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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Once Upon A Time’ Still Strong, ‘Desperate Housewives’ Rises

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 14, 2011 @ 9:24am PSTTags: Allen Gregory, America's Funniest Home Videos, American Dad!, CSI: Miami, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, Once Upon a Time, Pan Am, Ratings Rat Race, Sunday Night Football, The Amazing Race, The Good Wife, The Simpsons, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

ABC’s Once Upon A Time continued its impressive freshman run last night, posting a 3.8/9 in adults 18-49. That was up a tenth from the fairytale drama’s fast national the previous week (flat with the national) and the highest demo mark for any non-sports program last night. Even more impressive, Once Upon A Time accomplished that with the lowest-rated Sunday broadcast program as its lead-in, America’s Funniest Home Videos (1.7/4, up 13% from its most recent episode three weeks ago). Desperate Housewives (3.0/7) ended a run of originals on a high note, up 7% from last week, as the dramedy heads into a three-week hiatus. Rookie Pan Am (1.8/4), which is expected to find out its fate this week, posted yet another 1.8 fast national demo rating (it was adjusted down a tenth last Sunday).

NBC once again dominated Sunday’s primetime with Sunday Night Football‘s Patriots-Jets came, which drew a 14.5 overnight rating/23 share, up 2% from last week and from last year’s Week 10 game between the Patriots and Steelers. In another repeat from last Sunday, Fox’s comedies had an NFL overrun as a lead-in, making week-to-week comparisons fair: The Simpsons (3.5/8) was down 5%. Allen Gregory (2.0/5) shed another tenth as the newbie is yet to bottom out. Family Guy, which featured a controversial 9/11 storyline, was up a tenth from the show’s fast national last Sunday (flat with the national). American Dad was down a tenth. READ MORE »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: NFL Football Tops The Night, ‘Once Upon A Time’ & ‘Simpsons’ Tied

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 7, 2011 @ 9:52am PSTTags: 60 Minutes, Allen Gregory, American Dad!, CSI: Miami, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, Once Upon a Time, Pan Am, Ratings Rat Race, Sunday Night Football, The Amazing Race, The Good Wife, The Simpsons, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

The veteran and the rookie led the entertainment pack last night as Fox’s The Simpsons, the longest-running primetime scripted series on air, tied newcomer Once Upon A Time as the highest-rated non-sports program with a 3.7/9 in adults 18-49. For ABC’s Once Upon A Time, this is a modest 5% dip from last week; The Simpsons too was down slightly from last week’s Treehouse of Horror (8%). But The Simpsons had a 10 times bigger lead-in from the NFL game overrun vs. a Once Upon A Time repeat (1.1/3) for the ABC fairytale series, which also hit a series high in adults 18-34. Once Upon A Time‘s lead-out, veteran dramedy Desperate Housewives (2.8/6), was down 10% from last week, while freshman drama Pan Am continues to be stuck at a 1.8/4. The order was reversed at Fox, where the rookie was following the veteran. In its second week behind The Simpsons, new animated comedy Allen Gregory (2.1/5) was down 13% from its soft premiere to rank as the lowest-rated Fox series last night. Family Guy (3.0/7) was down 6%, followed by American Dad (2.5/6), down 7% from its last original seven weeks ago. Read More »

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Fox Renews ‘The Simpsons’ For Two More Seasons After Actors Sign New Deals

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday October 7, 2011 @ 5:23pm PDTTags: 20th Century Fox TV, Fox, The Simpsons
Nellie Andreeva

Prospects For New Deal With ‘Simpsons’ Actors Looking Good
Would ‘The Simpsons’ Be Worth More Dead Or Alive?

It’s over: the cast members of The Simpsons have agreed to new two-year deals with series producer 20th Century Fox TV and, with them locked in, Fox has renewed the veteran series for two more seasons. Both sides reportedly made concessions from their original demands, with the cast abandoning their quest for a piece of the series’ lucrative back-end and the studio upping their previous final offer for a 45% salary reduction. As we reported earlier in the day, the salary cut is in the range of 30% from the actors’ current paychecks of $440,000 per episode). The license fee for the show paid by Fox was also trimmed as The Simpsons has been sliding in the ratings. Here is Fox’s release announcing the renewal:

FOX has renewed THE SIMPSONS, the longest-running comedy in television history, for an incredible 24th and 25th season, bringing the series total to an astonishing 559 episodes. THE SIMPSONS airs Sundays (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

In the words of Homer Simpson, “Woo Hoo! I outlasted Andy Rooney!”

The longest-running scripted show in television history, THE SIMPSONS exploded into a cultural phenomenon in 1990 and has remained one of the most groundbreaking and innovative entertainment franchises, recognizable throughout the world. Matt Groening created the iconic family: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. In February 2012, THE SIMPSONS will celebrate its historic 500th episode.

