GSN Ratings March 26-April 1

[CaseyAbell]

Really bad week with 257K/206K prime time/total day averages. Harvey Feud didn't even do as well as I guessed. Not one episode got into the 400Ks. But only one show on the whole network got one ep into the 400Ks, and just barely at that.

I had a feeling that Harvey Feud was going to do well. It falls in line with what the GSN populace has been watching. New classics.

"New classics?" I guess they're newer than the old classics. Anyhoo, NewNeko will faint over this, but I agree with him! GSN should acquire very recent eps of successful game shows. Trouble is, even Harvey Feud didn't get blowout numbers. It certainly performed well by GSN standards, but not spectacularly. Still, recent game shows look to be the way to go. Now tell that to the folks planning the reality slate.

Crossposted to the blog with the GSN logo.

[Lingofan97]

That "257/206K" average. Does anyone notice that the 257K would be 357K if we didn't have the block scheduling. An evening schedule should go something like this now...

6:00pm: The Newlywed Game (new)
6:30pm: Baggage (new)
7:00pm: Deal or No Deal
8:00pm: Harvey Feud
8:30pm: Harvey Feud
9:00pm: The Newlywed Game
9:30pm: Baggage
10:00pm: Family Feud (Karn)
10:30pm: Family Feud (O'Hurley)
11:00pm: Syndie Deal or No Deal
11:30pm: Catch 21
12-4am: same as now

But I have to say, minus the block scheduling GSN's schedule isn't too bad. The 9:30am Karn slot I would like to see get replaced, Sherri's The Newlywed Game at 11am on weekends should be replaced with Wilson episodes, and DWTS is getting cut back. Otherwise the overall schedule could be a lot worse.

[SpeedAndStrategy]

Yeah, I agree that the block schedules have run their course. I propose these changes for afternoons/evenings:

2 pm - Catch 21
2:30 pm - Chain Reaction
3 pm - Whammy!
3:30 pm - Lingo (Woolery)
4 pm - Lingo (Woolery)
4:30 pm - Family Feud (Karn)
5 pm - Family Feud (Karn)
5:30 pm - Newlywed Game (Wilson)
6 pm - Newlywed Game (new)
6:30 pm - Baggage (new)
7 pm - Family Feud (Harvey)
7:30 pm - Family Feud (Harvey)
8 pm - Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
9 pm - Deal or No Deal (NBC)
10 pm - Family Feud (O'Hurley)
10:30 pm - Family Feud (O'Hurley)
11 pm - Newlywed Game (repeat of 6 PM)
11:30 pm - Baggage (repeat of 6:30 PM)

[Lingofan97]

^^^^^^^I'd leave the Karn 4pm block there, and Wilson's The Newlywed Game shouldn't go there. The evening schedule I can't argue with, but switching the 7pm and 8pm hours would make sense. Just shortening the block schedule a couple hours wouldn't be a bad idea.

[jhshifris]

Is changing the weekend schedule a good idea?

[Lingofan97]

Is changing the weekend schedule a good idea?

For both days at 11am and 11:30am, and Sundays from 1-6pm. Those are weak parts of the schedule. Sherri's episodes of The Newlywed Game do weak at 11am due to massive rerun abuse. Sherri's first season had 65 episodes and have been cycled through the schedule more than Match Game reruns since there first runs. To fix the weekend schedule...

Both days
11:00am: The Newlywed Game (Wilson)
11:30am: The Newlywed Game (Wilson)

Sundays only
12:00pm: 1 vs. 100
1:00pm: Deal or No Deal
2:00pm: Deal or No Deal
3:00pm: Catch 21
3:30pm: Chain Reaction
4:00pm: Family Feud (O'Hurley)
4:30pm: Family Feud (O'Hurley)
5:00pm: Family Feud (O'Hurley)
5:30pm: Family Feud (O'Hurley)

Otherwise on the weekend schedule...
*Whammy! pulls good numbers at 9:30am and 10am; near 300K in a few slots
*Million Dollar Password and 1 vs. 100 see 250K-like ratings; so keep that
*The Karn Feud/Sherriwed on Saturdays 3-6pm pull the biggest numbers of the weekend
...So nothing major to fix up.

[TheNewNeko]

Something I've noticed about these ratings:

A. With the possible exception of Family Feud (and damn these ratings for not telling me who was hosting). None of the traditional (pre-1995) classics have over 300,000 viewers. Exclude Pyramid (only because it hasn't been on since Dick Clark's centennial) and you have to go all the way down to #73 before an old-school original makes the rankings.

B. I noticed eight slots in the same practical area (high 70s to low 80s) for the Sherriwed game. So apparently about 220,000 people actually give a flying rat's rear end about the size of guys' packages. Good number but not good enough, considering they could air another Harvey Feud or 5th Grader in those slots and move them up 80 or 90 thousand people.

