CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- The WB knows its demographic: women and more specifically, female teens. That's the concensus after the openers of "7th Heaven," "Everwood" and its new Friday comedy lineup this week. In a trio of press releases, the Frog touted its growth in said demographics. Here's a breakdown of the news:
Monday's season premieres of "7th Heaven" and "Everwood" saw the network win the night in several key demographics:
7TH HEAVEN shot out of the gate with its eighth season premiere, scoring its highest premiere deliveries ever in women 18-34 (5.0/16), women 12-34 (6.0/20) and women 18-49 (4.9/14). The veteran family drama notched its second highest premiere numbers ever in adults 18-34 (3.4/12) and adults 18-49 (3.3/10) and equaled its second highest among persons 12-34 (4.0/14).
7TH HEAVEN's premiere ratings in the key demos of women 12-34 (6.0/20) and women 18-34 (5.0/16) were the fourth highest premieres ever on The WB.
7TH HEAVEN ranked #1 in its time period in women 18-34 (5.0/16), adults 18-34 (3.4/12), women 12-34 (6.0/20), persons 12-34 (4.0/14) and women 18-49 (4.9/14). The series also ranked #1 for the night in female teens, with a whopping 8.8/30, and teens 12-17 (5.4/19).
The premiere of EVERWOOD achieved the third-highest premiere ratings ever for The WB in the Monday 9:00-10:00 p.m. time period in women 12-34 (3.6/11) and women 18-49 (3.1/8), and the fourth highest ever in persons 12-34 (2.6/8), adults 18-34 (2.1/6) and women 18-34 (3.0/8). The drama ranked #1 in its time period in female teens (5.3/19), #2 in women 12-34 (3.6/11), and #3 in persons 12-34 (2.6/8) and men 18-34 (1.3/4).
On its premiere Monday, The WB ranked #1 for the night in women 18-34 (4.0/12), women 12-34 (4.8/15), teens 12-17 (4.6/15) and female teens (7.0/24). The night of premieres also ranked #2 on the night, behind Monday Night Football, among persons 12-34 (3.3/10) and ranked #3 among women 18-49 (4.0/11), men 12-34, men 18-34, adults 18-49 and male teens.
The network's "Play for a Billion" special on Sunday also fared well, making it one of the most watched specials in the network's history:
PEPSI PLAY FOR A BILLION scored for The WB in many key demos as an average of 4.3 million people watched Rick Bay, a teacher from Princeton, West Virginia become an instant millionaire, as he was just two digits away from becoming television's first-ever billionaire.
PEPSI PLAY FOR A BILLION ranked #2 in its 8-10 p.m. Sunday time period in the vital demos of adults 18-34 (2.1/6) and persons 12-34 (2.0/6) as well as in men 18-34 (1.8/6) and men 12-34 (1.7/5). The special also scored a #1 rank in women 12-34 (2.3/7) and #3 in women 18-34 (2.4/7). Among teens, BILLION was #2 (1.7/7) as well as #1 in female teens (2.0/8).
Historically, BILLION was one of the strongest specials in the history of The WB. With 4.3 million average viewers throughout the broadcast, BILLION is the sixth-most-watched special in the nine-season history of The WB. Only three other specials outranked it in adults 18-34 (3.3/4) and four others in women 18-34 (2.4/7) and men 18-34 (1.8/6).
PEPSI PLAY FOR A BILLION also delivered triple-digit percentage gains across the 18-34 and 12-34 demos, plus adults 18-49, total viewers compared to the parallel night last season. The special broadcast, which also saw two women win a trip around the world and three people win new cars, improved the time period year-to-year +163% in adults 18-34 (2.1/6), +200% in women 18-34 (2.4/7), +157% in men 18-34 (1.8/6), +122% in persons 12-34 (2.0/6), +130% in women 12-34 (2.3/7), +113% in men 12-34 (1.7/5), +150% in adults 18-49 (2.0/5), +280% in men 18-34 (1.9/5) and +75% in women 18-49 (2.1/5).
While Friday's comedy lineup saw the network win the night in teens and lead all networks in female teens:
The WB's hit comedy REBA and the new series ALL ABOUT THE ANDERSONS propelled the network to a night of strong ratings growth from time period premieres a year ago, with double-digit growth in the key 18-34 demographic, building 13% in adults 18-34 (1.7/7 vs. 1.5/6) and 14% in women 18-34 (2.4/9 vs. 2.1/8), as well as 5% in women 12-34 (2.3/9). For the night The WB tied for first in teens (1.4/7), led all networks in female teens (1.7/9) and ranked third among six broadcast networks in persons 12-34 (1.6/7), women 12-34 (2.3/9), adults 18-34 (1.7/7) and women 18-34 (2.4/9).
The hour-long season premiere of REBA delivered solid growth versus last year's premieres in the time period (What I Like About You & Sabrina the Teenage Witch, 9/20/02), building +25% in households (3.0/6), +18% in total viewers (4.3 million), +6% in persons 12-34 (1.7/8), +6% in adults 18-34 (1.8/8), +13% in women 18-34 (2.7/10), +20% in adults 18-49 (1.8/7), +4% in women 18-49 (2.4/8), +11% in males 12-34 (1.0/5), +38% in men 18-49 (1.1/5) and +63% in male teens (1.3/8).
The hour premiere was also right on par with last year's half-hour season premiere of REBA at 9:00pm in persons 12-34, males 12-34, adults 18-34 and adults 18-49, and improved on last year's series premiere in women 18-34 (+8%), men 18-49 (+22%) and male teens (+86%). It was the best premiere ever of a WB Friday 8:00pm program in adults 18-49 and women 18-49, and equaled the highest in women 18-34 and men 18-49. It also scored the best numbers for a WB Friday 8:00pm premiere in households (3.0/6) and total viewers (4.3 million.) REBA ranked #3 in the 8-9pm time period in persons 12-34 (1.7/8), females 12-34 (2.3/9), adults 18-34 (1.8/8), women 18-34 (2.7/10) and women 18-49 (2.4/8). The comedy also ranked #1 among teens (1.4/8) and #2 in female teens (1.5/8).
At 9:30pm, the debut of ALL ABOUT THE ANDERSONS delivered significant growth over last year's premiere in the time slot (Greetings from Tucson, 9/20/02), and was the top-rated show on broadcast television among female teens (2.2/11). The new comedy was up +15% over last year in persons 12-34 (1.5/6), up +24% in females 12-34 (2.1/7), +27% in adults 18-34 (1.4/5), up +54% in women 18-34 (2.0/7), up +17% in adults 18-49 (1.4/5), up +12% in women 18-49 (1.9/6), up +43% in men 18-49 (1.0/3) and +10% in male teens (1.1/5). ALL ABOUT THE ANDERSONS ranked #1 in the time period among female teens, #2 in females 12-34 and teens and #3 in persons 12-34 and women 18-49.
GROUNDED FOR LIFE ranked #1 in its new time period among female teens (1.8/10), #2 in women 12-34 (2.3/8) and men 18-34 (1.4/6), and tied for second in teens (1.2/6).
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