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Prospects For New Deal With ‘Simpsons’ Actors Looking Good

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday October 7, 2011 @ 2:47pm PDTTags: 20th Century Fox TV, Harry Shearer, The Simpsons, TV syndication
Nellie Andreeva

The reports of The Simpsons‘ imminent death were once again greatly exaggerated. It happens during every cast renegotiation — the voice actors and the producing studio 20th Century Fox TV go through a very public standoff, triggering a slew of headlines about the certain end of the beloved animated series, before the two sides ultimately reach an agreement. This seems to be the case again this time as people close to the negotiations are optimistic that there would be new contacts with the the cast that will seal The Simpsons’ renewal by Fox for a 24th and possibly 25th season. The deals are not done and may or may not close today as talks continue, but it looks like the actors would return with a pay cut in the 30% range they offered the studio but sans the lucrative back-end participation they were seeking. One of the cast members, Harry Shearer, even proposed to take a pay cut of more than 70% in exchange for points on the show, but I hear that the option of giving the actors any profit participation was a non-starter for the studio. Read More »

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Magic Bullet? Report On Windfall From ‘Simpsons’ Cancellation May Help Sign Cast

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday October 4, 2011 @ 8:08pm PDTTags: Fox, The Simpsons
Nellie Andreeva

Fox should send RBC Capital Markets analyst David Banks a gift basket. His report today that News Corp is sitting on a pot of $750 million that can only … Read More »

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Would ‘The Simpsons’ Be Worth More Dead Or Alive?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday October 4, 2011 @ 7:19pm PDTTags: Chase Carey, Fox, News Corp, The Simpsons

RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank raises that intriguing question in a report today based on some back-of-the-envelope calculations. He says Fox has been hamstrung by a 17-year-old deal that limits syndication to local TV stations. “At the time, cable was a relatively … Read More »

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‘The Simpsons’ 20th TV Hardline On Cast Salary Dispute: “We Cannot Produce Future Seasons Under Current Financial Model”

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday October 4, 2011 @ 11:08am PDTTags: 20th Century Fox TV, The Simpsons
Nellie Andreeva

The future of the longest-running scripted series on television, Fox’s The Simpsons, is once again in doubt over voice cast renegotiations with 20th Century Fox TV, a torturous cycle they go through every couple of years. Like last time around, there’s an … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Pan Am’, Everything Else Down On Sunday

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 3, 2011 @ 9:07am PDTTags: 60 Minutes, America's Funniest Home Video, American Dad!, CSI: Miami, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Family Guy, Pan Am, Ratings Rat Race, Sunday Night Football, The Amazing Race, The Cleveland Show, The Good Wife, The Simpsons, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: After a promising start, ABC’s 1960s drama Pan Am (2.5/8 in adults 18-49) fell 19% in Week 2. It closed a night of across-the-board declines for ABC. America’s Funniest Home Videos (1.5/4) set the tone with its season premiere … Read More »

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News Corp COO Chase Carey: “Nothing We’ve Seen” To Support Allegations That 9/11 Family Phones Were Hacked

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday September 21, 2011 @ 9:46am PDTTags: Amazon, Apple, Chase Carey, Chase Carey News Corp, Fox Broadcasting, Fox News, Google, Netflix, News Corp, News of the World, News of the World Hacking, News of the World Phone-Hacking Scandal, The Simpsons

News Corp COO Chase Carey bobbed and weaved today when audience members at the Goldman Sachs Commmunicopia Conference asked questions that touched on the company’s hacking and police bribery scandals. “The media noise has been surreal around it,” he says. “The truth will come out. The issues will work their way out.” He did note that there’s “nothing we’ve seen” to support the allegation — which the Justice Department is investigating — that News of the World may have hacked phones of families of 9/11 victims. Carey wouldn’t rule out the possibility that News Corp might renew its effort to buy the 61% of BSkyB that it doesn’t already own. “We’ll continue to be a shareholder. … We have a lot of flexibility if and when something arises.” He added that he’s “not going to get into speculating” about whether UK officials might force News Corp to give up its current shares in the satellite power. As for the newspaper publishing business — which a lot of investors would like to see News Corp dump – Carey says the company should “take a fresh look at it.” But that could involve expanding operations such as Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. “There are things beyond (putting them on iPads) that we can do.” Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ Season Finale Down From Last Year

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday May 23, 2011 @ 12:16pm PDTTags: American Dad!, Bob's Burgers, Celebrity Apprentice, Family Guy, Ratings Rat Race, The Simpsons, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

After announcing on Monday that he won’t run for U.S. president, Donald Trump returned to NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice for the season finale last night. It drew a 2.9 rating in 18-49, up 16% from last week but down 15% … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Brothers & Sisters’ Up In Finale, ‘Amazing Race’ Down

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday May 9, 2011 @ 9:44am PDTTags: 60 Minutes, America's Funniest Home Videos, American Dad!, Bob's Burgers, Brothers and Sisters, Celebrity Apprentice, CSI: Miami, Dateline, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Family Guy, Ratings Rat Race, The Amazing Race, The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

