Schedules Plus, NBC Wednesday

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.

For many years, the star of NBC Wednesday was the 20-year procedural Law and Order, which was still quite potent at the beginning of the A18-49+ era. But it really fell hard in NBC's first couple post-Friends years (perhaps owing largely to CBS' competing newbie CSI: NY). That's left a void on Wednesday that NBC's never really been able to fill, even a decade later.

NBC Wednesday

	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30	Avg
2001-02	Ed		The West Wing		Law and Order		139
	86		159		172
2002-03	Ed		The West Wing		Law and Order		113
	80		111		148
2003-04	Ed		The West Wing		Law and Order		105
	74		97		144
2004-05	Hawaii		The West Wing		Law and Order		86
	62		84		112
2005-06	E-Ring		The Apprentice: Martha Stewart		Law and Order		71
	60		61		94
2006-07	30 Rock	20 Good Years	The Biggest Loser Fall		Medium		74
	60	53	89		77
	57
2007-08	Deal or No Deal		Bionic Woman		Life		88
	77		105		81
2008-09	Knight Rider		Life		Law and Order		63
	59		56		75
2009-10	Mercy		Law and Order: SVU		The Jay Leno Show		70
	58		95		57
2010-11	Undercovers		Law and Order: SVU		Law and Order: Los Angeles		81
	55		101		87
2011-12	Up All Night	Free Agents	Harry's Law		Law and Order: SVU		69
	91	57	51		81
	74
2012-13	Animal Practice	Guys with Kids	Law and Order: SVU		Chicago Fire		77
	58	64	82		87
	61
2013-14	Revolution		Law and Order: SVU		Ironside		74
	73		95		56
2014-15	The Mysteries of Laura		Law and Order: SVU		Chicago PD		88
	72		97		94
Avg	68		92		97		86

2014-15 Update: Thanks to the Empire breakthrough on Fox, NBC stayed in the big four cellar on Wednesday yet again, where they've now been for more than a decade! However, this was actually one of NBC's better efforts on the night over that decade, largely thanks to Chicago PD patching up the 10:00 hour. The Mysteries of Laura was flailing late in the season, but its Plus for the full season nearly matched last year's Revolution, and SVU improbably inched up again. After a pity renewal for Laura, NBC is standing pat here, which means there's no real shot to crawl out of fourth.

Notable midseason replacements:

• After a year on Friday in 2006-07, Law and Order was held for midseason in 2007-08 and made a somewhat triumphant return to its old Wednesday home during the writers' strike, averaging a 96. (Airing against mostly CSI: NY repeats helped.)
• Chicago PD (88) debuted in January 2014.

NBC pulled Kidnapped (61) from its 2006-07 sked after three episodes, replacing it with Medium in November. The 8:00 hour that year actually aired just four weeks before 30 Rock was shipped off to Thursday, but there was not an original replacement for that hour until the winter when Friday Night Lights came over.

In 2008-09, the network originally had sophomore Lipstick Jungle on the night (it averaged a 66 in its Wednesday eps, most of which aired after America's Got Talent or Deal or No Deal), but it swapped over to Friday in favor of the above crime drama duo by November.

See here for more explanations/disclaimers about Schedules Plus.