Date: 20th November 2000

New Shows Opening Big, Quickly Falling Behind


Despite the fact that many new shows drew big audiences at the beginning of the season last month, they have, for the most part, failed to keep them, the New York Daily News observed today (Monday).

"I think what happened is that all the shows got decent sampling and I think reality has set in," Alan Wurtzel, NBC's head of research, told the newspaper. "The highly acclaimed programs, across the networks, wound up with ratings that have to be disappointing." On the other hand, Steve Sternberg, senior partner at ad buyer TN Media, told the Daily News that many established shows are boosting their ratings. "It's really the returning shows that are much more important," said Sternberg. "For example, NBC, with no new successful shows, is benefiting from their returning shows doing well."

Source: Studio Briefing