• by Wayne Friedman , October 7, 2008

A week before the formal start of the season, CW and Fox performed well ahead of other networks when it came to DVR playback ratings for some of their respective returning shows and new series premieres.

 

From Sept. 15 through Sept. 20, CW grew 29% overall among its core 18-34 audience to a 1.71 rating and 24% among 18-49 viewers to a 1.5 rating when adding in DVR playback over seven days--so-called live-plus-seven-day ratings--according to Nielsen Media Research.

CW had the best-performing show in terms of growth from seven days of DVR playback, improving 56% to a 2.99 rating for a new "90210" episode. Right behind that came "America's Next Top Model," improving 41% to a 2.97 number for one of its new episodes.

Fox was right behind CW in terms of overall growth for a network. Fox added 23% in viewers to an average 2.55 rating among 18-34 viewers, and 22% to 18-49 viewers to a 2.77 average rating.

The big three networks--NBC, ABC, and CBS--all posted 7% gains to their respective 18-49 viewer ratings after seven days. NBC went to a 2.92 rating, ABC to a 1.90, and CBS to a 1.96. But one caveat here is those networks had yet to debut their major shows for the new season.

Overall, the five networks added 11% to an average 2.24 rating after seven days among 18-49 viewers 13% to an average 1.84 rating for 18-34 viewers, and 7% to 6.7 million overall average viewers.

Fox's best results came from new episodes of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (adding 44% to a 2.45 adult 18-49 rating), "House" (in its premiere, gaining 40% to a 6.63 adults 18-49 rating), and "Bones" (improving 39% to a 3.72 rating).

CBS' best show was "Big Brother 10," growing 35% to a 2.88 rating among 18-49 viewers. ABC's best came from "Wipeout"--a 17% gain to a 2.21 with the "Primetime Emmy Awards" pulling up another 12% to land at a 3.9 rating after seven days.

NBC scored its best for "America's Toughest Jobs"--a 19% hike to a 1.18 rating and a 16% improvement to a 3.4 rating for "Biggest Loser."