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Feed: HEADLINE PLANET
WWE, UFC Results & News, TV Ratings, Album Sales
Early “The Voice” Ratings Look Good, “Super Bowl” Down Very Slightly
06-Feb-12 By: Brian Cantor
While there is no way of knowing how beneficial the extra eyeballs will be in driving the regular timeslot ratings for “The Voice,” NBC can at least know that season two of the competition series got off to a strong start. Following Sunday’s “Super Bowl,” “The Voice” delivered a 19.4 overnight metered market rating. Up significantly from last year’s underwhelming post-Super Bowl numbers for “Glee,” the overnight ratings forecast a big premiere audience for “The Voice”–one that should easily eclipse that of any “American Idol” airing this season. The early response to Sunday’s “Voice” episode was very positive, but the conversion of post-Super Bowl viewers into regular viewers is not clockwork. Still, it appears impossible that “The Voice” will not perform decently Monday night, and that should mean good news for “Smash,” which airs out of the competition show. As for the Super Bowl, the Patriots-Giants nailbiter just slightly missed a record in the overnights, although the final data could certainly tell a different story. The game’s 47.8 overnight trailed last year’s Packers-Steelers game and the Super Bowl XXI matchup between the Giants and Broncos on the all-time list; both of those games delivered a 47.9.
Carlos Condit Wins UFC Title, Nick Diaz Says He’s Quitting; UFC 143 Results
05-Feb-12 By: Brian Cantor
At last weekend’s UFC on FOX, the leading mixed martial arts promotion lucked out with both key bouts–Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping and Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis–ending in favor of the more-marketable title challenger. That luck was not present at UFC 143. Ahead of the show, a potential Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz match had been viewed as the most commercially-appealing option in the Welterweight division and very likely in the entire UFC. Carlos Condit, Diaz’s opponent in the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship match, is a talented, respected fighter, but his charisma and star quality are known weak spots. But Condit ended up pulling out the victory, winning a unanimous 48-47, 49-46, 49-46 decision over Diaz. Condit outpointed Diaz with evasive, accurate striking, and though Diaz, as always, pushed forward and controlled the center of the cage, Condit rarely let himself get cornered and thus gave Diaz no opportunity to deliver his signature barrages of punishing strikes. Throughout the show, the UFC announcers had long said that the winner was moving straight into a fight with GSP this fall, effectively making the idea of the Interim Championship meaningless. Prior to Saturday, Condit, however, had said he would be [...]
Antonio “LA” Reid Confirmed for “The X Factor” Season Two
05-Feb-12 By: Brian Cantor
Last week’s “X Factor” blood bath will not extend to Antonio “LA” Reid, who Deadline confirms has been booked for season two of FOX’s fall reality competition. Reid and Cowell are the only two judges who will return this fall; Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger were officially axed. Critically-panned host Steve Jones was also removed from the equation. “LA” was a highlight of the early audition episodes, with producers focusing on the rivalry between the outspoken judge and veteran reality name Simon Cowell. Critics soured on Reid, whose comments throughout the live competition portion often lacked insight and showed a surprising lack of pop culture and mainstream music knowledge, but he was never ripped the way Scherzinger was. In addition to delivering lower-than-expected ratings, season one of “The X Factor” also devolved into something of a mess as the show reached its conclusion. It did, nonetheless, deliver respectable numbers–and far better than FOX would usually expect from its timeslots in the fall–and thus still has tremendous value for the network.
“30 Rock” Ratings Sink to Record Low, “Big Bang Theory” Hits High
03-Feb-12 By: Brian Cantor
Going head-to-head with “The Big Bang Theory” (and “American Idol”) has not been fun for “30 Rock,” and the ratings for the latter have become so low that perpetual disappointment “Community” no longer looks bad. Thursday’s episode delivered a mere 1.3 adults 18-49 rating with 3.2 million viewers, a clear series low for the Emmy-winning comedy. “Parks & Recreation” followed with a 1.8 and 3.7 million, leading into flagship “The Office” (2.7, 5.3 million) and “Up All Night” (3.8 million). “Rock” competitor “Big Bang,” meanwhile, delivered a 5.4 adults 18-49 rating and a record 16.4 million viewers. The show, which has seen buzz grow significantly this year as affiliate and TBS syndication takes off, has held up gloriously against “American Idol.” It again beat “Idol” in the head-to-head timeslot and tied the FOX reality show’s overall rating. “Big Bang” led into new comedy “Rob,” which scored a 3.4 and 11.3 million. While the retention is nothing special, “Rob” is generally performing better than other entries did in the slot.
