Schedules Plus, NBC Monday

Schedules Plus is another innovative application of the historical ratings statistic A18-49+. I hope this will be the ultimate resource for comparing the evolution of shows, networks and timeslots over time, complete with ratings numbers that make a fair adjustment for the collective decline. Right now this only includes programs aired in the fall. Much more about the process that went into this at the bottom.

In 2003-04, NBC's last truly dominant season, the network had a strong Monday lineup with some unscripted properties and new drama Las Vegas. Then, after a couple years of erosion, it was one of the few nights that NBC was really able to rejuvenate during the network's declining years, riding strong new drama Heroes. As Heroes got softer and then went away, things got very lean on the night for a few years. But Monday became better than ever starting in 2012 when it became the permanent home of very strong reality series The Voice.

NBC Monday

	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30	Avg
2001-02	The Weakest Link		Third Watch		Crossing Jordan		103
	90		101		119
2002-03	Fear Factor		Third Watch		Crossing Jordan		111
	133		105		95
2003-04	Fear Factor		Las Vegas		Average Joe		143
	148		124		158
2004-05	Fear Factor		Las Vegas		LAX		101
	109		113		81
2005-06	Surface		Las Vegas		Medium		91
	72		99		104
2006-07	Deal or No Deal		Heroes		Studio 60		122
	116		163		87
2007-08	Chuck		Heroes		Journeyman		109
	94		158		74
2008-09	Chuck		Heroes		My Own Worst Enemy		89
	80		121		66
2009-10	Heroes		Trauma		The Jay Leno Show		65
	82		58		56
2010-11	Chuck		The Event		Chase		66
	68		67		62
2011-12	The Sing-Off				The Playboy Club		63
	66		66		58
2012-13	The Voice Fall				Revolution		179
	208		208		122
2013-14	The Voice Fall				The Blacklist		193
	213		213		153
2014-15	The Voice Fall				The Blacklist		186
	199		199		160
Avg	120		128		100		116

2014-15 Update: The Voice was down both in fall and spring, but the rate of decline isn't alarming and certainly nothing like what Fox has experienced with American Idol. The real Monday issue for NBC was what happened at 10/9c after The Blacklist headed to Thursday; November newbie State of Affairs (74) and the summer import The Night Shift (77) both struggled. They're certainly hoping their latest thriller Blindspot will be closer to Blacklist territory.

Notable midseason replacements:

• Season one of Medium filled in for the second half of the 2004-05 season, averaging a 135. The show then returned to its old Monday 10/9c slot for midseason duty in 2007-08 (95) and 2008-09 (80).
• During the 2007-08 writers' strike, NBC had a particularly respectable unscripted lineup with Deal or No Deal (108) and American Gladiators (128).
• The Voice's first Monday run came in 2011-12 (204), when it paired with newbie Smash (96) starting in February.

See here for more explanations/disclaimers about Schedules Plus.