Not a good night for newcomers. NBC:  Even though THE BIGGEST LOSER was steady from last week at 2.4, DECEPTION fell a heavy 0.4 to a third-place 1.6 in its hour.  Worse yet, it slid during the course of the broadcast, with a 1.5 at 10:30PM suggesting that it hasn’t yet found its level.  At […]

  Despite strong competition in every direction on Sunday night, Showtime had a very strong start for its winter line-up, setting new records for SHAMELESS, HOUSE OF LIES and CALIFORNICATION.  Demo numbers aren’t yet available, but in total viewers for its initial airing, Shameless reached the 2M mark, up 400,000 from last season’s premiere and […]

This past sports weekend was dominated by four Divisional playoff games.  The first game in the Saturday doubleheader, traditionally the weakest matchup, turned out to be one of the best games (an exciting contest finally settled in double overtime). The Ravens and Broncos game Saturday at 4:30 (21.6 HH rating in the 56 large markets with […]

Ricky who? NBC:  Separately, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are stars of ratings-challenged (although beloved by fans) sitcoms.  Together, though, they’re a powerhouse hosting duo, and between the two of them, some wild surprises (Argo for Best Drama) and some sheer wildness (Bill Clinton presenting a clip from Lincoln, and of course Jodie Foster’s Lifetime […]

THE WEEK.  For the recently completed week ending Sunday (January 7-13, 2013), CBS pulled into first place with a preliminary 3.18 adult 18-49 rating, doubling last week’s 1.58 rating.  Two hours this week were unusual, non-recurring events (NFL playoff overrun on Saturday from 8-9 pm and Sunday 7-8 pm, at an 11.6 and 12.4 adjusted fast national […]

  Verbal Kint once noted that that greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.  Just as impressively, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has accomplished the exact opposite:  against all evidence, its members have convinced a major television network, countless media outlets and millions of viewers that it does exist, […]

The Hobbit, like Breaking Dawn Part 2, is finally starting to peter out overseas (each around $550 million overseas and $800+ million worldwide).  Still growing briskly, Life of Pi has hauled in another $56 million overseas since last week’s report and is closing in on an impressive $500 million worldwide. Les Miserables was the second biggest American film overseas […]