Lower-than-expected ratings have forced ABC Family to make scheduling changes
for two of its highly touted original reality series, My Lifeas a
Sitcom and The Last Resort.
Later this month, the network will add extra plays of Sitcom and strip
Resort in an effort to drive awareness and viewership for both original
shows, senior vice president and head of programming Linda Mancuso said.
Since generating a 0.8 Nielsen Media Research household rating for its Jan.
20 debut, Sitcom's audience has steadily declined. The show -- in which a
real family will ultimately be chosen to appear in a scripted comedy series --
pulled 0.6 and 0.4 ratings during its second and third installments,
respectively.
Although the network was anticipating at least a 1.0 average for
Sitcom, Mancuso said the show will complete its 10-episode run.
Resort has also posted less-than-stellar numbers. The reality series --
in which couples retreat to a resort island to work out their differences --
averaged a 0.7 during a limited run last summer, but it has yet to reach that
mark thus far after three weeks.
After posting 0.6 and 0.5 ratings its first two weeks, the series' Feb. 3
episode only mustered a 0.4.
In an effort to boost ratings and build awareness, ABC Family starting Feb.
24 will move the 15-episode Last Resort series from its weekly time slot
of Mondays at 8:30 p.m. to a daily 10 p.m. slot, Mancuso said.
In addition, the network will offer a two-hour Last Resort marathon
Feb. 16 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
As for Sitcom, ABC Family will air two additional repeats weekly for
the show, although days and time periods had not been determined by press time.
The network currently repeats each new episode thrice.
