Ratings Review: NBC Thursdays - First 4 Weeks

We are a long way from the glory days of Thursday night MUST SEE TV on NBC, and by the looks of it, it may be a long time before we ever see it again.

Nothing new can be said about NBC Thursday night, other than the four series that call the night its new home. From transplanted drama PARENTHOOD to the three new comedies, the faces have changed, but the results are the same.

It lone, early bright spot, THE MICHAEL J FOX SHOW, was quickly assimilated into the ratings abyss with the rest of the sitcoms. in just 4 weeks, the series has lost 4 million viewers (more than half) and a full ratings point in Adults 18-49.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY is already gone, but why it was killed, while SEAN SAVES THE WORLD was spared, is just splitting hairs. All four comedies are doing terrible. The 8 p.m. hour loses to the CW now and if a stronger series followed THE VAMPIRE DIARIES on that network, NBC would lose the 9 p.m. hour too.

PARENTHOOD is actually doing worse on Thursday nights than it did on Tuesday nights, even when you take the DVR erosion into account. But, what else can NBC place there and expect anything different?

This is just a throw away night for the network. Another season of limping along until a fresh batch of victims... er, i mean..., series can be developed for the night.

Live+SD Ratings

Series	Category	09/26	10/03	10/10	10/17	AVG
Parks & Rec	Viewers*	3.27	3.14	3.23	3.27	3.23
	A18-49	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.3	1.3
Welcome to the Family	Viewers*		2.99	2.49	2.42	2.63
	A18-49		1.1	0.8	0.9	0.9
Sean Saves The World	Viewers*		4.43	3.26	3.36	3.68
	A18-49		1.4	1.0	1.1	1.2
Michael J Fox Show	Viewers*	7.52	5.35	3.86	3.56	5.07
	A18-49	2.2	1.7	1.2	1.2	1.6
Parenthood	Viewers*	5.06	4.17	3.77	4.02	4.26
	A18-49	1.6	1.5	1.2	1.3	1.4

* - in millions