Although NBC was one of the big winners at the Emmys Sept 22 , the ratings for some of their returning series are beginning to show wear and tear this season.
Several of NBC’s powerhouses, including The West Wing, ER, Frasier and Providence, have seen a decline in popularity. Nielsen Media Research shows the ratings for the Emmy-winning West Wing are down 23 percent compared to last season’s first three episodes. The medical drama ER is down 15 percent, while Providence is off 19 percent. Even with high ratings for its season premiere (Niles and Daphne’s nuptials), Frasier has dropped as well.
According to some experts, this could spell trouble for NBC. “A network always needs to be concerned about the health of their returning series, simply because they are the pillars of their schedule,” Stacey Lynn Koerner, a television analyst for Initiative Media, told the Associated Press. “It’s a lot easier to replace a new show that is not living up to expectations.”
ABC is still trying to recover from last season’s drops in their favorites such as The Drew Carey Show and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Other analysts say drawing conclusions after only three weeks of ratings may be a bit premature, especially compared to last year’s post-Sept. 11 television rating boom.
“I think you have to wait a few weeks to see what’s really happening,” Steve Sternberg, an analyst for Magna Global USA told AP
Still, the peacock network is keeping a positive outlook. NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker told AP, “Everyone is trying to write the ‘NBC cracks’ story, but we’re in a different universe. We’re happy. There’s no question that The West Wing is off to a slow start and Frasier’ is down. Beyond that, we’re thrilled.”
Zucker pointed out how pleased the network was with the performances on Sunday nights of new show American Dreams and on Monday nights with Fear Factor. With ER, Zucker was particularly proud of its showing despite the many cast defections, including Anthony Edwards at the end of last season.
“ER is probably our biggest success story of the season,” he told AP.
