-ago American Gladiators -21%

Sunday 5/10/09

America's Funniest Home Videos -17% (-4%)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition-35% (-28%, -36%)
Desperate Housewives -25% (-19%, -30%)
Brothers & Sisters -23% (-23%, -21%)
60 Minutes -21% (+14%, +25%)
Simpsons -14% (-19%, +3%)
King of the Hill -28% (-11%)
American Dad -11% (-17%, -10%)

The Amazing Race vs. year-ago Survivor 8pm -29%
Cold Case vs. year-ago Survivor 9pm -41%
The Unit vs. year-ago Survivor 10pm -38%
Dateline vs. year-ago America's Favorite Mom -31%

Every original vs. original comparison is negative double digits!

Friday 5/8/09

20/20 -37% (+38%, +50%)
Ghost Whisperer +5% (-9%, even)
Numb3rs -9% (-18%, -8%)
Dateline (2 hrs.) even (-32%, -26%)

Happy Feet vs. year-ago TV's All-Time Funniest -19%
Flashpoint vs. year-ago Moonlight -5% (-24%, even)

Thursday 5/7/09

Again, previous identical comparisons in parentheses.

Ugly Betty -13% (-17%)
Grey's Anatomy -13% (-22%, -17%)
Survivor -7% (-17%, -10%)
CSI -29% (-22%, -28%)
Earl -35% (-4%, -21%)
Office +6% (-5%, -5%)
30 Rock +38% (+11%, +12%)
Smallville even (-7%, -7%)
Supernatural +20% (+10%, +30%)

Michael J. Fox special vs. year-ago Lost -33%
Parks & Recreation vs. year-ago Scrubs -20% (-4%, -21%)
Southland vs. year-ago ER -31% (-14%, -30%)
Bones vs. year-ago 5th Grader +21% (+5%, even)
Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Don't Forget the Lyrics +35% (-12%)

May Sweeps 2009 Week Two Analysis by timeslot

Previous timeslot lists: Week 1

BY TIMESLOT
8:00 HOUR
BBT +21%
Gossip Girl +20%
NCIS +17%
Ghost Whisperer +4%
Simpsons +3%
HIMYM even
American Idol (Tues.) -1%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -10%
Survivor -10%
King of the Hill -11%
Smallville -13%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -15%
ANTM -15%
Ugly Betty -17%
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -20%
Earl -25%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -36%
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) -44%

9:00 HOUR
(Cold Case 9pm vs. year-ago Cold Case 8pm) +21%
Supernatural +18%
30 Rock +12%
One Tree Hill +9%
Criminal Minds +6%
Rules +5%
2.5 Men +2%
American Idol (Wed.) +1%
Office -8%
American Dad -10%
Family Guy -10%
(Wednesday Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -15%
Grey's Anatomy -16%
(Friday Supernanny vs. year-ago Wednesday Supernanny) -21%
DWTS results -27%
CSI -27%
Desperate Housewives -30%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -46%

10:00 HOUR
20/20 (10pm) +50%
Law & Order: SVU +3%
CSI: NY even
CSI: Miami even
Numb3rs -4%
Brothers & Sisters -21%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -21%
Law & Order -21%
Medium (10-11 pm) -22%

ANALYSIS: Again, everything looks a little healthier than last week, but 9:00 is probably still the strongest, with 8 of 18 programs actually seeing increases. 10:00 made some strides this week, with almost every program putting up a better comparison than last week.

May Sweeps 2009 Week Two Analysis by genre

Previous genre lists: Week 1

BY GENRE
SCRIPTED HALF-HOUR
BBT +21%
30 Rock +12%
Rules +5%
Simpsons +3%
2.5 Men +2%
HIMYM even
Office -8%
American Dad -10%
Family Guy -10%
King of the Hill -11%
Earl -25%

SCRIPTED HOUR
(Cold Case 9pm vs. year-ago Cold Case 8pm) +21%
Gossip Girl +20%
Supernatural +18%
NCIS +17%
One Tree Hill +9%
Criminal Minds +6%
Ghost Whisperer +4%
Law & Order: SVU +3%
CSI: NY even
CSI: Miami even
Numb3rs -4%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -10%
Smallville -13%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -15%
(Wednesday Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -15%
Grey's Anatomy -16%
Ugly Betty -17%
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -20%
Brothers & Sisters -21%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -21%
Law & Order -21%
Medium (10-11 pm) -22%
CSI -27%
Desperate Housewives -30%

