The new CW network got off to a slow start, with many viewers still confused over where their favorite UPN and WB shows had gone, some veteran shows sagging, and the general adjustments you’d expect when two networks merge into one.
But it pulled together a strong finish for sweeps that will boost it above the WB’s November sweeps performance last year thanks in part to another big night from “America’s Next Top Model.”
“Model” and lead-out “One Tree Hill” combined for a first-place finish among adults 18-34 last night from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights. They were 0.1 ahead of CBS with a 3.0 rating and 9 share.
“Model” won its timeslot handily at 8 p.m., averaging a 3.5 to No. 2 Fox’s 2.9 for “Bones.” “Hill” dipped to third with a 2.6 rating but was well ahead of Fox’s “Bones” repeat and ABC’s “Day Break.”
Through Sunday night, the CW had averaged a 1.5 in the demo for sweeps, which ended last night.
It was the third strong night in a row for the CW in the demographic. Monday’s sitcoms, while still down from last year, had their best night of the season with a 1.6 average, and on Tuesday “Veronica Mars” had its best-ever rating among 18-34s, a 2.0, as the show’s rape mystery wrapped up. That boosted the CW to its best Tuesday of the season in the demo, at a 2.3.
The network has projected that it will finish ahead of last season’s November sweeps average for the WB. As of Tuesday night, the network was 7 percent ahead of the WB's performance through the same night last year. That could rise with last night's strong numbers.
It could well be that more people are discovering their local CW, two months after UPN and the WB left the air. The network has estimated that in more than 70 percent of markets, UPN viewers had to switch channels to find the CW, including big ones like Los Angeles and New York.
CBS took the relatively slow final night of sweeps among 18-49s with a 4.4 average rating and a 12 share. NBC was second at 3.1/8, Fox third at 2.7/7, ABC and CW tied for fourth at 2.3/6, and Univision sixth at 1.6/4.
Fox started the night in the lead with a 3.2 at 8 p.m. for “Bones,” followed closely by a 3.1 for CBS for the first-half finale of “Jericho.” CW was third with a 2.8 for “America’s Next Top Model,” NBC fourth with a 2.6 for “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” ABC fifth with a 2.2 for “Show Me the Money” and Univision sixth with a 2.0 for “La Fea Mas Bella.”
CBS took over for good during the 9 p.m. hour with a 5.0 for “Criminal Minds.” NBC finished second that hour with a 3.6 for “The Biggest Loser,” with Fox third with a 2.3 for a “Bones” repeat, and ABC and CW tied for fourth at 1.8, ABC for the disappointing “Day Break” and CW for “One Tree Hill.” Univision was sixth with a 1.4 for “Mundo de Fieras.”
At 9 p.m. CBS led again, this time with a 5.1 for “CSI: NY,” the night’s highest-rated show in the demo. NBC was second with a 3.0 for “Medium,” ABC third with a 2.8 for “20/20” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
Among households, CBS finished first comfortably for the night, averaging a 9.5 rating and a 15 share. NBC was second at 5.9/9, Fox third at 4.8/7, ABC fourth at 4.6/7, CW fifth at 3.3/5 and Univision sixth at 2.1/3.
