'For Love Or Money' Cashes In Big Numbers

[John]

"FOR LOVE OR MONEY" CASHES IN BIG NUMBERS

NBC’S NEWEST REALITY-RELATIONSHIP SHOW BUILDS THROUGHOUT ITS TELECAST AND DECISIVELY WINS THE 10-11 P.M. ET HOUR


BURBANK, Calif. - June 3, 2003 - Last night’s 9-11 p.m. ET premiere of “For Love Or Money” has generated strong numbers, NBC’s second-highest adult 18-49 rating in that time period in the eight weeks since April 2.


“For Love Or Money” built its 18-49 rating and overall viewer total with each succeeding half-hour and took over first place in the 10 p.m. ET hour among adults 18-49, adults, men and women 18-34 and all key adult-female demographics.


According to preliminary “fast affiliate” in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research, “For Love Or Money” (4.8 rating, 12 share among adults 18-49, 10.2 million viewers overall) built its 18-49 rating by 36 percent from its first half-hour to its fourth (to a 5.3/14 from a 3.9/10) and by 2.5 million viewers overall.


“For Love Or Money” matched the 4.8 rating with which Fox’s “American Idol” debuted Tuesday, June 11, 2002, the second-highest 18-49 rating for any reality premiere last summer (excluding “Idol’s” first Wednesday episode, the show’s second telecast overall).


“For Love Or Money” is the fourth impressive launch of a first-run summer series on NBC over the past seven nights. The others have been: “Dog Eat Dog,” which earned NBC’s highest Tuesday 8-10 p.m. ET 18-49 rating since April 8; the series premiere of “Fame,” which scored NBC’s strongest Wednesday 8-10 p.m. ET result in 18-49 since Dec. 11; and Sunday’s “Crime & Punishment,” which retained 100 percent of its 18-49 lead-in from “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”


From 8-9 p.m. ET last night, an encore telecast of “Fear Factor” (4.0/12 in 18-49, 9.3 million viewers overall) led the time period in 18-49 and several other key demographic categories.


Preliminary June 2 nightlong 18-49 averages are: NBC, 4.5/12; CBS, 4.5/12; Fox, 3.1/9; ABC, 1.7/5. Last night’s preliminary total viewer averages are: CBS, 12.7 million; NBC, 9.9 million; Fox, 7.4 million; ABC, 4.0 million.


In last night’s local-market late-night results, “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (4.9 rating, 12 share in metered-market households) defeated CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” (3.5/9 in metered-market households) and ABC’s “Nightline” (3.3/8 in metered-market households) and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (1.4/5 in metered-market households). “Tonight” has topped “Late Show” on 173 of 175 nights in the local markets this season.


NBC’s “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” (2.0/7 with an encore telecast) beat its first-run competition, CBS’ “Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn” (1.6/6) and the second half of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

[fluff]

NBC will be loving this, perhaps it will prompt them to actually keep their reality shows on schedule in future.

They've already done a better job with the official site than they ever managed for Meet My Folks.