C. The variety of these shows is abhorrent. Seriously -- we are heading for a 24-hour Family Feud channel at this rate. ::blecch::. I don't know when TV watching got to the annoying pretense that we as a people want to see the same program on the network for hours and hours on end for no reason at all, but it's really disheartening. My guess is it started when MSNBC had their love affair with Chris Hansen and would air "To Catch A Predator" for 10 hours at a setting.

D. There really need to be some more good originals on the air and ones that GSN won't air to death. And new classics.

And E. No, we won't get good ratings from Anderson Feud. Say what you want but there's still a bone of contention about his involvement with a gay prostitute. Considering the fact that most people over 30 are seriously opposed to this kind of thing, you likely won't see a lot of people wanting to see him back on the air.

[Lingofan97]

A. With the possible exception of Family Feud (and damn these ratings for not telling me who was hosting). None of the traditional (pre-1995) classics have over 300,000 viewers. Exclude Pyramid (only because it hasn't been on since Dick Clark's centennial) and you have to go all the way down to #73 before an old-school original makes the rankings.

There are other classics above #73, even morning slots. All the classics that have suffered rerun abuse are doing better than DWTS any day. You can't expect the morning classics to see over 300K views. They're on between 8am-noon. People are asleep, watching morning news shows, or are working. I'm not complaining about the morning ratings (except 11:30am's Match Game).

C. The variety of these shows is abhorrent. Seriously -- we are heading for a 24-hour Family Feud channel at this rate. I don't know when TV watching got to the annoying pretense that we as a people want to see the same program on the network for hours and hours on end for no reason at all, but it's really disheartening.

Family Feud is really on that much? We've had worse rerun abuse. There are hundreds---probably even close to a thousand Karn episodes alone, counting out O'Hurley and Harvey. I think Improv and Lingo have had worse rerun abuse, and if Improv was a success then this would have been a 24-hour Improv network. And when the Friday schedule resumed to normal, Karn was cut down 6 slots (12am-3am)

D. There really need to be some more good originals on the air and ones that GSN won't air to death. And new classics.

If GSN could keep the production of The Newlywed Game and Lingo (Engvall), then we'd see good ratings. That Beat the Chefs shows coming up doesn't sound to bad, but the problem is that it is an hour long. I'd rather see GSN acquire five game shows (classics and modern) then make one of those new reality shows.

E. No, we won't get good ratings from Anderson Feud.

Agreed. (Well, if they acquired it in 2002 than yes, but here in 2012 then no)

(and damn these ratings for not telling me who was hosting)

Weekdays: 9am-Dawson, 9:30am-Karn 4pm-Karn 4:30pm-Karn 12:30am- O'Hurley 1:00am- Karn
Block scheduling: Karn- 7:00, 7:30, 10:00, 10:30pm; O'Hurley- 8:00, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30, 11:00, 11:30pm
Wednesday: 7pm-Midnight: Harvey
Weekends: 10:30am- O'Hurley 3:00pm- Karn 3:30pm-Karn 4:00pm-Karn

[TheNewNeko]

There are other classics above #73, even morning slots. All the classics that have suffered rerun abuse are doing better than DWTS any day. You can't expect the morning classics to see over 300K views. They're on between 8am-noon. People are asleep, watching morning news shows, or are working. I'm not complaining about the morning ratings (except 11:30am's Match Game).

Where? I stipulated two exceptions for the pre-1995 classics.

1 -- Family Feud because I don't have the time or energy to look up every episode and find out who was hosting. If they were to write "Family Feud (Dawson) or Family Feud (Karn)", then I'd better be able to make the exception, but I noticed that Dawson and Combs Feuds are getting walloped by Karn, O' Hurley and Harvey Feuds, so I wouldn't be surprised if the entire top 75 airings of FF were all one of those three.

2 -- Pyramid, only because it hasn't been on in ages. Once GSN rerun abuses it, you can see the ratings freefalling until they get rid of it again.

If you exclude those two shows, the next classic is Card Sharks at #73.

Family Feud is really on that much? We've had worse rerun abuse. There are hundreds---probably even close to a thousand Karn episodes alone, counting out O'Hurley and Harvey. I think Improv and Lingo have had worse rerun abuse, and if Improv was a success then this would have been a 24-hour Improv network. And when the Friday schedule resumed to normal, Karn was cut down 6 slots (12am-3am)

Number of family feud airings on the roster: 55. Fifty-five! That's 27 1/2 hours a week. That's nearly four hours a freakin' day, or one-sixth of the programming day. So the answer is: Yes, it is on that much.

