Springtime slumber continues for TV networks
By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The springtime slumber is continuing for television networks.
Viewership is down across the broadcast networks, with the primary culprit most likely the different ways people are experiencing television. DVRs, video on demand, streaming of material on tablets or other computers are all options that viewers are turning to in bigger numbers, according to researchers.
“It’s not like people are leaving the living room,” said Brad Adgate, research analyst at Horizon Media. “It’s just that they are consuming content on different devices.”
Only one program, CBS’ “NCIS,” exceeded 17 million viewers last week as broadcasters count down the last month toward season finales, the Nielsen Co. said. During the past month, viewership at ABC is down 10 percent from last year, CBS is down 5 percent, Fox is down 16 percent and NBC is down 4 percent. PBS is down 46 percent and even Univision, the leader in the fast-growing Spanish-language marketplace, is down 6 percent.
During an average minute in prime time, an estimated 12 million people are watching something on their digital video recorder, Nielsen said. Only six individual programs had a bigger audience last week.
The difference is more pronounced among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, upon which many of the networks base their advertising sales. In that age group, only Wednesday’s edition of “American Idol” had a bigger audience than people watching shows on their DVRs, Nielsen said.
Illustrating another competitor for time, ComScore reported that an estimated 37 billion videos were watched online during March. The company said that 8.3 billion online ads were viewed, the first time the number of ads seen exceeded 8 billion for a month.
Traditional TV formats are hurting. After “NCIS,” Nielsen said that no comedy or drama on prime-time television last week reached as many as 12 million viewers.
For the week, CBS averaged 8.2 million viewers in prime time (5.2 rating, 9 share). ABC had 7.7 million (5.0, 8), Fox had 6.9 million (4.2, 7), NBC had 5.2 million (3.3, 6), the CW had 1.3 million (0.9, 1) and ION television had 960,000 (0.7, 1).
Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.7 million average (1.9, 3), Telemundo had 1 million (0.6, 1), TeleFutura had 610,000 (0.3, 1), Estrella had 240,000 and Azteca 140,000 (both 0.1, 0).
NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.4 million viewers (5.6, 12). ABC’s “World News” was second with 7.1 million (4.9, 10) and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.8 million viewers (4.0, 8).
A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.
For the week of April 16-22, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “NCIS,” CBS, 18.08 million; “American Idol” (Wednesday), Fox, 16.9 million; “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 16.65 million; “American Idol” (Thursday), Fox, 14.99 million; “Dancing With the Stars Results,” ABC, 14.17 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 12.96 million; “Castle,” ABC, 11.23 million; “Two and a Half Men,” CBS, 11.22 million; “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 11.17 million; “The Good Wife,” CBS, 10.42 million.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More