May Sweeps 2010 Week Four Recap

Different day comparisons

The Mentalist (Th vs. T) -14%

Law & Order (M vs. W) -5%

Top 5 year-to-year timeslot gainers
1. The Biggest Loser vs. Most Outrageous Moments (R)/Law & Order: SVU (R) (NBC, Tuesday 8-10pm) +254%
2. Celebrity Apprentice vs. SNL: Just Shorts (NBC, Sunday 9-11pm) +127%
3. Lost: The Final Journey vs. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC, Sunday 7-9pm) +64%
4. Transformers vs. Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest (ABC, Wednesday 8-11pm) +50%
5. Chuck vs. Deal or No Deal (NBC, Monday 8-10pm) +33%

The problem with doing these timeslot comparisons for the last week of May sweeps is that a lot of networks "give up" toward the very end of the season in order to get their good stuff out of the way of big finales. So almost all these comparisons are instances of networks not giving up this year but giving up last year, and vice versa for the timeslot losers list. Perhaps the only truly interesting comparison out of these ten is just how well the Lost clip show did compared to the finale of Sunday tentpole EM:HE. Maybe next year I'll eliminate repeat-based comparisons for contention for these top 5 lists, but for now I decided to keep it consistent.

Top 5 timeslot losers
1. One Tree Hill (R) vs. One Tree Hill (CW, Monday 9pm) -85%
2. 90210 (R) vs. 90210 (CW, Tuesday 9pm) -82%
3. Gossip Girl (R) vs. Gossip Girl (CW, Monday 9pm) -73%
4. CSI (R) vs. Survivor reunion (CBS, Sunday 10pm) -68%
5. The Mentalist (R) vs. Survivor (CBS, Thursday 8pm) -63%

Top 5 show gainers
1. Glee +23%
2. Parks and Recreation +10%
3. Bones +8%
4. NCIS +3%
5. Dateline (Su7-8pm vs. Su7-9pm) even

Glee finally gets a chance to flex some year-to-year muscle against itself as it gets compared with the pilot preview from last year, which at the time was considered a pretty mediocre start, and deservedly so. Parks and Rec heads for midseason with its best comparison yet, while Bones and NCIS have been mainstays on this list.

Top 5 show losers
1. America's Next Top Model (R) -33%
t-2. Rules of Engagement (M8:30pm vs. M9:30pm) -27%
t-2. 60 Minutes -27%
4. DWTS finale -25%
5. Ghost Whisperer -24%

Rules has a worse timeslot (but is only just now making the list because usual suspects like Fringe and Smallville weren't here this week), 60 Minutes is one of the fluctuation-heavy newsmagazines, and Ghost Whisperer has been a mainstay here, probably figuring importantly in its cancellation. The only real surprise was how badly Dancing with the Stars fared. American Idol just barely missed the list, with Tuesday down 22% and the Wednesday finale down 18%.