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NBC Feels The Downside Of Fourth-Place

When you are the fourth-place network, it's a tough challenge to get the attention of viewers, even when you have something new or intriguing. Two shows that recently premiered on fourth-placed NBC barely moved the Nielsen needle.

Most surprising was "Kings," the ambitious two-hour opener of a modern-day David & Goliath tale, starring Ian McShane. It was seen by only 6.1 million viewers last week, less than half the audience of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," which aired at the same time. Viewership was even less than the collection of old "Saturday Night Live" skits that ran in the same time slot the week before. Such disappointing results give network executives less incentive to spend money on expensive scripted shows.

The other NBC premiere was reality show "Chopping Block," which had only 3.8 million viewers in its first run, well short of the 7.7 million people who watched the series it was modeled upon, Fox's "Hell's Kitchen."

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