UNSCRIPTED
20/20 (10pm) +50%
60 Minutes +25%
DWTS (8-9:30 pm, Mon.) +9%
American Idol (Wed.) +1%
American Idol (Tues.) -1%
America's Funniest Home Videos -4%
Survivor -10%
ANTM -15%
(Friday Supernanny vs. year-ago Wednesday Supernanny) -21%
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) -21%
DWTS results -27%
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) -33%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -36%
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) -44%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -46%

ANALYSIS: Once again, it's good to be a comedy. Fox's entire animation lineup improved week-to-week vs. the year-ago evening due to the removal of Sit Down, Shut Up, as first projected here. ;-) The only real tank job was the Earl/Parks hour on NBC, and that was due more to that hour making a big spike on that evening last year. (Although as we'll see in the next set of Thursday numbers, Earl tanked all on its own this week.) A lot of dramas had better showings this week, while most reality shows stayed around the same. Something I observed this weekend in conjunction with the huge decline of Dateline is that both of those hours air against another newsmagazine, and both of those newsmagazines are improved year-to-year. Seems that people are switching away from the NBC program.

May Sweeps 2009 Week Two Analysis by network

Previous network lists: Week 1

BY NETWORK
ABC
20/20 (10pm) +50%
DWTS (8-9:30 pm, Mon.) +9%
America's Funniest Home Videos -4%
(Wednesday Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -15%
Grey's Anatomy -16%
Ugly Betty -17%
Brothers & Sisters -21%
(Friday Supernanny vs. year-ago Wednesday Supernanny) -21%
DWTS results -27%
Desperate Housewives -30%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -36%
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) -44%

CBS
60 Minutes +25%
(Cold Case 9pm vs. year-ago Cold Case 8pm) +21%
BBT +21%
NCIS +17%
Criminal Minds +6%
Rules +5%
Ghost Whisperer +4%
2.5 Men +2%
CSI: NY even
HIMYM even
CSI: Miami even
Numb3rs -4%
Survivor -10%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -21%
CSI -27%

FOX
Simpsons +3%
American Idol (Wed.) +1%
American Idol (Tues.) -1%
American Dad -10%
Family Guy -10%
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -10%
King of the Hill -11%
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -15%
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -46%

NBC
30 Rock +12%
Law & Order: SVU +3%
Office -8%
Law & Order -21%
Dateline (2 hrs., Fri.) -21%
Medium (10-11 pm) -22%
Earl -25%
Dateline (7-8pm, Sun.) -33%

CW
Gossip Girl +20%
Supernatural +18%
One Tree Hill +9%
Smallville -13%
ANTM -15%
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -20%

ANALYSIS: Generally speaking, this was a pretty healthy week for broadcast on a year-to-year basis. Even the oft-bleeding CW Monday had a good week. Network-wise, the big exception is ABC, which is still littered with double-digit declines and can probably only cite DWTS as a success among its heavy hitters... and even then, only the Monday airing. NBC is still seeing big drops out of its utility players, but its biggest-name shows (SVU, Office, Rock) are all doing OK. FOX's comparisons almost all improved from last week, while CBS was extremely strong this week, the only exceptions really being the three shows that aired on Thursday last year. It's a strange time for CBS when their biggest real problem among returning shows is CSI.

Other May Sweeps 2009 Week 2 Comparisons (FINALS vs. FINALS)

(Wednesday Lost vs. year-ago Thursday Lost) -15% (-17%)
(Friday Wife Swap vs. year-ago Wednesday Wife Swap) -44%
(Friday Supernanny vs. year-ago Wednesday Supernanny) -21%
(Tuesday Without a Trace vs. year-ago Thursday WAT) -21% (-24%)
(Thursday Bones vs. year-ago Monday Bones) -15% (-31%)
(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -46% (-41%)

Since I got split between fast nat vs. fast nat and final vs. final comparisons this week and I didn't want them to overlap, I went ahead and made these all FINAL vs. FINAL, since in theory I'll get around to making it all final vs. final at some juncture.

