• by David Kaplan , November 24, 2004

The slippage of reality in favor of scripted shows continued through mid-November, as shown by a study by Steve Sternberg, executive vice president and director of audience analysis for Interpublic Group's Magna Global USA.

For the week of Nov. 15th through the 21st, 37 percent of the six-network schedule hours contained dramas, while 26 percent were devoted to reality series. Movies and comedies each made up 12 percent, and 7 percent were news magazines.

In particular, dramas accounted for roughly 43 percent of overall network rating points, while reality series accounted for 22 percent of household rating points.

During the same period of Nov. 15th through the 21st, Sternberg reported that an average household spent 2 hours, 41 minutes watching network dramas; 1 hour, 22 minutes watching reality series; and 40 minutes watching network comedies. The average adult 18-49 watched dramas for 1 hour, 28 minutes; reality for 53 minutes; and comedies for 24 minutes this past week.

Cable also edged network out slightly, according to Sternberg's survey.

"The average household spent 6 hours, 11 minutes tuned to the six broadcast networks, versus 6 hours, 46 minutes tuned to ad-supported cable," Sternberg said in his report.

Looking at the top-rated series among the three major genres--drama, comedy, and reality--after the top three to five, there tends to be a big ratings fall-off to the next tier.

The big four dramas (tops among persons 12-34, adults 18-49, and adults 25-54)were "CSI," "Desperate Housewives," "CSI: Miami," and "E.R." Among households and adults 25-54, "Without a Trace" rounded out the top five, while "Lost" and "The O.C." were neck-and-neck for fifth among persons 12-34, and "Without a Trace" and "Lost" were virtually tied for fifth among adults 18-49.

As for the big three reality series--"Survivor: Vanuatu," "The Apprentice," and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" alternated for the top three spots, depending on the demo.

"Except for the three top reality series, none of the other reality shows would crack the top 10 list of dramas among adults 18-49 or 25-54," Sternberg noted.

In a study Sternberg issued last month, he found that the number of hours of scripted series on the announced six broadcast network schedules is declining by 10 hours (73 to 63), while the number of reality hours is increasing by 10 hours (from 10 to 20). However, he argued that those numbers likely "represent the summit of the reality mountain, as scripted dramas and comedies appear to be making a comeback."