PERFORMANCE/SCHEDULE ANALYSIS
(Updated as of May 21, 2009)
CURRENT AND SIGNATURE PROGRAMS:
CHAIN REACTION (GAME)
New episodes from the 1980's game show from producer Michael Davies, hosted by Dylan Lane.
Status:
DOG EAT DOG (REALITY)
Six players are presented a physical or mental challenge to conquer. The group then votes for the one amongst them most likely to fail. If the underdog tanks, adios! If he/she wins, another player is sent to the 'Pound.' (Network acquisition off NBC.)
Status:
FAMILY FEUD (GAME)
Game show that pits two families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100 people.
Status:
HIGH STAKES POKER (GAME)
Top poker players buy in for $100,000 or more of their own money.
Status:
LINGO (GAME)
Contestants are guided through the paces in this letter-grid game. Two-person teams guess to identify five-letter words correctly before having to pass their turn to the next team. The challenge culminates in a Final round with $5,000 at stake.
Status:
WEAKEST LINK (GAME)
Contestants compete and answer questions to build a link of correct answers. At the end of each round the contestants turn on their own and eliminate the dead-weight. (Network acquisition off NBC/PAX.)
Status:
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE (REALITY)
The chance to win a million dollars. (Network acquisition off ABC.)
Status:
WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK (GAME)
Casinos nationwide are sending their top players to compete in the WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK, hoping to win the $1 million dollar prize pool.
Status:
APRIL 2009 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
TOP PRIMETIME SHOWS:
HIGH STAKES POKER, WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE, FAMILY FEUD, WORLD POKER TOUR, PYRAMID, CHAIN REACTION, RUSSIAN ROULETTE, NEWLYWED GAME, CATCH 21, HIGH STAKES POKER
SCHEDULING STRATEGIES:
Much of GSN's programming is conventional studio-based quizzers that dominate primetime. However, they are leading up with new specials and theme nights as in the case of their Vegas Night block of casino programming. Their schedule seems to be constantly changing and in flux.
UPCOMING PREMIERES:
THE GAME SHOW AWARDS premiered on June 6th, 2009 at 8pm
DEAL OR NO DEAL premiered on June 1st, 2009 at 7pm (strip @ 7pm & 11pm Mon- Fri)
1 VS 100 premiered on June 6th, 2009 at 6pm (Saturdays)
RATINGS ANALYSIS
Live Primetime Ratings Comparison
April 2009 vs 2008
Yearly % change* H'hold M25-54 F25-54 P25-54
Monday 8-11pm 0% -- -- 0%
Tuesday 8-11pm 0% 0% 100% 100%
Wednesday 8-11pm 100% -- -- --
Thursday 8-11pm 33% -- 0% 0%
Friday 8-11pm 33% -- 0% --
Saturday 8-11pm -25% -- -33% --
Sunday 8-11pm 50% 50% -- 100%
MTWTFSS 8-11pm 0% 0% 0% 0%
*The Nielsen Company's National Television Audience Sample
Overall primetime averages for share and delivery were up this month as compared to one year ago, April 2008. Overall share fell flat but delivery was up +8%, respectively. FAMILY FEUD was up +33% share and +21% delivery overall. WORLD STAKES POKER 4 was also up significantly from a year ago by as much as +39% in delivery.
APRIL 2009 PRIMETIME RATINGS ANALYSIS:
Overall, the primetime Monday-Sunday average for ratings, share and demo delivery were down this month compared to last month. Overall share was down -25% and delivery was down -9%. Adults 25-54 their core demographics however, were up slightly by +1% in overall delivery.
Staples for the network continue to sustain the primetime line-up: MILLIONAIRE, FAMILY FEUD, and POKER. Both HIGH STAKES POKER 4 and 5 were down this month -12% and -11% respectively, in delivery overall. WORLD POKER TOUR was up slightly by +2%. WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE, the 30-minute version which was double pumped all week in primetime was down -9% delivery. And FAMILY FEUD was also down -12% this month.
The rest of the Monday-Friday line-up continues to be a consistent vertical stack of programs. CHAIN REACTION and PYRAMID usually proceeding MILLIONAIRE was replaced with THE NEWLYWED GAME and CATCH 21 this month. Both programs premiered on April 6th. NEWLYWED, the classic game show already looks like a keeper and was one of the higher rated programs on the channel this month. CATCH has had a lot of promotion behind it, and bringing two new shows to freshen up the primetime line-up is exactly what GSN needed to do.
Saturday nights held steady with MILLIONAIRE, WEAKEST LINK, CHAIN REACTION and RUSSIAN ROULETTE. WEAKEST LINK was up +50% share. ROULETTE was down. There were no specials to report on this month.
PROGRAM ACQUISITIONS:
DEAL OR NO DEAL
PROGRAM RENEWALS:
HIGH STAKES POKER (season #5)
CATCH 21
PROGRAM CANCELLATIONS:
None announced.
