TV Ratings: 'Jesse Stone' draws old, Billboard Music Awards draws young on Sunday

CBS wins overall and ABC takes the key demo

By Daniel Fienberg Monday, May 21, 2012 11:59 AM

Tom Selleck of "Jesse Stone" Benefit of the Doubt"

Credit: CBS

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Fast National ratings for Sunday, May 20, 2012.

Tom Selleck's latest Jesse Stone telefilm "Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt" drew a big, conspicuously old audience on Sunday night, simultaneously giving CBS an overall primetime win and pushing the network to last among young viewers. ABC's coverage of the 2012 Billboard Music Awards didn't draw nearly as big an audience, but that telecast still led the way in the all-important demographic.

For the night, ABC averaged a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49, tops in the key demographic. FOX was second with a 1.9 rating, followed by NBC's 1.6 rating. CBS trailed in the key demo with a 1.3 rating.

Overall, though, CBS won the night in a walk, averaging 11.32 million viewers and a 7.3 rating/12 share. ABC was a distant second with a 4.2/7 and 6.98 million viewers. NBC's 3.5/6 and 5.55 million viewers finished third, still well ahead of FOX's 2.3/4 and 4.06 million viewers.

7 p.m. - CBS started primetime in first overall with the 9.61 million viewers for "60 Minutes," which was second among adults 18-49 with a 1.4 rating. ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" was second with 5.82 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.5 key demo rating. NBC was third overall with the 3.355 million viewers for "America's Got Talent," which finished fourth with a 0.7 key demo rating. FOX was fourth overall and third in the key demo with a "Simpsons" repeat (2.39 million and a 1.0 key demo) and "The Cleveland Show" (3.03 million viewers and a 1.3 key demo).

8 p.m. - A second hour of "60 Minutes" was first overall in the 8 p.m. hour with 10.12 million viewers, but third among adults 18-49 with a 1.5 rating. ABC's 2012 Billboard Music Awards finished second overall with 7.07 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.4 key demo rating. NBC's repeat of "America's Got Talent" remained third with 5.21 million viewers and fourth with a 1.3 key demo. FOX was second in the key demo and fourth overall with "The Simpsons" (4.79 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo) and "Bob's Burgers" (3.57 million and a 1.7 key demo).

9 p.m. - The first hour of "Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt" drew a strong 13.05 million viewers for CBS, but the telefilm was fourth for the hour with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's 2012 Billboard Music Awards coverage went up to 8.03 million viewers and an hour-winning 2.9 key demo rating. The first hour of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" finale averaged 6.72 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating, both good for third. FOX's "Family Guy" averaged 5.29 million viewers for fourth and a 2.5 key demo rating for second.

10 p.m. - The second hour of "Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt" slipped to 12.48 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC's Billboard Music Awards telecast was second with 7 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.6 key demo rating. NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" was a close third with 6.92 million viewers and second with a 2.2 key demo rating.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.

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Discuss TV Ratings on HitFix Message Boards »

eddieisannoy

Trump was tweeting that CA was a ratings smash. It would seems those #'s above counter that. How was it compared to last years finale?
May 21, 2012 at 12:19PM EST Reply to Comment
- EddieIsAnnoy - As a businessman, Donald Trump's credentials speak for themselves. And as an analyst of television ratings, Donald Trump's credentials speak for themselves.
  
  "Celebrity Apprentice" was WAY down from last season's finale. The last hour of of last May's finale drew nearly 9 million viewers and a 3.1 key demo rating against identical competition. So unquestionably, unspinnably down.
  
  -Daniel
  May 21, 2012 at 1:10PM EST
- eddieisannoy I can't believe Donald would stretch the truth like that... here's what he said btw:
  
  "Last night's live season finale of #CelebrityApprentice was another massive ratings success. Thank you to our loyal fan base which grows year by year! "
  May 21, 2012 at 3:50PM EST
- EddieIsAnnoy - Maybe... Ummm... Maybe the audience last year was bigger, but MUCH less loyal? And no, I don't know how Donald Trump has the technology to monitor viewer loyalty other than "He's Donald Trump."
  
  Most of us can't afford to see the world through Donald Trump-tinted lenses...
  
  -Daniel
  May 21, 2012 at 4:06PM EST
Joe

Does it matter if the audience is old or young? It seems to me the only thing that matters is how many people watched, and Jesse Stone outdrew the Billboard Music Awards. End of story. Rationalize it any way you want. But the notion that a older person doesn't count is ridiculous, and I don't say that as an old person.
May 21, 2012 at 2:07PM EST Reply to Comment
- Joe - Yes. It does matter. Because advertisers prioritize viewers in the 18-49 demographic or, in CBS' case, 25-54 demographic. If a show skews too old, advertisers don't want to pay to reach them. So it's not rationalizing to say that in the current TV economy, the audience that watched the Billboard awards is FAR more valuable than the audience that watched Jesse Stone.
  
  Is that RIGHT? Not for me to say. But it's the reason NBC cancelled "Harry's Law," even though Harry's Law was NBC's most watched scripted show.
  
  So the bottom line is, "Yes, it matters."
  
  -Daniel
  May 21, 2012 at 4:05PM EST
- Joe "Yes. It does matter. Because advertisers prioritize viewers in the 18-49 demographic or, in CBS' case, 25-54 demographic. If a show skews too old, advertisers don't want to pay to reach them. So it's not rationalizing to say that in the current TV economy, the audience that watched the Billboard awards is FAR more valuable than the audience that watched Jesse Stone."
  
  I do not care. Jesse Stone outdrew the BMAs, regardless of age.
  May 29, 2012 at 7:54PM EST
jeff

Why is 18-49 so important? 50+ spend money and are likely more financially sound than those young whipper-snappers.
Good TV is trumped by something I have no interest in? Please, we need an OTA Senior channel if the 'networks' aren't going to cater to our interests. Bless you CBS for airing the Jesse Stone movies. I would actually PAY to watch it but will not spend a dime on most of the other things the networks aire.
May 21, 2012 at 5:20PM EST Reply to Comment
- Jeff - Industry (advertising industry) conventional wisdom has always been that while older viewers absolutely have buying power -- more each year as Baby Boomers age up -- they're also more set in their buying habits. You run commercials hoping to get new customers, not to remind old customers to buy, so you want to target the demographic which, conventional wisdom says, in the most malleable in their consumer habits. So you can convince a 34 year-old man to swap from Coke to Pepsi, but you can't do the same for a 60-year-old man.
  
  Or so one level of the logic goes.
  
  -Daniel
  May 21, 2012 at 5:25PM EST

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TV Ratings: 'Jesse Stone' draws old, Billboard Music Awards draws young on Sunday

CBS wins overall and ABC takes the key demo