Image Credit: Mario Perez/ABCThe debut of Off the Map – ABC’s latest medical drama that is (or isn’t) Grey’s Anatomy in the jungle, depending on who you ask — had a lackluster start on Wednesday: It only came in second in its timeslot among adults 18-49 (a 2.2 rating/6 share) and attracted a mere 7.5 million, according to preliminary ratings. That’s not exactly riveting news for ABC’s heavily-promoted drama, which comes from the auspices of its most important showrunner, Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s, Private Practice).

To be fair, the President’s address from the Arizona Memorial Service disrupted all the network schedules, and ABC, in particular, was forced to air an abbreviated rerun of Modern Family before jumping into the Off the Map premiere. ABC put a happy face on Map’s debut by saying it brought 70 percent more total viewers and 83 percent more adults 18-49 to the hour — but the network had to be hoping for more from Rhimes’ show. Maybe that’s why ABC decided to reschedule the show tonight so folks will get another chance to watch.

ABC still won the night among 18-49 (2.9/8) and viewers (9 million), thanks to the huge fan base that continues to follow Modern Family. Barack Obama’s address messed up the comedy’s start time, but the combo of the President and Family earned a 3.6/10 and 10.2 million at 9, while an original of the sitcom and a partial rerun of it posted a 3.7/10 and 10.1 million at 9:30. An original of The Middle at 8 earned a 3.1/9 and 10.5 million.

NBC was second for the night in the demo (1.8/5) and viewers (6.3 million), with the Peacock’s coverage of the memorial – combined with a special repeat of Minute to Win It — earning a 1.6/5 and 5.4 million from 8-9 p.m. From 9-10 p.m., the Arizona coverage and the second half of a Minute to Win It earned a 1.4/4 and 5 million. Law & Order: SVU posted a 2.5/7 and 8.3 million.

CBS came in third in the demo (1.4/4) and viewers (6.1 million), after airing repeats of The Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement. The combination of Obama and Live To Dance earned a 1.3/4  and 6.1 million, while the combo of Live To Dance and The Defenders got a 1.5/4 and 6.1 million. Fox aired a repeat of Raising Hope, Fox News coverage of the memorial, and a repeat of Kitchen Nightmares. It tied the CW in fourth place in the demo (.5/2).

Image Credit: Fox; Justin Lubin/NBC; CBSA football overrun on Fox paid dividends (and how) to the network’s Animation Domination Lineup on Sunday: The Simpsons posted its highest-rated episode this season (5.7 rating/14 share) in adults 18-49 (with 12.6 million viewers) while the debut of Bob’s Burgers earned a 4.5/11 – up 45% versus the debut of The Cleveland Show on Sept. 26. It lured 9.4 million viewers.

As a result, Fox easily won the night among adults 18-49 (7.1/17) and viewers (17.4 million), according to fast nationals. Family Guy earned a 4.7/11 and Cleveland a 3.5/8. Each 18-49 ratings point equals 1.3 million viewers.

ABC was second for the night in the demo (2.6/7), with America’s Funniest Home Videos posting a 1.8/5 and 7.5 viewers, followed by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2.6/6, 9.1 million), Desperate Housewives (3.8/9, 12.6 million) and Brothers and Sisters (2.3/6, 8.3 million). ABC finished the night third in viewers (9.4 million).

CBS was third in 18-49 (2.2/6) and second in viewers (10.2 million), with 60 Minutes earning a 1.6/4 and 10.4 million viewers, followed by CSI: Miami (2.5/6, 11.8 million), Undercover Boss (3.0/7, 11.5 million), and a repeat of Criminal Minds.

NBC was fourth in the demo (1.8/5) and viewers (7 million), with the premiere of Dateline earning a 1.1/3 and 5.6 million viewers. The low-rated lead-in didn’t seem to spoil the two-hour premiere of The Cape: The sexy David Lyons attracted 8.3 million viewers and a 2.6/6 in the demo. That’s a 19 percent boost in viewers for the timeslot. It also ranked No. 2 in the timeslot among men 18-34 and men 18-49, so the dudes definitely seemed to appreciate its comic book sensibility (for more, check out Ken Tucker’s review here).



Image Credit: Mike Weaver/ABCABC’s decision to air a winter edition of Wipeout certainly paid off on Thursday. The competition show not only posted a 19 percent increase over its June 1 premiere but helped the network to finish in the top spot among adults 18-49 (3.6 rating/10 share). Each 18-49 ratings point represents 1.3 million viewers.

Wipeout earned a way-more-than-decent 3.7/11 in the demo, while its audience increased significantly from half-hour to half-hour, from 11 million at 8 to 12.1 million at 8:30. The big bouncy balls were a boon to Seattle Grace: Grey’s Anatomy earned a 4.2/11, up 5 percent versus its last original on Dec. 2. It averaged 11.6 millon. Private Practice earned a 2.8/8 and averaged 7.7 million.

CBS finished first in viewers on Thursday (13.8 million), with The Big Bang Theory averaging a 4.4/13 and 14 million viewers, followed by $#*! My Dad Says  (2.9/8, 10.8 million),  CSI (3.3/9, 14.3 million) and The Mentalist (3.0/9, 14.7 million).

Fox aired an original Million Dollar Money Drop (1.4/4, 4.5 million) and a repeat of Bones. NBC was in repeats, as was the CW.

Overall, ABC was second in viewers (10.3 million), followed by Fox (3.9 million), NBC (2.9 million), and the CW (1.4 million). In adults 18-49, CBS was second (3.4/9), while Fox and NBC were tied for third (1.2/3).

Image Credit: Danny Feld/TNTThe Emmy nomination for co-star Andre Braugher and the critical claim didn’t do quite enough to lure more people to the second season premiere of Men of a Certain Age on Monday. The drama from Ray Romano and Mike Royce only averaged 2.4 million viewers on Monday and 990,000 adults ages 25-54. The drama was averaging 4.4 million viewers per week in its first season.

TNT ordered 10 episodes of the series that also stars Romano and Scott Bakula. The drama has turned into an Everybody Loves Raymond reunion, of sorts, in the writer’s room this year: Both Romano and Royce, as well as Men scribes Tucker Cawley and Lew Schneider, wrote for the CBS comedy.

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