February Sweeps Create Televsion History
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Originally Posted by Associated Press
NEW YORK — February ended with double milestones in television: the first-ever sweeps month victory among all viewers for FOX (search), and the first-ever fourth-place finish for once-mighty NBC.
Sweeps are held four months a year, when Nielsen Media Research (search) ratings are closely watched to set local advertising rates.
The rankings are set even though the current sweeps period runs through Wednesday. FOX will also win among the 18-to-49-year-old age demographic that advertisers pay a premium to reach.
FOX's first sweeps month win since the network began prime-time broadcasting in 1987 is slightly deceptive. Take the Super Bowl (search) out of the equation, and FOX would finish third behind CBS and ABC, Nielsen said.
Still, it shows the continued strength of "American Idol" and the development of a promising drama in "House."
It's a more alarming outcome for NBC, which has particularly struggled on Thursdays, a night it once dominated. NBC's viewership in February was down 15 percent compared to February 2004, Nielsen said.
Last week's ratings illustrated NBC's problems. It had only two programs ranked among Nielsen's top 15 most popular shows of the week — "ER" and "Law & Order" — and both of those dramas are more than a decade old.
Fox rules, and this is karma for trying to give Slick Willy a TV show for NBC.
