[opendtv] 'Friends' Finale Delivers 51.1 Million Viewers
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 09:13:13 -0400
Via Shoptalk
Say hello to my little friend...
Is the era of the blockbuster anchor for a Prime Time evening coming
to an end. Remember when ABC owned Tuesday nights with Happy Days,
Lavern & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, etc. Remember Sienfeld? NBC is
saying goodbye to Friends. Will it be able to put together another
blockbuster to anchor Thursday nights? Does it matter?
The power of program adjacency is not all that it once was; we may be
on the verge of the formation of new kinds of loyalties to episodic
programing, thanks in part to the PVR, and in part to the ability to
form communities of interest around popular content via the Internet.
This raises the stakes for the content producers, while diminishing
the power of the distributors, who have used the "artificial
scarcity" of distribution to build their exclusive franchises.
With the PVR, anytime can be prime time. What will really matter,
however, are the relationships that develop between content producers
and the communities of interest they serve, including the ability to
market products and services to these communities.
I am reminded of the recent flare -up of emotions that led to moving
this list to a server that would not force ads upon us.
Regards
Craig
'Friends' Finale Delivers 51.1 Million Viewers
http://www.tvweek.com
An average of 51.1 million viewers tuned in for the hour-long
"Friends" finale last night, according to Nielsen Media Research fast
affiliate data. The finale also scored big in adults 18 to 49, with a
24.4 rating and 53 share, easily making it the highest-rated program
of the night.
It was the second-highest rated episode of "Friends" ever, after only
the Jan. 28, 1996 post-Super Bowl telecast, which scored a 28.2
rating in adults 18 to 49 and 52.9 million viewers. The finale falls
far below the 38.7/72 in adults 18 to 49 and 76.3 million viewers who
watched the finale of "Seinfeld" in 1998, proving how challenging the
fragmented television landscape has become.
Going head-to-head with CBS's "CSI" -- the most watched show on
television -- "Friends" won the hour in adults 18 to 49 by a 275
percent margin. "CSI" delivered a 6.5/18, its second-lowest 18 to 49
rating on a Thursday ever. "Friends" beat "CSI," its closest
competitor, by 31.2 million total viewers. "CSI" drew 19.9 million
viewers, which was its lowest total in 2? years, but not bad
considering it was up against "Friends." Last week, "CSI" averaged
26.3 million.
NBC kicked off the night at 8 p.m. with a "Friends" clip show that
scored a 16.2/43 in adults 18 to 49 and 35.9 million total viewers.
That hurt "Survivor: All-Stars," which scored a 6.9/18 and 18.7
million viewers, the lowest ratings to date for "All-Stars."
"Friends," which ran six minutes over into "ER's" time slot, boosted
"ER" to its highest 18 to 49 numbers in 3? years with a 15.6/37 and
its highest total viewer numbers in four years, 32.2 million.
ABC didn't fare so well with a two-hour edition of "Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition" that boasted a live final reveal. It pulled a very
distant third-place 1.6/4 in adults 18 to 49 and 4.9 million viewers.
For the night, NBC won in adults 18 to 49 with an 18.7/45, followed
by CBS (6.2/15), ABC (1.8/4), Fox and UPN (1.5/4) and The WB (0.9/2).
In total viewers, NBC won the night with 25.5 million, followed by
CBS (12.4 million), UPN (4.5 million), ABC (4 million), Fox (3.9
million) and The WB (2.6 million).
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