PERFORMANCE/SCHEDULE ANALYSIS
(Updated as of April 22, 2009)
TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC:
Strongest Demo is Adults 25-54, with a slightly female skew. However, there are stronger male demos on Mondays due to POKER.
MARCH 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
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.
PROGRAM/SCHEDULE CHANGES:
FEBRUARY - MARCH:
**March 30 - GSN will remove BLOCKBUSTERS, CARD SHARKS, CHILD'S PLAY, PRESS YOURLUCK, WHAT'S MY LINE? and TO TELL THE TRUTH from its lineup and will be replaced by Tom Bergeron's version of HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, MATCH GAME PM, PASSWORD, THE $25,000 PYRAMID and THE $100,000 PYRAMID
PREMIERES:
APRIL AND BEYOND:
**April 6th - THE NEWLYWED GAME at 6pm
**April 6th - CATCH 21at 6:30pm
**June 6th - THE GAME SHOW AWARDS at 8pm
YEAR AGO/BIG PICTURE:
March: 08-09
Yearly % change* H'hold M25-54 F25-54 P25-54
Monday 8-11pm 0% -- 100% -50%
Tuesday 8-11pm 0% -- -50% -50%
Wednesday 8-11pm 33% -50% 0% 0%
Thursday 8-11pm 33% -- 0% 0%
Friday 8-11pm 0% -- -33% 0%
Saturday 8-11pm 0% -- -33% 0%
Sunday 8-11pm 0% 50% -50% 0%
MTWTFSS 8-11pm 3% 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, March 2008. Overall share was up +33% and delivery was up +14%, respectively. FAMILY FEUD was up +33% share and +29% delivery overall. WORLD STAKES POKER 4 was also up significantly from a year ago by as much as +20% in delivery.
MARCH 2009 PRIMETIME RATINGS ANALYSIS:
Overall, the primetime Monday-Sunday average for ratings, share and demos were up this month compared to last month. Overall share was up +33% and delivery was up +4%. Adults 25-54 their core demographics were up +100% share and +12% in overall delivery. Sunday nights in particular this month had substantial growth. Share was up +50% and delivery was up +39%, due to their POKER franchise.
Staples for the network continue to sustain the primetime line-up: MILLIONAIRE, FAMILY FEUD, and POKER. HIGH STAKES POKER 4 was up +58% delivery overall, amd WORLD POKER TOUR was also up +30%. A lot of attention has been focused on the on/off air components of game playing, which has enhanced viewers commitment to their programming, and has made some older acquisitions new and fresh. And with six seasons under its belt, WORLD POKER TOUR remains a pioneer in transforming the game of poker into a spectator sport for the channel.
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE, the 30-minute version which was double pumped all week in primetime was up +6% in delivery overall.GSN is the first cable network to air the syndicated half-hour version.
The rest of the Monday-Friday line-up continues to be a consistent vertical stack of programs. FAMILY FEUD, CHAIN REACTION and PYRAMID proceeding MILLIONAIRE. FEUD fell flat, andCHAIN REACTION was down -11% delivery. PYRAMID was also down.
Saturday nights held steady with MILLIONAIRE, WEAKEST LINK, CHAIN REACTION and RUSSIAN ROULETTE. Both WEAKEST LINK and ROULETTE were down. There were no specials to report on this month.
PROGRAM ACQUISITIONS:
None announced.
PROGRAM RENEWALS:
HIGH STAKES POKER (season #5)
CATCH 21
PROGRAM CANCELLATIONS:
None announced.
ADDITIONAL SHOWS CURRENTLY AIRING:
MATCH GAME, WHAT'S MY LINE? CARD SHARK, PASSWORD PLUS, $100,000 PYRAMID, JEOPARDY!, NEWLYWED GAME, PRESS YOUR LUCK, LOVE CONNECTION, SUPER PASSWORD, HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, WIN BEN STEIN'S MONEY, BLOCKBUSTER, DOUBLE DARE
