'Veronica Mars' article & Mirrormask icons
http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1524.asp
Television
How 'Veronica Mars' found her groove
By Abigail Azote
Nov 30, 2005, 03:04
From the beginning, UPN’s “Veronica Mars” has been a critics’ favorite. It premiered last season to high praise, lauded as intelligent and well-written. But despite all that the show failed to take off.
Now "Mars''" ratings are finally catching up. What it took was a move to a new night and the resulting boost of a much stronger and more compatible lead-in.
So far this season, “Mars” has averaged 956,000 viewers 18-34 in its new Wednesday 9 p.m. timeslot. That’s up 29 percent from its 739,000 season average last year. And that’s despite facing one of the top-rated shows on broadcast, ABC’s “Lost.”
Among 18-49s, the show is up 24 percent from last season, to 1.6 million viewers in that demo.
The simple explanation for “Mars’” significant rise this year is Tyra Banks' “America’s Next Top Model,” its new lead-in. The show went from having virtually no lead-in last year, when it aired after “Eve” at 9 p.m. Tuesdays, to following the network’s highest-rated program.
“Now it’s in UPN’s best time period,” notes Jordan Breslow, director of broadcast research at MediaCom. He says buyers like the show, which follows a teenage girl detective, because it’s different from most of UPN’s standard one-note fare.
Also at work is the synergy between the two shows, which both skew young and female, suggests Bill Carroll, director of programming at Katz Television Group.
“This move made Wednesday on UPN a destination for young women,” he says. The network is up 3 percent for the night among female teens versus last year, with a 3.1 average rating. "Kevin Hill" occupied "Mars'" timeslot last year.
Another factor could just be that the show is finally coming into its own in its second season.
“It takes time sometimes for a drama to find its core audience,” says Breslow. “[The network] is giving this the time that it needs to flourish.”
Nonetheless, UPN is making sure it does what it can to ensure the continued upswing for the show, including a tie-in with AOL.com. An alternative ending to tonight’s episode will be available exclusively through the site, along with the original televised ending. Fans can then vote for their favorite. The winning ending will be revealed Dec. 7 on AOL and during the airing of that night’s episode.
Meanwhile, in other broadcast ratings for the week ended Nov. 27:
Among adults 18-49, ABC finished first with a 4.3 average rating and a 12 share. CBS ended a six-week run on top and dropped to second at 4.1/11, with Fox third at 3.6/10, NBC fourth at 3.1/8, and UPN and the WB tied for fifth at 1.3/3.
Among adults 18-34, ABC finished on top for the third straight week with a 3.6 average rating and 11 share. Fox was a close second at 3.5/11, CBS third at 2.7/8, NBC fourth at 2.5/8, and UPN and the WB tied for fifth at 1.4/4.
Among adults 25-54, CBS finished first for the eighth straight week, coming in with a 5.2 average rating and a 13 share. ABC finished second at 4.9/12, Fox third at 3.8/9, NBC fourth at 3.6/9, the WB fifth at 1.3/3 and UPN sixth at 1.2/3.
Top five (18-49s): 1. “Desperate Housewives” (ABC) 11.1; 2. “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC) 8.9; 3. “CSI” (CBS) 8.4; 4. “Lost” (ABC) 7.8; T5. “CSI: Miami” (CBS), “Survivor: Guatemala” (CBS) 8.3.
Top five (total viewers): 1. “Desperate Housewives” (ABC) 25.89 million; 2. “CSI” (CBS) 25.72 million; 3. “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC) 19.59 million; 4. “Survivor: Guatemala” (CBS) 19.54 million; 5. “Without a Trace” (CBS) 19.50 million.
Bottom five (18-49s): T100. “One Tree Hill” (WB), “Love, Inc.” (UPN), “Cuts” (UPN), “Eve” (UPN) 0.7; 104. “Everwood” (WB) 0.5.
Bottom five (total viewers): T99. “What I Like About You.” (WB), “Cuts” (UPN) 1.92 million; 101. “Eve” (UPN) 1.83 million; 102. “Love, Inc.” (UPN) 1.75 million; 103. “One Tree Hill” (WB) 1.67 million; 104. “Everwood” (WB) 1.49 million.
Show on the rise: “The Simpsons,” Fox, Sunday 8:47 p.m. “The Simpsons” benefited from spillover from the biggest audience to watch Fox’s late NFL coverage in three years, earning a 5.4 rating among viewers 18-49, a 10.2 percent increase versus the previous week’s 4.9.
Show on the decline: “Lost,” ABC, Wednesday 9 p.m. Freddie Prinze Jr. is clearly a better lead-in than Kenny Chesney. Last week, with a Kenny Chesney special as its lead-in, “Lost” averaged a 7.8 rating among 18-49s, down 15.2 percent from the previous week’s 9.2, when the show had its normal “Freddie” lead-in.
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