Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 8/30/23

FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (0.6) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 8/29/23

FINALS UPDATE: Jeopardy! Masters (R) (0.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

The Breakdown: ABC Sunday in 2022-23 (America's Funniest Home Videos, American Idol, The Company You Keep and more!)

It's time for a journey through the ABC Sunday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Monday 8/28/23

FINALS UPDATE: Children Ruin Everything (0.0) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 8/27/23

FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (0.6) and NFL Preseason Football (0.9) adjusted up while The Challenge: USA (0.3) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

The Breakdown: CW Friday in 2022-23 (Penn and Teller: Fool Us, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Great American Joke Off and more!)

It's time for a journey through the CW Friday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Friday 8/25/23

FINALS UPDATE: WWE SmackDown! (0.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 8/24/23

FINALS UPDATE: Generation Gap (0.3), TMZ Investigates: Britney Spears: Divorce and Despair (0.2, -0.2) and Name That Tune (R) (0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 8/23/23

FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 8/22/23

FINALS UPDATE: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (R) (0.3) and Fight to Survive (R) (0.1) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Thoughts on the 2023-24 League Average (AKA The Breakdown: Fox Friday in 2022-23)

It's time for a journey through the Fox Friday schedule in 2022-23. I'm going to use this usually uneventful post as a jumping-off point to examine whether SmackDown! should be part of the league average, and some other general thoughts about this very weird upcoming season's league average.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 8/21/23

FINALS UPDATE: NCIS: Hawai'i (R) (0.2) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 8/20/23

FINALS UPDATE: The $100,000 Pyramid (R) (0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 8/18/23

FINALS UPDATE: Family Law (0.1) adjusted up while American Ninja Warrior (R) (0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

The Breakdown: NBC Friday in 2022-23 (Lopez Vs. Lopez, Young Rock, Dateline and more!)

It's time for a journey through the NBC Friday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 8/17/23

FINALS UPDATE: Password (R) (0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 8/16/23

FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 8/15/23

FINALS UPDATE: Don't Forget the Lyrics! (0.3) and Penn and Teller: Fool Us (R) (0.1) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

The Breakdown: CBS Friday in 2022-23 (S.W.A.T., Fire Country, Blue Bloods)

It's time for a journey through the CBS Friday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Monday 8/14/23

FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 8/13/23

FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (0.6, +0.2) adjusted up while Golf Overrun (0.4, -0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted. The Challenge: USA began a brief post-Big Brother Sunday run in addition to its usual Thursday episodes, but was pushed into the 10:00 hour on the East Coast by golf overrun.

The Breakdown: ABC Friday in 2022-23 (Shark Tank, 20/20)

It's time for a journey through the ABC Friday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Friday 8/11/23

FINALS UPDATE: 20/20 (R) (0.2), Secret Celebrity Renovation (0.2), Fire Country (R) (0.1, -0.2) and Dateline (R) (0.2, -0.4) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 8/10/23

FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (0.6) and Women's World Cup Soccer (0.5) adjusted up while Password (R) (0.3) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted. CBS had its second post-Big Brother premiere in as many nights with reality competition The Challenge: USA.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 8/9/23

FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted. CBS premiered music game show Superfan after Big Brother.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 8/8/23

FINALS UPDATE: FBI (R) (0.3) and America's Got Talent (0.6) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 8/7/23

FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelorette (0.6), American Ninja Warrior (0.4) and The Wall (R) (0.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

The Breakdown: CW Thursday in 2022-23 (Walker, Walker: Independence)

It's time for a journey through the CW Thursday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 8/6/23

FINALS UPDATE: Celebrity Family Feud (0.4), The $100,000 Pyramid (R) (0.3), American Ninja Warrior (R) (0.3) and America's Got Talent (R) (0.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

The Breakdown: Fox Thursday in 2022-23 (Hell's Kitchen, Next Level Chef, Call Me Kat and more!)

