Ratings Report: “Fifth Grader” Continues to Grow

Time for a ratings update from the first week of December.  I wasn’t a fan of the primetime edition of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader because, well, it was a complete ripoff of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, but I understand why it has its fans.  It’s why I was a bit excited to see the current daytime edition since they have a relatively unique game now that isn’t falling into the trappings of a million dollar game show, which a comedic quiz game like Fifth Grader felt bizarre under.  It’s why I’m actually happy to see the show continue to do really well.  It grew again; up 7% to a 1.6.  It’s not at the levels that Deal or No Deal hit but it’s far exceeding my expectations and it’s against much tougher competition.  I’m really rooting for Fifth Grader to continue its success and stick around.  It’s really shocked me in a positive way.

I think we’re seeing the effect that Regis and especially the Tournament of Ten had on Millionaire, as it shrinks just a bit to a 2.4 rating, which should still be comfortable enough for them.  They will be rerunning the Tournament for the next two weeks, and after that Phone A Friend disappears.  I don’t know what barometer we’ll have to see if that affects anything at all.  I almost feel silly saying removing it will affect the show’s ratings in any way but I’ve never gotten more messages about the show, nor have I seen Millionaire attract as much attention on Twitter, than about, “Why was Phone A Friend removed.”

Sweeps really don’t seem to affect Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy! whatsoever.  They were at a 7.3 and a 6.2, up double-digits from the last week of Sweeps.  Go figure.  Just for shiggles and comparison, NBC’s The Jay Leno Show can only attract a 3.6 rating, usually at most.  Family Feud and Deal or No Deal stayed the same yet again.  Perpetually boring Deal (which really just needs something to generate a small amount of excitement) stuck at the lowest of games, a 1.2.  Family Feud is around a 1.3.