WWE Name Helps Latest Piracy Crackdown; FirstRowSports, Others Seized
02-Feb-12 By: Brian Cantor
UFC’s anti-piracy viewpoint has been far more visible in recent months, but when it came to a recent federal crackdown, it was the WWE brand that helped get the job done. Reuters reported Thursday that a Department of Homeland Security agent posed as a WWE representative to assist in seizing a group of websites that streamed videos of live sporting events, including NFL, NBA, NHL games and professional wrestling pay-per-views. The federal complaint charges Yonjo Quiroa, the defendant (also known as Ronaldo Solano), with one count of criminal copyright infringement. Feds claim Quiroa operated nine of the sixteen seized websites (the total list includes firstrow.tv, firstrowsports.com, firstrowsports.net, firstrowsports.tv, hq-streams.tv, robplay.tv, soccertvlive.net, sports95.com, sports95.net, sports95.org, sportswwe.net, sportswwe.tv, sportswwe.com, xonesports.tv, youwwe.com and youwwe.net). In building the case against Quiroa as the potential culprit, the DHS agent, posting as a WWE representative, offered to buy the various domain names from him. He allegedly responded with an offer to “make a deal.” According to the Reuters story, his alleged piracy was documented from February 2010 until January 2012. Most believe the seizure was strategically-designed to sync up with buzz for this weekend’s Super Bowl; a similar seizure occurred just ahead of last year’s Super [...]
Lana Del Rey Album Sales Look Decent for “Born to Die”
01-Feb-12 By: Brian Cantor
The controversy might not have sent her over the moon, but it definitely did not hurt her. Following a critically-repudiated live set on “Saturday Night Live,” Lana Del Rey is in the midst of a decent album sales week. According to Hits Daily Double, opening day sales figures suggest her major label debut “Born to Die” is on track for between 55-60,000. The album won’t top Adele’s still-absurdly-strong “21″ on the charts, but it should definitely land respectably on the Billboard 200. While the singer-songwriter had decent buzz prior to the SNL incident, there was no way the album was going to top this sales total (or, likely, even match it) had the two performances not occurred.
“Glee” Ratings Surge for Michael Jackson Episode
01-Feb-12 By: Brian Cantor
“Glee” finally has something to celebrate in the ratings. Though it will likely only register as a temporary rebound when all is said and done, the rating for Tuesday’s Michael Jackson tribute on “Glee” jumped considerably from the prior airing. The show scored a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating with 9.0 million viewers to win the 8PM hour. While the fact that CBS aired a re-run of “NCIS” did not hurt the “Glee” performance, the magnitude of the jump suggests the Jackson tribute deserves a fair share of the credit. Out of the improved “Glee,” “New Girl” was up slightly to a 3.5 with 7.2 million viewers. “Raising Hope” was not so lucky, however. It slid to a 2.1 and 4.7 million.
WWE RAW Ratings Jump On Royal Rumble Buzz, WrestleMania Hype
31-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
With no more football competition and WrestleMania season finally underway, WWE finally got some good news in the ratings for its Monday Night RAW program. Monday’s episode delivered a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating and 5.2 million viewers, up substantially from the prior week’s already-improved 1.7 rating. According to USA Network’s research Twitter, the adults 18-49 performance is the weekly program’s best since the post-WrestleMania 27 show last year. The one down note is the fact that RAW, again, fell from hour one to hour two (5.3 million viewers at 9PM, 5.1 million for the second hour). Though the post-Royal Rumble buzz likely skewed the situation with an inflated audience at show’s onset, it is still not ideal when the show fails to maintain its audience over the course of the broadcast.
Complete WWE RAW Results Report for January 30, 2012
31-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
WWE.com RAW Results Report for January 30, 2012: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With the Road to WrestleMania officially underway, Undertaker wasted no time making his intentions known – he has sights set on Triple H and The Grandest Stage of Them All. The stunning return left the status of John Laurinaitis’ role as Interim Raw General Manager in question. The Undertaker interrupted John Laurinaitis’ performance review to confront Triple H As John Laurinaitis gave himself high job ratings, WWE COO Triple H came out to call the Interim GM a spineless backstabber. After making him sweat out what his fate would be – including hinting at a Gauntlet Match and joining the legendary Kiss My Ass Club – The Game said he was going “to do what needs to be done.” But before he could go any further with Laurinaitis’ review, The Undertaker’s ominous gong sounded, announcing his dark presence. As The Phenom made his way to the ring in front of a shocked WWE Universe, Triple H stood equally as stunned. As the two sized each other up, The Phenom signaled for Triple H’s demise, while focusing his dark gaze on the WrestleMania XXVIII banner high over head. WWE [...]
WWE’s Plans for Chris Jericho, Elimination Chamber Main-Event, Cena Angle
30-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
With WWE still planning to build to a CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho match at WrestleMania, both men will be part of the same main-event at Elimination Chamber. The current plan is for Punk to defend his WWE title against Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, The Miz and R-Truth in the titular gimmick. In a Twitter post, Punk subtly teased beginning his angle with Jericho on RAW tonight, and while that might indeed be the plan, it looks like the feud will not reach the pinnacle of urgency until WWE passes the Elimination Chamber “checkpoint.” – At present, it does not appear WWE is looking to make the John Cena vs. Rock WrestleMania bout a title match, as Cena has been conspicuously absent from situations (the Royal Rumble match and now the EC match) that would either lock him into the ‘Mania title picture or have him lose a high-profile main-event. Of course, last night’s double count-out match with Kane did not exactly establish Cena as an apex predator, and so there has been talk of having another Cena vs. Kane match at Elimination Chamber, according to F4WOnline.com. Regardless of whether the feud continues through that show, the program with [...]