It's time for a journey through the Fox Thursday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Friday 8/4/23

FINALS UPDATE: Dateline (R) (0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 8/3/23

FINALS UPDATE: Ghosts (R) (0.2), So Help Me Todd (R) (0.2), NFL Preseason Football (1.5, +0.3) and MLB Baseball (0.4) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted. The NFL preseason kicked off on NBC.

The War of 18-49, FBI: Most Wanted

The First FBI Spin-Off

When Dick Wolf's Chicago Fire got a spin-off in the winter of its second season, it seemed kinda fast. But CBS followed suit with their own Dick Wolf franchise, FBI, giving FBI: Most Wanted a January 2020 premiere barely 15 months after the series premiere of the mothership. It was a solid fit on series premiere night with a 0.76 out of FBI's 0.88, an even better one in week two (0.76 out of an 0.82), and it then held onto mostly 0.7's until spiking during the COVID-19 lockdowns in the spring. While not a breakout, it was basically as strong as NCIS: New Orleans had been earlier in the season, and that was good enough for renewal. Season two was pretty much more of the same Plus-wise, albeit after a slightly stronger FBI.

An Hour Apart

CBS put season four of FBI at the start of an all-FBI Tuesday, but left Most Wanted season three at 10/9c so they could launch new spin-off FBI: International in the 9/8c hammock position. Though International was just OK at 9/8c for the most part, Most Wanted actually thrived in this situation, growing year-to-year for most of the season despite the International lead-in (and even growing from that lead-in on quite a few occasions). To date, season three remains easily the strongest season of Most Wanted.

In season four, after a solid fall, the whole lineup started showing signs of shakiness, and big declines in the spring meant Most Wanted reverted back to its 90ish Plus from seasons one and two. It actually only grew on International twice all season, but the two were still usually quite close ratings-wise, making Most Wanted almost certainly the stronger option since it occupies the lower-viewed 10/9c hour. While the FBI night as a whole faces some uncertainty going into 2023-24 after the late season struggles, Most Wanted can still point at International as the weak link in the lineup. Perhaps it, like NCIS: Los Angeles before it, will be able to outlive the second spin-off in its empire.

Adults 18-49 info by season:

Seas	Year	Slot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
1	2020	Tuesday 10:00	0.74		0.6	1.0	detail	B
2	2020-21		Tuesday 10:00	0.58	-23%	0.5	0.7	detail	B-
3	2021-22		Tuesday 10:00	0.52	-10%	0.4	0.7	detail	A-
4	2022-23		Tuesday 10:00	0.39	-25%	0.3	0.5	detail	C
5	Spring 2024		Tuesday 10:00	0.36	-9%	0.3	0.4	detail	B

Historical-adjusted ratings by season:

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now24	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
1	2020	91	marginal	0.34		73	118	93	76
2	2020-21	90	marginal	0.34	-1%	74	109	98	74
3	2021-22	102	solid	0.39	+14%	80	135	129	80
4	2022-23	91	marginal	0.35	-11%	73	120	120	77
5	Spring 2024	94	marginal	0.36	+3%	82	111	111	84
AVERAGE:		AVERAGE:	93	marginal
CAREER:		CAREER:	467	utility

The War of 18-49 chronicles the ratings history of veteran primetime series. For more, see the Index.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 8/2/23

FINALS UPDATE: Judge Steve Harvey (0.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted. Big Brother returned on CBS.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 8/1/23

FINALS UPDATE: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (R) (0.3) and America's Got Talent (0.6) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

The Breakdown: NBC Thursday in 2022-23 (Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order: Organized Crime)

It's time for a journey through the NBC Thursday schedule in 2022-23...

Spotted Ratings, Monday 7/31/23

FINALS UPDATE: The Neighborhood (R) (0.3), Bob Hearts Abishola (R) (0.3), American Ninja Warrior (0.4) and The Wall (R) (0.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.