B'cast bounces in fall

The broadcast biz, looking for an instantaneous injection of hits, has become exactly that this fall. Because of a sitcom surge, some unique new dramas and also the return of Simon Cowell, the Large Four have emerged for year-over-year rankings gains -- something which had happened only two times in the earlier ten years. Nielsen estimations that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are viewed normally by 12.3% of grown ups under 50 on the nightly basis, up from 11.9% last year. Fox and CBS would be the early-season leaders in demos, with Fox up a lot more than 15% overall, and CBS slightly enhanced, and remaining dominant as a whole audiences. ABC has held steady, while 4th-place NBC has slid further. Overall, comedy is warmer than anytime in recent memory, which was apparent on opening evening -- when Ashton Kutcher's debut on CBS vet "2 . 5 Males" came an astonishing 28.7 million audiences. Two several weeks in to the season, the Nielsen rankers show comedies composed of 17 from the top 30 non-sports programs among grown ups 18-49, including four newcomers. The genre is particularly dominant in the tip-the surface of the charts, as half-hour laffers claim the very best five 18-49 positions among entertainment series -- four on CBS ("2 . 5 Males," "The Large Bang Theory," "The Way I Met Your Mother" and rookie "2 Broke Women") and something on ABC ("Modern Family," possibly the most popular of all of them). This has not happened since "Do It Yourself,Inch "Seinfeld," "Roseanne," "Sophistication Under Fire" and "Coach" in 1993. Obviously, primetime has shown to be cyclical in character, and comedy -- that has in the past been popular throughout tough economic occasions -- was past due to shine. But gleam sense that auds, more restless than ever before, will also be searching for something they are able to watch while getting involved in social networking. When the half-hour format is much more favorable for this, the 2-hour reality show would appear to become cutting from the grain. ABC's two-hour "DwtsInch is lower 22% year-to-year, while NBC's "The Greatest Loser" has shed 17% of their demo audience. Another two-hour competition series, Fox's "The X Factor," has emerged a good artist this fall, but arrived less than most guesstimates. The hourlong drama appears to become under siege in certain respects, with youthful auds clearly searching for something fresh. Inside a fall which has seen cabler AMC's zombie series "The Walking Dead" rival the rankings of some broadcast dramas, the only real new drama to hack the very best 20 is ABC's "Not so long ago," a story book fantasy from some people behind "Lost." Meanwhile, the crime drama seems to possess cooled -- or at best auds appear to possess enough faves already. While CBS remains potent (and really expires year-to-year) with the kind of "NCIS," "Criminal Minds" and "Blue Bloods," its new crime choices, "Person of great interestInch and "Memorable," have not yet damaged out in early going this fall. Recently, a highly-performed crime show involved the most secure drama wager for that broadcast nets, but 2011 has seen unsuccessful spinoffs of "Criminal Minds" and NBC's "Law and Order." ABC's "Body of Proof," which bowed last spring, has shown to be nothing special in the second season, and also the Peacock canceled cop remake "Prime Suspect" after seven low-ranked episodes this fall. From the network perspective, Fox is incorporated in the rare position of leading the 18-49 pack before "The American Idol ShowInch hits the environment, thanks largely to 2 shows: the Cowell-fronted reality contest "The X Factor," which ranks twelfth among non-sports series this fall and it has increased both Wednesday and Thursday nights and Tuesday comedy "New Girl," a high-10 artist (although it has ended up some following a hot start). Among its other new shows, Fox's dinosaur drama "Terra Nova" has deflated, as has Sunday animated comedy "Allen Gregory." And also the internet should have some worry about the slide of third-year skein "Glee," that is lower about 25% year-to-year. The very best news for CBS is its Monday selection, where 9 p.m. anchor "2 . 5 Males" expires a lot more than 30% year upon year, even when you get rid of Kutcher's debut, and 8 p.m. stalwart "The Way I Met Your Mother" expires 24%. These growth spurts have assisted the newcomer airing together at 8:30, "2 Broke Women," to interrupt out because the season's top new show. The Eye's midweek veterinarians are searching great, including "NCIS" (the season's No. 1 drama in 25-54) and "The Large Bang Theory," that is up 15% year-to-year (possibly because of elevated exposure in distribution) and it is the fall's No. 3 series in 18-49. Two CBS hrs that may use improvment are Fridays at 8, where "A Gifted Guy" has not done much, and Sundays at 9, where "The Great Wife" has carried out decently on its new evening. Additionally to "Not so long ago," ABC continues to be increased by three other new shows, including comedies "Last Guy Standing" and "Suburgatory." The second has fit in well between coming back laffers "The CenterInch (up 17% versus. this past year) and "Modern Family" (up 20% along with a close second behind "2 . 5 Males" among entertainment series this fall). And after battling for a long time to locate something which works Wednesdays at 10 (think "Cashmere Mafia," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "The Entire Truth"), the internet has hit on something with "Revenge," a up-to-date tweak around the cleaning soap format that has not really flourished around the Large Three in two decades the show is amongst the buzzed about newcomers from the fall, and it has been winning or challenging because of its timeslot's lead each week. The ABC misfire from the fall was its reboot of "Charlie's Angels," while new drama "Pan Am" does OK but has not taken flight such as the internet might have loved. Regrettably for NBC, the less stated about its performance this fall, the greater. Its "Sunday Evening Football" may be the season's No. 1 show, up a little versus. this past year, however the only Peacock program one of the top 40 non-sports shows this fall is "Work,Inch lower 17% without Steve Carell. "The Playboy Club" was axed after three airings, and also the net's greatest sparks among new shows came from Friday drama "Grimm" and Wednesday comedy "Up Through The Night," using the latter obtaining a midseason timeslot change to the 9:30 p.m. publish-"Office" position. Still, despite an excellent Bowl boost come Feb, the internet will need to work some midseason miracle to prevent another 4th-place finish. n Fall TV season instantly Grown ups 18-49, excluding sports Top new shows Rating/share1.2 Broke Women (CBS)5.5/142.New Girl (Fox)5./133.Not so long ago (ABC)4.5/114.The X Factor (Fox)4.4/125.Suburgatory (ABC)3.7/top 10 coming back shows Rating/share1.2 . 5 Males (CBS)7.6/182.Modern Family (ABC)7.3/193.The Large Bang Theory (CBS)6./184.The Way I Met Your Mother (CBS)5.1/145.Grey's Anatomy (ABC)5./13 Quantity of top-30 shows by network CBS11ABC10FOX8NBC1 * Includes "Glee" and "Desperate Average women" - (Sept. 19 - November. 13, 2011) Source: Nielsen Contact Ron Kissell at ron.kissell@variety.com