‘Book of Daniel’ pulled from lineup
The “Book of Daniel” has been closed.
Originally planned as a limited-run series of eight episodes, the controversial program about a pill-popping Episcopal priest who talked to Jesus has been pulled by NBC after airing for only three weeks.
The series’ ratings had not been great since its Jan. 6 debut, and the low ratings for last Friday’s episode were the final straw. NBC said no further airings are planned.
Complaints from the Mississippi-based American Family Association – to the tune of 678,000 angry e-mails to NBC – had prompted several advertisers to pull out. At least 11 network affiliates in six states refused to broadcast the show.
“This shows the average American that he doesn’t have to simply sit back and take the trash being offered on TV, but he can get involved and fight back with his pocketbook,” said AFA Chairman Donald Wildmon.
On NBC’s Web site, series creator Jack Kenny wrote: “Whatever the outcome, I feel that I accomplished what I set out to do: a solid family drama, with lots of humor, that honestly explored the lives of the Webster family,” adding that he was “proud of our product.”
Smaller Miss America pie
Miss America was a big fish in a much smaller pond Saturday night, earning the highest ratings ever for her new cable channel – but attracting less than one-third of the viewers she last found on network television.
About 3.1 million people tuned in to Country Music Television’s prime-time broadcast as Miss Oklahoma Jennifer Berry won the 2006 Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The CMT Country Music Awards held last April had been the network’s top-rated show, drawing 2.9 million viewers.
ABC dropped the pageant from its schedule after it drew a record low 9.8 million viewers last time around – a 20 percent drop since 2000 and about half the number of viewers who watched 20 years earlier.
Fox rules ratings roost
A pigskin clash plus hammy singers proved to be a winning formula last week for the Fox network last week, which had one of its biggest-ever audiences.
Fox’s broadcast of the NFC Championship game between the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks ranked second for the week, scoring an enormous audience of 35.2 million viewers.
The season premiere of “American Idol” was seen by 35.5 million viewers to take the top spot, while Wednesday’s edition of “Idol” drew 31.7 million viewers to place third.
Overall, Fox averaged 19.2 million viewers in prime time (11.2 rating, 17 share) – the highest-rated week in network history excluding Super Bowl and World Series weeks.
CBS, the week’s runner-up with an average 11.9 million viewers, could claim its own victory. Although it aired outside prime-time hours and didn’t count in the weekly rankings, its Sunday afternoon AFC Championship Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos attracted 39 million viewers – the most-watched broadcast on any network so far this season.