May Sweeps 2010 Week One Recap

Different day comparisons

Lost (T vs. W) -2%

The Mentalist (Th vs. T) -14%

Law & Order (M vs. W) -23%
Law & Order: SVU (W vs. T) -33%

Fringe (Th vs. T) -50%

Smallville (F vs. Th) -38%

Top 5 timeslot gainers
1. Dancing with the Stars vs. According to Jim (ABC, Tuesday 8pm) +140%
2. The Mentalist vs. Harper's Island (CBS, Thursday 10pm) +68%
3. 60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7pm) +47%
4. The Cleveland Show vs. Sit Down, Shut Up (Fox, Sunday 8:30pm) +37%
5. Who Do You Think You Are? vs. Howie Do It (NBC, Friday 8pm) +33%

Expect these numbers to be generally smaller than they were in the November comparisons since there are usually fewer flops airing in the spring than in the fall and because Jay Leno is out of primetime. Still, four of these comparisons are to shows that didn't make it into 2009-10. Even if Dancing results' 2.4 demo is a disappointment, it still easily takes the top spot by building on an According to Jim duo that managed only a 1.0. 60 Minutes, which had an interview with Conan O'Brien this year, is the only same-show comparison in the top 5.

Top 5 timeslot losers
1. Law & Order (R) vs. Heroes (NBC, Monday 9pm) -57%
2. Life Unexpected (R) vs. 90210 (CW, Tuesday 9pm) -56%
3. Lie to Me (R) vs. Lie to Me (Fox, Wednesday 8pm) -43%
4. Cougar Town vs. Lost (ABC, Wednesday 9:30pm) -41%
5-t. 20/20 (ABC, Friday 10pm) -36%
5-t. Parenthood vs. Law & Order: SVU (NBC, Tuesday 10pm) -36%

Well, I resolved to start doing the weekly recaps again because there'd be fewer repeats, but... here we are with three repeats on top of the list! NBC has to run some repeats because the loss of Leno freed up so much space. The CW is running LUX repeats because it's more cost-effective than making more Melrose originals, which frankly wouldn't do much better. I guess Fox is saving up the original Lie to Me episodes for a summer run, so they're giving us some awkward May sweeps repeats. As with the timeslot gainers, a single same-show comparison makes the list, and it's a newsmagazine. These shows are so story-dependent that the potential for big-time fluctuations is always there.

Top 5 show gainers
1. 60 Minutes +47%
2. The Big Bang Theory (M9pm vs. M8pm) +35%
3. Castle +25%
4. Dateline (Fri.) +23%
5. Dateline (Sun.) +20%

The trend remains positive for The Big Bang Theory, which was usually on this list in November and is back despite a below-average result this week due to airing out of timeslot. Its number could get even higher - likely chart-topping - starting next week. Castle remains a pretty modest performer in the raw numbers, but its ability to build out of the weak 9:30 sitcoms is a step in the right direction compared to last season, when it actually dropped a couple ticks out of the last Monday airing of Surviving Suburbia. And then there are the newsmagazines. Since nobody really wants to talk about those, Dateline has been a bit of an unsung hero this season. It's now highly competitive with the scripted material on CBS Friday.

Top 5 show losers
1. Fringe (Th9pm vs. T9pm) -50%
2. Smallville (F8pm vs. Th8pm) -38%
3. 20/20 -36%
4. Law & Order: SVU (W10pm vs. T10pm) -33%
5. Ghost Whisperer -32%

Fringe and Smallville were regulars on this list in November, and expect that to still be the case, as they continue to suffer from moves into much tougher situations. Other regulars on the November lists like Ugly Betty, Heroes, and Cold Case won't be on the list this sweeps, so some new blood! Law & Order: SVU has been moved a couple times now, and its lead-in is considerably weaker than The Biggest Loser was last season, and it's felt the effects. And Ghost Whisperer, which popped up on one of these lists in November, remains one of the bigger deterioration stories of the season and has gone from the dominant Friday show to having a pretty doubtful future.