Ratings Review: CBS Monday Nights - First 4 Weeks

The first four week's of CBS Monday nights has not been a pleasant one for the network. Already one series has been cancelled and others are moving time slots.

CBS is, for all intents and purposes, a fourth place network on Monday nights. It is easily the worst of the Big 4 networks in total viewership and struggles to battle ABC for the third spot in the A18-49 demographic ratings. Two much change on the night as resulted in a much weaker CBS line up.

The only stable series of the night is HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. It final season has been and should continue to do well, despite going up against DANCING WITH THE STARS and THE VOICE. It is a great lead in for a new series, but it is the backside of that 8:30 slot that allows viewers to skip CBS after 8:30.

WE ARE MEN was the weaker sitcom of the four, but it was not sticking out like a sore thumb. But canceling the series after its second episode was needed to move 2 BROKE GIRLS down to the 8:30 slot. CBS needs to fortify the nigh with a little gaps as possible. Having a solid 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. line up will only help MOM at 9:30. But, it looks like CBS will just ride out the storm at 10 p.m. with the limited series HOSTAGES.

2 BROKE GIRLS is not the next anchor of CBS Monday Nights. It showed signs of that last season and with two new hours of programming around the 9 p.m. series, it just couldn't handle it. The move to 8:30 on October 14th gave the series its best numbers since the season premiere. And having encores of THE BIG BANG THEORY at 9 p.m. for three weeks should help it even more.

By all accounts MOM is a typical Chuck lore comedy. It has signs of promise, based on the ratings. Once the MIKE & MOLLY returns and the new drama is in place at 10 p.m. expect to see the ratings of MOM rise.

HOSTAGES is a quality drama, but it is a horrible ratings draw. From the start, the numbers were bad, and only got worse after those viewers sampled the series. It is hard not to compare HOSTAGES with its 10 p.m. counterpart THE BLACKLIST, but the pace and story is so much better by THE BLACKLIST, it is not a surprise of the horrid numbers HOSTAGES is bringing in.

It looks as if CBS will let HOSTAGES fill its limited series run and wait to bring in the new drama INTELLIGENCE on schedule, in early 2014.

Live+SD Ratings

Series	Category	09/23	09/30	10/07	10/14	AVG
How I Met Your Mother	Viewers*	9.40	7.88	7.53	7.98	8.20
	A18-49	3.7	3.1	3.0	3.1	3.2
We Are Men	Viewers*		6.61	5.41		6.01
	A18-49		2.0	1.8		1.9
2 Broke Girls	Viewers*	8.88	7.72	7.26	7.99	7.96
	A18-49	2.8	2.4	2.3	2.6	2.5
Mom	Viewers*	7.99	7.01	6.86	7.44	7.33
	A18-49	2.5	2.2	2.1	2.0	2.2
Hostages	Viewers*	7.41	5.96	5.22	5.16	5.94
	A18-49	1.8	1.5	1.2	1.2	1.4

* - in millions