Last week, the penultimate episodes of both ABC’s Brothers and Sisters and CBS’ The Amazing Race were impacted by the news of Osama bin Laden’s death. This week, one of them, Brothers and Sisters, was up in its season finale, … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: Most Series Fall

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday April 11, 2011 @ 9:34am PDTTags: 60 Minutes, ABC Ratings, America's Next Great Restaurant, American Dad!, Bob's Burgers, Brothers and Sisters, CBS Ratings, Celebrity Apprentice, CSI:Miami, Dateline, Family Guy, Fox Ratings, Ratings Rat Race, Secret Millionaire, The Amazing Race, The Cleveland Show, The Masters, The Simpsons, TV, TV Ratings, Undercover Boss
Nellie Andreeva

With sports offering plenty of drama yesterday between the final round of The Masters and the Yankees-Red Sox face-off on cable, entertainment programs largely took a hit. Fox’s hit comedy Family Guy (3.3/9) was the one show that held its … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ Hits Season High

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday March 28, 2011 @ 9:41am PDTTags: 60 Minutes, America's Funniest Home Videos, America's Next Great Restaurant, American Dad!, Bob's Burgers, Celebrity Apprentice, CSI:Miami, Ratings Rat Race, The Amazing Race, The Simpsons, Undercover Boss
Nellie Andreeva

A 17-minute NCAA overrun pushed the start of CBS’ primetime lineup, so the network’s ratings are approximate. From 7-8 PM, basketball and 60 Minutes averaged a 3.7/12 in adults 18-49. At 8 PM, 60 Minutes/The Amazing Race drew a 3.1/9. … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: Golden Globes On Par With Last Year, ‘Housewives’ Hits Low

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday January 17, 2011 @ 8:32am PSTTags: 60 Minutes, 68th Golden Globe Awards Broadcast, ABC Ratings, Bob's Burgers, CBS Ratings, Fox Ratings, NBC Ratings, NFL Playoffs Ratings, Ratings Rat Race, The Simpsons, TV, TV Ratings, Undercover Boss
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: The Golden Globes last night were an award show producers’ dream, with a hugely popular movie (The Social Network) and series (Glee) dominating the awards. Did that translate into ratings? According to NBC’s time zone-adjusted fast nationals, last night’s … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Undercover Boss’ And ‘Brothers & Sisters’ Tie Series Lows

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday December 6, 2010 @ 9:35am PSTTags: ABC Ratings, American Dad!, Brothers & Sisters, CBS Ratings, CSI: Miami, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Fox Ratings, NBC Ratings, NBC Sunday Night Football, Ratings Rat Race, Sunday Night Football Ratings, The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, TV, TV Ratings, Undercover Boss
Nellie Andreeva

I’m thinking of dropping “race” from the headline of the Sunday ratings story until the end of the NFL season because there is not much of a race on the night that is dominated by football. NBC’s Sunday Night Football … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: Football Gives NBC Nightly Win, Spurs Gains For Fox Comedies

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 29, 2010 @ 9:29am PSTTags: ABC Ratings, American Dad!, CBS Ratings, Family Guy, Fox Ratings, Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC Ratings, NBC Sunday Night Football, Sunday Night Football Ratings, The Amazing Race, The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, TV, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

Sunday Night Football sealed NBC’s 12th consecutive ratings victory on the night. The San Diego Chargers 36-14 blowout of the Indianapolis Colts drew a 13.0 overnight rating/19 … Read More »

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‘The Simpsons’ Takes on ‘Avatar,’ Fox News And Jeff Zucker

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 22, 2010 @ 10:02am PSTTags: Fox Animated Series, The Simpsons, TV, Video
Nellie Andreeva

The Simpsons started off fast and furious last night, lampooning Avatar, Fox News and Jeff Zucker – all in the first 2 minutes. From the opening sequence that sent a blue Simpsons clan to Pandora, to a Fox News chopper carrying with the logo: “Not Racist But #1 with Racists” … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: Football Rules On NBC While AMAs Hit Low On ABC

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 22, 2010 @ 9:24am PSTTags: 60 Minutes, ABC Ratings, American Dad!, CBS Ratings, CSI: Miami, Family Guy, Fox Ratings, NBC Ratings, Ratings Rat Race, Sunday Night Football, Sunday Night Football Ratings, The Amazing Race, The Simpsons, TV, TV Ratings, Undercover Boss
Nellie Andreeva

Sunday Night Football‘s sizzling season continued with another highly-rated game last night. The Giants-Eagles face-off drew a 15.9 overnight rating/24 share, easily winning the night for NBC. That was up 31% from last year’s Week 11 game and the best … Read More »

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Mike Scully To Receive WGAW Honor

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday November 17, 2010 @ 9:58am PSTTags: Mike Scully, The Simpsons, TV, WGA, WGAW
Nellie Andreeva

Veteran Simpsons writer Mike Scully will receive the Writers Guild of America, West Animation Writers Caucus’ 13th annual Animation Writing Award, a lifetime achievement honor, which will be presented to him tonight at the AWC’s annual … Read More »

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