By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --After the coronavirus pandemic sidelined creators and led to a delayed start of the traditional fall television season, scripted shows are beginning to return to network schedules.
Not all of them, not yet. But the return was most apparent the week after the election, and already there are winners and losers.
Dick Wolf's Chicago-based trilogy of dramas is back, and all three shows finished among the Nielsen company's 20 most-watched programs last week.
CBS' "Young Sheldon" led the path for comedies. ABC's "Station 19" and "Grey's Anatomy" were strong performers, along with CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles."
But there are signs that viewers aren't immediately returning to old habits. A CBS double-header of "S.W.A.T." episodes on Wednesday fell flat, with neither episode reaching 3 million viewers.
Similarly, NBC's long-playing "Law & Order: SVU" reached only 3 million people for its season debut.
Former President Barack Obama had drawing power. "60 Minutes" landed as the week's most-watched non-football program as it featured an Obama interview hawking his new book.
NBC was the most popular network, averaging 5.9 million viewers in primetime. ABC had 4.94 million viewers and Fox had 4.89 million. CBS averaged 4.1 million, Univision had 1.2 million and both Ion Television and Telemundo averaged just under 1 million viewers.
Fox News Channel was the most-watched cable channel, averaging 3.36 million viewers for the week. CNN had 2.36 million, MSNBC had 2.15 million, ESPN had 2.04 million and Hallmark had 1.67 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" led the evening newscasts, averaging 9.9 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 8.3 million and "CBS Evening News" had 5.9 million.
For the week of Nov. 9-15, the 20 most popular programs, their networks and viewership:
1. NFL Football: Baltimore at New England, NBC, 15.79 million.
2. NFL Football: Indianapolis at Tennessee, Fox, 12.51 million.
3. "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.38 million.
4. "NFL Pregame," NBC, 11.82 million.
5. NFL Football: New England at N.Y. Jets, ESPN, 10.22 million.
6. "Football Night in America," NBC, 9.03 million.
7. "Chicago Med," NBC, 7.84 million.
8. "The OT," Fox, 7.73 million.
9. "The Voice" (Tuesday), NBC, 7.64 million.
10. "NFL Pregame," Fox, 7.55 million.
11. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 7.41 million.
12. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 7.27 million.
13. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 7.24 million.
14. Country Music Association Awards, ABC, 7.09 million.
15. "This is Us," NBC, 6.86 million.
16. "Station 19," ABC, 6.61 million.
17. "Chicago PD," NBC, 6.43 million.
18. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 6.11 million.
19. "The Masked Singer," Fox, 6.07 million.
20. "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 5.97 million.
Canada orders TikTok’s Canadian business to be dissolved but won’t block app
Canada announced Wednesday it won't block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind it.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
"The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," Champagne said.
Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information.
He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada's national security. He said the decision was based on information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada's security and intelligence community and other government partners.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of local jobs.
"We will challenge this order in court," the spokesperson said. "The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive."
TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to collect data on Western users or push pro-China narratives and misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny... Read More