More UFC on FOX Ratings News; Down 22%, Peaks for Evans-Davis
30-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
FOX released updated overnight ratings Monday afternoon, confirming that the show’s household audience declined by 22%. Adults 18-49 data and viewership totals were not yet available, but the show managed a 2.7 overnight household rating, down from a 3.5 for the November fight between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. FOX attributed the decline to the extra coverage in the 8PM hour and the lack of a heavyweight title fight; from 9-10:15PM, this month’s show, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, scored a 3.1. In terms of fight averages, Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman posted a 2.3, Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping net a 2.9 and Evans-Davis delivered a 3.4. The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6. Other markets of interest: New York – 2.2/4; Los Angeles – 2.3/5; and host city Chicago – 2.8/5.
Sheamus Wins WWE Royal Rumble, Kharma, Others Make Surprise Returns
30-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
With Sheamus, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Big Show in as the final four of this year’s WWE Royal Rumble, it appeared one of the predictable winners–either Randy Orton or Chris Jericho–was winning the match at the WrestleMania title shot. Instead, that honor went to Sheamus, who eliminated Chris Jericho to win the 2012 Royal Rumble. Unless WWE works an angle to strip Sheamus of his shot, he will be in one of the featured bouts at WrestleMania. Over the past month, WWE had been hyping that “any Superstar” could enter this year’s Royal Rumble. That stipulation was used to explain some surprise entrants, although it is not entirely clear why (several performers who are blatantly not “superstars” still managed to work the match). The “unexpected” entrants were as follows: All three announcers (Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T) Hacksaw Jim Duggan Road Dogg The Great Khali Kharma Ricardo Rodriguez
WWE Royal Rumble Begins with World Championship; Royal Rumble Results
30-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
WWE’s annual Road to WrestleMania begins tonight–it’s time for the Royal Rumble. Headlined by the 30-man, over-the-top-rope battle royal, the annual pay-per-view has firmly established itself as WWE’s second biggest show of the year. As always, the winner of that iconic main-event receives a title shot at WrestleMania. test The undercard could also provide a solid source of entertainment, with a WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler, a grudge match between John Cena vs. Kane and a World Heavyweight Championship match between Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry and Big Show leading the action. The World title match opens the show. Full results, courtesy MARC MIDDLETON AND LOP, follow: Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Title: Big Show vs. Mark Henry vs. Daniel Bryan We go to the cage and out first comes the World Heavyweight Champion. Out next comes Mark Henry followed by Big Show. Lilian Garcia does formal ring introductions as we get ready for the bell. Immediately Bryan tries to climb the cage but gets pulled down and slammed by Big Show. Henry stops the pin attempt and goes at it with Show. Show knocks Henry down with a big shoulder and splashes him into [...]
Backstage News, Possible Spoilers for WWE Royal Rumble
30-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
WWE’s “Road to WrestleMania” begins with Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and while WWE’s general direction for WrestleMania seems obvious, it is never clear whether everything at the Rumble PPV will play out predictably. Notably, with Chris Jericho and Randy Orton rumored as the title challengers for WrestleMania, it has long been assumed that one of them will win. While that could very well still be the case, WWE occasionally likes changing things up for the sake of being unpredictable. WWE has heavily focused on the “any WWE Superstar can enter” stipulation for the Royal Rumble (which seems like an odd, minor distinction from the usual “rule”), and so it seems logical that the rule will play clearly into Sunday’s match. Some, including F4WOnline.com, have said that at least one plan floating around called for a very surprising winner as a consequence of that stipulation. As is always the case, WWE is expected to feature some surprise, nostalgia-themed entrants in tonight’s Royal Rumble match. F4WOnline.com reports that “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan looks to be a go for the show. Mick Foley was confirmed as a veteran entrant on Monday’s RAW, and plans for his involvement have not been changed. Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore [...]
UFC on FOX Numbers Look Promising for Rashad Evans, Phil Davis Show
29-Jan-12 By: Brian Cantor
Without a Heavyweight Championship fight and without quite as much fanfare as the debut in November, Saturday’s UFC on FOX had accumulated its fair share of pessimism regarding the rating. When all was said and done, the first show ended up doing well, but not spectacularly well. Without the special novelty, was this quarter’s UFC on FOX, featuring Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis and Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping as the main-events, going to fall into the “disappointing” or “lukewarm” territory? As of right now, if the first show was considered a good number, things look promising for the second show. It did a (very preliminary) 2.2 adults 18-49 in the fast nationals, and that number is subject to a substantial upward adjustment when the data is corrected for the live airing on the west coast and the overrun for the main-event. Last quarter’s show registered a 2.4 in the fast nationals and then climbed by more than 20% with the time zone adjustment. According to TVMediaInsights, the half-hour breakdown was as follows: 8:00 p.m: 3.68M, 1.8A18-49 8:30 p.m: 4.28M, 2.2A18-49 9:00 p.m: 4.62M, 2.4A18-49 9:30 p.m: 4.91M, 2.6A18-49 One thing particularly worth noting, once the data becomes more “final,” [...]
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