Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera
The New York Yankees' World Series clincher against the Philadelphia Phillies led Fox to a Wednesday night prime-time ratings win, according to early Nielsen estimates.
Game 6 coverage averaged 22.3 million viewers and pulled a 7.4 rating among 18-to-49-year-olds, the best numbers for any World Series game since 2004 when the Boston Red Sox ended their 86-year Series drought.
Among the non-sports offerings, CBS cleaned up, but all the network's shows were off their usual marks. Criminal Minds had the most viewers on the night (12 million), followed by CSI: NY (11. 6 million). The New Adventures of Old Christine (7 million viewers) and Gary Unmarried (6.7 million) both outperformed ABC's comedy counterparts ...
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V
ABC's remake of the 1980s sci-fi miniseries V drew big numbers, the best rating for any new series premiere this season.
V attracted 13.9 million viewers, easily outperforming NCIS (Tuesday's most-watched show with 19.4 million viewers) among adults 18 to 49. It was also the best 8 o'clock debut by a new series since ABC's Lost.
The big boost from V gave ABC — which also aired a Dancing with the Stars results show (14.5 million viewers) and The Forgotten (7.6 million viewers) — a fighting chance against CBS' powerhouse Tuesday lineup. Ultimately, the Eye 's combo of NCIS: Los Angeles (15 million viewers) and The Good Wife (12 million) led the network ...
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Fringe, Eastwick
It's that time of year: The networks are looking ahead to January and their midseason schedules, but some fall shows will have to be canceled to make room for the new stuff. Here's our list of 15 at-risk shows, many of which have posted significant ratings declines. Others are expensive to produce, a little long in the tooth, or just aren't performing as well as their timeslot competition — or even other shows on their own networks. Read about the issues each faces and then weigh in on which deserve to stay — or go.
(We'll keep updating the list of renewals and cancellations at the bottom of the page, so check back for the latest scheduling news.)
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The New York Yankees, Desperate Housewives
Fox's coverage of the American League Championship series Sunday night was the big winner, according to Nielsen's estimates.
The New York Yankees pennant-clinching win over the Los Angeles Angels averaged 15.5 million viewers, making it the night's most-watched show.
Baseball also loosened NBC's stronghold on Sunday nights, as the network's football coverage fell to 12.8 million viewers and second place among adults 18 to 49.
ABC fared best against the sports coverage, as Desperate Housewives (13.8 million viewers) and Brothers & Sisters (10 million) both hit their averages. For CBS...
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Jeff Dunham
The Jeff Dunham Show debut drew 5.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched series premiere in Comedy Central's history.
Even though critics said it was a laugh-free comedy for dummies, the show on Thursday also posted records for a Comedy Central series premiere in the adults 18-to-49 demographic with a 2.6 rating.
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter noted that Dunham has done well in the past with specials. He set a ratings record with a special...
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Sons of Anarchy, The Jay Leno Show
Sons of Anarchy isn't taking its hand off the throttle.
The FX biker drama has been averaging around 4 million viewers all season, but Tuesday's episode — which pulled in 3.7 million viewers to handily win the night among cable channels — was competitive with the major networks in the adults 18-49 demographic. More significantly, Sons' 2.2 rating outperformed both The Jay Leno Show (1.8) and ABC's The Forgotten (2.0) in the demo.
NBC stands behind Leno's numbers. "The Jay Leno Show continues to top our expectations," a network spokesman told TVGuide.com. "And, as always, we are looking at this on a 52-week basis."
Calls to ABC for comment were not immediately returned.
Sons creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter wrote in his blog that networks have opened themselves up to being beaten by cable by producing the same shows over and over...
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Vampire Diaries
The CW has picked up nine more episodes of The Vampire Diaries, for a total of 22.
The show, executive-produced by Dawson's Creek's Kevin Williamson, has been...
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Gordon Ramsay
The two-hour finale of Hell's Kitchen led Fox to its first Tuesday-night win of the new season.
Kitchen cooked up an average of 8 million viewers, but was strong enough to eke out a victory for Fox in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic. CBS, meanwhile, pulled in the most viewers overall, with its continually powerful lineup of NCIS (20.4 million viewers), NCIS: Los Angeles (15.3 million viewers) and The Good Wife (12.8 million viewers).
Biggest Loser averaged 8.9 million viewers over its two hours, but performed better in the demo than ABC's Shark Tank (5.4 million viewers), Dancing with the Stars (13.4 million viewers) and The Forgotten (7.5 million viewers). The Jay Leno Show improved a little to 5.8 million viewers.
On the CW, 90210 and Melrose Place were about average with 2.4 million viewers and 1.4 million viewers, respectively.
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Hayden Panettiere and Madeline Zima
Hayden Panettiere and Madeline Zima's same-sex lip-lock might have titillated fanboys, but the buzzed-about kiss did not draw in many new Heroes viewers.
Read our recap of the Heroes kiss
The NBC superhero drama pulled in...
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Dollhouse
It's not all bad news for Dollhouse: The Joss Whedon sci-fi drama is among the shows that are most-watched on DVRs.
Dollhouse and Smallville tied for the largest gain in viewers, with each obtaining 50 percent more viewers in the seven days following their initial airings.
Watch full episodes of Dollhouse
Both shows also saw a jump in their ratings this past Friday. Dollhouse pulled in...
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