Wednesday 5/6/09 (FINALS vs. FINALS)

Criminal Minds +6%
CSI: NY +0%
American Idol +1%
Law & Order -21%
ANTM -15%

Scrubs vs. year-ago Wife Swap -16%
Lost vs. year-ago Supernanny +111%
Unusuals vs. year-ago Barbara Walters' Journey -20%
Christine/Gary vs. year-ago Price is Right +11%
Lie to Me vs. year-ago 'Til Death/Back to You +35%

Tuesday 5/5/09 (FINALS vs. FINALS)

DWTS results -27% (-20%)
NCIS +17% (+13%)
American Idol -1% (-9%)
Law & Order: SVU +3% (-5%)

Scrubs/Ted vs. year-ago DWTS recap -44%
Cupid vs. year-ago WMC -20% (-11%)
Mentalist vs. year-ago Shark +71% (+68%)
Fringe vs. year-ago Hell's Kitchen -27% (-24%)
Reaper vs. year-ago Beauty and the Geek +14% (-13%)
90210 vs. year-ago Reaper -10% (-18%)
(8pm Reaper vs. year-ago 9pm Reaper) -20% (-36%)

Monday 5/4/09 (FINALS vs. FINALS)

DWTS (8-9:30 pm) +9% (-2%)
BBT +21% (-13%)
HIMYM even (-3%)
2.5 Men +2% (+4%)
Rules +5% (even)
CSI: Miami even (-15%)
Medium (10-11 pm) -22% (-29%)
Gossip Girl +30% (-23%)
One Tree Hill +9% (-8%)

DWTS 9:30-10pm vs. year-ago Samantha Who? +79%
(DWTS 8-10pm vs. year-ago DWTS 8-9:30 pm) +12%
Castle vs. year-ago The Bachelor +22%
House vs. year-ago Bones +70% (+41%)
24 vs. year-ago House -35% (-40%)
(House 8pm vs. year-ago House 9pm) -10% (-21%)
Deal or No Deal/Medium 8-10pm vs. year-ago Deal or No Deal 8-10 pm -30%
(Deal or No Deal 8-9 pm vs. year-ago Deal or No Deal 8-10pm) -48%

Sunday 5/3/09 (FINALS vs. FINALS)

America's Funniest Home Videos -4%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -36% (-28%)
Desperate Housewives -30% (-19%)
Brothers & Sisters -21% (-23%)
60 Minutes +25% (+14%)
Simpsons +3% (-19%)
King of the Hill -11%
Family Guy -10% (-21%)
American Dad -10% (-17%)
Dateline (7-8pm) -33% (-33%)

The Amazing Race vs. year-ago Cold Case +33%
(Cold Case 9pm vs. year-ago Cold Case 8pm) +21%

Friday 5/1/09

20/20 (10pm) +50% (+38%)
Ghost Whisperer even (-9%)
Numb3rs -8% (-18%)
Dateline (2 hrs.) -26% (-32%)

Wife Swap vs. year-ago 20/20 (8pm) -13%
Supernanny vs. year-ago Duel +60%
Flashpoint vs. year-ago Moonlight even (-24%)

Oops

I found a different-day comparison from last week that I left out.

(Thursday Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Tuesday Hell's Kitchen) -45%

Pretty useless since the timeslots are very different and the lead-ins are hugely different, but I've edited it into the analysis posts below.

Thursday 4/30/09

Previous identical comparisons are included in parentheses.

Ugly Betty -17%
Grey's Anatomy -17% (-22%)
Survivor -10% (-17%)
CSI -28% (-22%)
Earl -21% (-4%)
Office -5% (-5%)
30 Rock +12% (+11%)
Smallville -7% (-7%)
Supernatural +30% (+10%)

Private Practice vs. year-ago Lost -27% (-29%)
Parks & Recreation vs. year-ago Scrubs -21% (-4%)
Southland vs. year-ago ER -30% (-14%)
Bones vs. year-ago 5th Grader even (+5%)
Hell's Kitchen vs. year-ago Don't Forget the Lyrics +12%