Top Comedy No Longer 'Two And A Half Men'?
How is Ashton Kutcher doing for the CBS sitcom that has thrived so long?
For nearly a year, all we have seemingly heard when it comes to comedy is "Two and a Half Men," and maybe a sneak in of "Modern Family" (after it won its second comedy Emmy).
With all that talk, the sitcom -- which now stars Ashton Kutcher in the place of Charlie Sheen -- should be television's best-rated comedy, right?
If you count its over-hyped premiere, it is. But when you look at numbers over the past five weeks, where "Men" has settled a bit, you will find something that might surprise you. The most-watched comedy is not "Two and a Half Men." It's actually "Big Bang Theory."
Over its first nine episodes, "Men" has averaged a 10.2 rating/15 share, according to Fast National overnight ratings from The Nielsen Co. However, that's including a premiere that pulled in a 16.2/23, and a followup episode that garnered a 12.0/17.
In its first 10 episodes, "Big Bang Theory" has averaged an 8.7/14, far below "Men's" average. Yet, there were no big premieres, and "Big Bang" has an Audience Loyalty Index rating of 94.0, compared to the weak 63.2 of "Men." That means of all the people who have tuned in to at least one episode of "Big Bang," 94 percent of them come back each and every week, while "Men" can only say 63 percent come back every week.
Premieres are one thing. But how can a show sustain its audience? "Men" has averaged an 8.8/13 over that time. "Big Bang"? A 9.0/15. While ratings at the end of the year will show "Men" out on top, it can thank Charlie Sheen for all the attention, while "Big Bang Theory" has crept up and claimed the true title role.
So is "Men" slipping? Not really. The show, in its shortened season, averaged an 8.6/13 last season, a 5 percent audience decline over the year before. That was enough to be the network's No. 4 show, and was No. 6 overall. Even if you look at just the last five weeks, "Men" is still doing better, but it's pretty much on par for what it was like when Sheen was on board last year.
Speaking of CBS, the network has won its 10th week in a row, completing a clean sweep of the season so far. Its numbers inched up slightly to a 7.4/11, more than enough to top ABC, which managed a 6.2/10.
"Dancing With the Stars" claimed the top spot from "NCIS" this week with a 12.5/18. Among new shows, "Person of Interest" slipped past fellow CBS show "Unforgettable" for the top spot there. Other than that, the Top 5 is firmly in place with "2 Broke Girls" on CBS, "Once Upon a Time" on ABC, and the higher-rated "The X Factor" episode for Fox.
Top Networks, Week of Nov. 13 -- [Audience Loyalty Index rating]
| 1. (1) | CBS | 7.4/11 | [61.0] |
| 2. (2) | ABC | 6.2/10 | [49.3] |
| 3. (3) | Fox | 4.1/6 | [62.4] |
| 4. (4) | NBC | 3.3/5 | [64.3] |
| 5. (5) | The CW | 1.1/2 | [90.5] |
Top Network Shows, Week of Nov. 13 -- [ALI]
| 1. (2) | Dancing With the Stars (ABC) | 12.5/18 | [94.0] |
| 2. (1) | NCIS (CBS) | 12.2/18 | [94.8] |
| 3. (3) | Dancing With the Stars (ABC) | 11.6/17 | [92.1] |
| 4. (4) | Dancing With the Stars (ABC) | 9.9/15 | [87.7] |
| 5. (5) | NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) | 9.4/14 | [94.0] |
| 6. (6) | Big Bang Theory (CBS) | 8.9/14 | [94.0] |
| 7. (7) | Two and a Half Men (CBS) | 8.7/12 | [63.2] |
| 8. (12) | Criminal Minds (CBS) | 7.9/12 | [92.1] |
| 9. (-) | Modern Family (ABC) | 7.8/12 | [93.6] |
| 10. (-) | The Mentalist (CBS) | 7.7/12 | [93.6] |
Top New Shows, Week of Nov. 13 -- [ALI]
| 1. (-) | Person of Interest (CBS) | 7.3/11 | [90.5] |
| 2. (1) | Unforgettable (CBS) | 7.2/12 | [86.3] |
| 3. (2) | 2 Broke Girls (CBS) | 7.0/10 | [97.7] |
| 4. (3) | Once Upon a Time (ABC) | 6.8/10 | [93.2] |
| 5. (4) | The X Factor (Fox) | 6.6/10 | [93.4] |
| 6. (5) | The X Factor (Fox) | 6.5/10 | [91.3] |
| 7. (6) | Last Man Standing (ABC) | 5.8/9 | [81.3] |
| 7. (7) | The X Factor (Fox) | 5.8/9 | [91.6] |
| 9. (8) | A Gifted Man (CBS) | 5.4/6 | [87.9] |
| 10. (-) | Revenge (ABC) | 5.2/9 | [83.6] |
Bottom Big Four Network Shows, Week of Nov. 13 -- [ALI]
| 1. | Fringe (Fox) | 1.8/3 | [93.2] |
| 2. | Chuck (NBC) | 2.1/4 | [96.6] |
| 2. | Kitchen Nightmares (Fox) | 2.1/4 | [90.0] |
| 4. | Parks & Recreation (NBC) | 2.3/4 | [90.3] |
| 4. | Community (NBC) | 2.3/4 | [84.5] |
| 6. | Allen Gregory (Fox) | 2.6/4 | [97.5] |
| 6. | Whitney (NBC) | 2.6/4 | [74.4] |
| 8. | Sing-Off (NBC) | 2.8/4 | [90.5] |
| 9. | Raising Hope (Fox) | 2.9/4 | [84.2] |
| 9. | American Dad (Fox) | 2.9/4 | [84.2] |
Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that include both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.
Data collected from The Nielsen Co., as distributed by Zap2it. GenreNexus tracks non-news, non-event programming, and figures for this story reflect airing of new episodes only. For more information on the Audience Loyalty Index, click here.
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