CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) is in need of a solid new hit. While CBS has consistently been America's "most-watched network" for several years, the trend may be in danger. Perennial ratings powerhouses such as the CSI franchise, Two and a Half Men and Survivor are getting a little long in the tooth and may only have a few years left before fickle viewers tire of them. Meanwhile, fall season has started off slowly for the venerable network, as two of its returning drams ... the two-year-old James Woods vehicle Shark and the procedural drama Cold Case -- beginning its fifth season -- saw sagging ratings. At 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Shark attracted an all-time low of 11.5 million viewers, roughly 6 million less than Without a Trace drew when it premiered in the same time slot last year.
12.3 million viewers tuned in to Cold Case, airing at 9:00 p.m., down from the fourth-season premiere, which drew 17.6 million households. Next week, the competition builds as Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC Network premieres Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters.
For the night, CBS took second place, behind General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Network, which won the night easily with Sunday Night Football.
Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-25-2007 @ 11:35AM
Geoffrey Bramhall said...
I really enjoyed the CBS new show "The Big Bang"
It's off beat characters mixed in with clever references to science and math hit the spot as
far as I'm concerned. I always enjoy light hearted
romantic comodies and when combined ever so
cleverly with science and math references, it hit
my funny bone just right as a reformed nerd myself! I was disappointed that when I got to
work,we were not able to view the episode on
line, just a few cuts from the show that did not
do it justice. It was amazing how NBC nearly
took over the NY Times in promoting their line
up. CBS should take note if they want to keep
on top of the ratings. You got to give your new shows a little help now and again if not going
overboard as NBC did. What do you think all
that advertising cost? Did they do it similarly
in other papers?