The three-comedy collision on Tuesdays this fall has resulted in a few scrapes for NBC and Fox, and a potentially fatal blow for ABC.
Meanwhile, CBS is the real beneficiary, with its vet drama "NCIS: Los Angeles" cruising down the fast lane, and dominating in all categories.
It's never good when similar programs air in the same time period, and three comedies are clearly a crowd in Tuesday's 9 o'clock hour. (It's the first time since 2005 -- when Fox's "That '70s Show," CBS' "Still Standing" and ABC's "George Lopez" led off Wednesday -- that three of the Big Four have looked for laughs in the same hour.)
We got to this point because, unlike Monday ("Two and a Half Men"), Wednesday ("Modern Family") and Thursday ("The Big Bang Theory"), there has been no dominant comedy airing on Tuesdays in recent years. ABC, NBC and Fox each saw the opening, and the 9 o'clock hour in particular, and had designs on the night when they made their fall skeds in May.
According to Nielsen estimates through Nov. 14, Fox's tandem of returning "New Girl" and newbie "The Mindy Project" was averaging about 4 million adults 18-49 in the hour, while NBC's rookie duo of "Go On" and "The New Normal" averaged 3.4 million. ABC's returning laffers "Happy Endings" and "Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23" drew 2.3 million.
"NCIS: Los Angeles," meanwhile, has been beating all of them with 4.7 million.
The Eye crime drama, which attracts a big group of older auds, crushes the comedies in overall audience, averaging 18 million viewers, more than ABC, NBC and Fox combined (17.4 million).
"New Girl" is the top comedy in the hour among young adults, but is way down from last fall, while the ABC comedies are a shadow of their former selves when they aired last year following top-rated laffer "Modern Family" on Wednesdays.
NBC has been a surprise player in the hour with Matthew Perry-fronted "Go On" and Ryan Murphy-created "The New Normal," which have produced solid numbers and were picked up for the rest of the season. The net's music talent show "The Voice," which airs from 8 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and has been winning that hour among young adults, has given "Go On" a leg up in the comedy battle.
ABC is the loser in this equation, and that's at least partly due to its lower-than-expected lead-in from "Dancing With the Stars," whose 8:30 p.m. half-hour prior to "Happy Endings" has averaged a same-night 18-49 rating (2.1), considerably lower than "The Voice's" (4.5) lead-in to "Go On."
In January, ABC is scheduled to introduce two new comedies in Tuesday's leadoff hour, which may rate even lower than "Dancing" but would make for a more compatible lead-in to "Happy Endings" at 9. NBC's schedule also will change, with Betty White's "Off Their Rockers" taking over for "The Voice," and thus neutralizing the Peacock's advantage leading into 9 o'clock.
But it wouldn't be surprising to see ABC overhaul its shaky fourth-place Tuesday lineup, which is down overall by 15% from last year. "Happy Endings" and "Apt. 23" are on life support where they are, and moving them elsewhere while bolstering Tuesday's middle hour with a drama or reality show could be the Alphabet's best hope.
Something's gotta give, because it doesn't make sense for six of the 24 live-action comedies on the Big Four to be airing in the same hour every week. -- Rick Kissell
• Marc Graboff: The NBC alum spent the past year reorganizing the former CKX as Core Media Group and assembling an exec team. Now he's expected to start using some of parent company Apollo Global Management's private equity coin to grow its production-distribution business. There may even be a wedding in store for Core and Endemol thanks to the debt that Apollo holds in Endemol.
• Peter Liguori: Once the ink on Tribune Co.'s bankruptcy settlement deal is dry, the former Fox and Discovery exec is ready to join as CEO, bringing a marketer's touch to Tribune's 23 stations and WGN America cabler.
• Diana Mogollon: The g.m. of NBCUniversal's Mun2 cabler has smartly positioned the channel to take advantage of the exploding interest in the bilingual and bicultural Latino audience. This is not your padre's Spanglish TV network.
• Scott Sassa: The TV vet kept a low profile after joining Hearst Entertainment in 2008, but the past two years he's been busy growing Hearst's production operations through acquisition pacts with Mark Burnett, NorthSouth Prods. and others. And Hearst is adding another channel to its cable family (ESPN, A&E, History, Lifetime) through a deal with NBCUniversal to give an Esquire-themed upscale guy-oriented makeover to the struggling G4 cabler.
• Evan Shapiro: The former programming chief of IFC and Sundance Channel joined Participant Media as head of TV in April. He kept a low profile until Monday, when Participant announced its purchase and intended relaunch of the Documentary Channel.
• Nancy Tellem: After a long run at CBS, she joined Microsoft in September to launch an L.A.-based studio to develop content for Xbox and other devices. It's simple math: Tellem's dealmaking and programming savvy + Microsoft's deep pockets and hefty platforms = a sleeping giant ready to stir.
• Christina Wayne: The former AMC exec who shepherded "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" surprised bizzers when she joined Canuck indie Cineflix Media in 2010 to start a Gotham-based scripted division. She's off and running with shows, such as BBC America's "Copper," while Cineflix continues to invest by hiring NBCU alum Pete Smith as CEO of the studio in August and more development execs working under Wayne. Plus, Participant Media took an equity stake in Cineflix in April. Clearly, there's a lot more to come from this lot.
• Modi Wiczyk: Netflix has a lot at stake with the launch of its first home-grown original drama, "House of Cards," and so does producer Media Rights Capital. MRC co-chief Wiczyk deftly steered the Kevin Spacey-David Fincher political thriller past HBO and on to the Netcaster in a two-season deal. Now all of the "Cards" constituencies are hoping for a bingeing frenzy when all 13 hours of the show land on Feb. 1.
• Gerhard Zeiler: The former head of Euro TV heavyweight RTL Group surprised global TV watchers when he left his high Teuton perch in February to join Turner Broadcasting as head of international. With Time Warner increasingly focused on growth overseas, the world is awaiting some big moves from this seasoned pro.
