Monday overnight ratings are in. FNL does worse than Studio 60

NBC's experiment of airing Friday Night Lights in the 10pm Monday
timeslot, in place of Studio 60, proved to be a failure. The first run
episode of FNL garnered a 5.7/10 rating. The numbers were a marked
dropoff from those of its 9pm lead-in, Heroes, whose 9.7/14 bested all
competitors in the 9pm timeslot. More notably, however, was the fact

Steven L....

But FNL did better in the Studio 60 timeslot than it was doing before.

FNL doesn't have to compete in the ratings with Studio 60, since they're
on the same network. FNL only has to show it can get decent ratings
against other networks' shows.

that last week's Studio 60 ratings in the 10pm Monday slot (6.3/10)
were better than those of FNL -- and Studio 60 was up against first run
episodes of CSI: Miami and What About Brian. Only WAB was new last
night, CSI: M was a repeat.

David...

I think Berman made a typo in his fast nationals. Either that or there
were many more people watching tv this week, explaining why the
ratings are lower but total viewer numbers are higher.

"FNL" this week: 5.7/10, 8.29 million viewers, 3.5/9 adults 18-49s
"Studio 60" last week: 6.3/10, 7.70 million viewers, 3.1/8 adults
18-49s

I'm guessing the 5.7/10 is supposed to be a 6.7/10

Futon Critic also says that FNL did better:
"Friday Night Lights" households 5.3/9, adults 18-49: 3.5
"Studio 60" households: 5.1/8; adults 18-49: 3.2

So does zap2it:
"FNL" 5.3/9
"Studio 60" 5.1/8

So it seems to be unanimous that "FNL" did better. However, "CSI:
Miami" was a rerun this week so it's hard to say which show wins for
sure.

I have no ill will toward Friday Night Lights but last night's ratings
prove to me the show just doesn't have a large enough audience to
justify remaining on NBC's schedule. It was a slap in the face to
Studio 60 viewers to replace the show with one that was doing terrible
in its own 8pm Tuesday timeslot and now has proven to have also done

David...

A slap in the face? Seriously? They didn't replace "Studio 60," they
replaced a rerun. And they wanted to explose "FNL" to more people who
would hopefully return to the show's regular slot next Tuesday. Don't
take it so personally.

allenkirshner...

Well, no, they substituted what would've been (presumably) a new
episode of Studio 60 with a new episode of Friday Night Lights. The
basic difference for me is that I watch Studio 60 and don't watch FNL.
Since Studio 60 has been doing better than FNL in the ratings and has
been doing so on Mondays-- a day with historically less viewers than
has been the case on Tuesdays -- it seems odd that NBC would choose to
reward FNL with a shot at a different timeslot AND an airing in its
regular 8pm Tuesday slot. Meanwhile, Studio 60 is benched this week.

poorly in Studio 60's 10pm Monday perch. I'd love to see NBC show
Studio 60 tonight, in place of FNL -- even as a repeat. Its viewers
deserve at least that much. But, knowing NBC, it'll probably announce
in the next couple of days that both shows will be pulled for November
ratings.