If GSN could keep the production of The Newlywed Game and Lingo (Engvall), then we'd see good ratings. That Beat the Chefs shows coming up doesn't sound to bad, but the problem is that it is an hour long. I'd rather see GSN acquire five game shows (classics and modern) then make one of those new reality shows.

And I'd rather see them make another original game show. The reality shows are only good for one shot out of the cannon. I have no problem with Engvall's Lingo aside from the fact they make a lot of sex jokes. And I have no real reservation about sex jokes, but I always held Lingo as kinda not having to go into the gutter for laughs.

if you look at the flops of the semi-recent reality/game shows (Late Night Liars, Instant Recall, etc.), they really flopped for a specific reason. I was never a huge fan of panel shows, but I will say that panel shows are funnier when they're not scripted. Who can forget the moment on To Tell The Truth where the kid says "My name is the same as his."?

Instant Recall flopped simply because it was Hidden Agenda, part 2. There really wasn't much more of a difference except the host. And it's sad that a legend in hosting like Mr. Martindale, who I idolized growing up, was relegated to a show that even he couldn't make good. And Hidden Agenda... it just sucked.

Agreed. (Well, if they acquired it in 2002 than yes, but here in 2012 then no)

Louie Feud just is a bad idea. It would do worse than Combs Feud. They have to consider the target demographic and how he was forced from the show.

[phimat37]

This isn't a schedule ideas thread but I think the schedule should go something like this:

Weekdays:
7:00pm - Deal or No Deal
8:00pm - Family Feud (Karn)
8:30pm - Family Feud (Karn)
9:00pm - Family Feud (O'Hurley)
9:30pm - Family Feud (O'Hurley)
10:00pm - Family Feud (Harvey)
10:30pm - Family Feud (Harvey)
11:00pm - The $25,000 Pyramid
11:30pm - The $25,000 Pyramid
12:00am - Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
1:00am - Family Feud (Karn)
1:30am - Family Feud (Karn)
2-4am stays the same

Weekends:
6:00pm - Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
7:00pm - Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
8:00pm - Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
9:00pm - The Newlywed Game
9:30pm - The Newlywed Game
10:00pm - Baggage
10:30pm - Baggage
11:00pm - Family Feud (O'Hurley)
11:30pm - Family Feud (Harvey)
12:00am - Catch 21
12:30am - Whammy!
1:00am - Million Dollar Password
2:00am - Deal or No Deal
3:00am - 1 vs. 100

I agree the block schedules have run their course. Millionaire should just go back to the Midnight slot where it used to be a long time ago, I think. Engvall Lingo needs to go and Family Feud still stays on in late nights.

I put the $25,000 Pyramid on at 11pm weeknights because what I did was took every show that's been block scheduled and combined them. And of course Family Feud still does its best.

[Mystic]

Wouldn't shows in general have better ratings if they were not aired so often?

DWTS improved, slightly, when they cut back the number of airings.

It also would help if there wasn't so much rerun abuse.

Harvey Feud repeated on the first night, and the repeats shows a drop in the numbers! 1st runs were in the Top 10, but the repeats were in the 70's! I didn't need to see it again, since it aired less than 2 hours earlier.

[jhshifris]

So, Bill Engvall's Lingo isn't doing that well?

[wayne3924]

Wouldn't shows in general have better ratings if they were not aired so often?

Absolutely. I don't pretend to know how a network is run, but rerunning a small amount of stuff into the ground doesn't sound like a healthy idea. Even adding 1-2 different shows would help immensely.

[Lingofan97]

Where? I stipulated two exceptions for the pre-1995 classics.

I'm sure there was another Card Sharks airing at 10am in the 60's or 50's

And I'd rather see them make another original game show. The reality shows are only good for one shot out of the cannon. I have no problem with Engvall's Lingo aside from the fact they make a lot of sex jokes. And I have no real reservation about sex jokes, but I always held Lingo as kinda not having to go into the gutter for laughs.

if you look at the flops of the semi-recent reality/game shows (Late Night Liars, Instant Recall, etc.), they really flopped for a specific reason. I was never a huge fan of panel shows, but I will say that panel shows are funnier when they're not scripted. Who can forget the moment on To Tell The Truth where the kid says "My name is the same as his."?

GSN has five reality shows planned. They should try two of them, and those two should be the half-hour ones, NOT the hour long one. If those two are a hit, then try the other reality shows. If they bomb, then never try reality again (although we know they all will). By the time of early Fall, if GSN could have The Newlywed Game season 6, possibly a second season of Lingo, a 5-episode pilot of "American Bible Challenge", and one or two reality shows, we wouldn't be doing too badly here.

[Melyssa56]

Between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., there is no reason to broadcast more than one hour of any show. Ratings would be much better if there weren't 8 hours of "Dancing with the Newlywed Family Deal" as it were. Once you start recognizing contestants, rerun abuse has gone too far.