"On Monday, the ratings rankings were released, and the new drama "Prison Break" won the championship. ”

"Fantastic Young led the team to invade the screen with "Prison Break", and NBC made a surprise return to Monday's championship. ”

With the reports of NBC Entertainment Network, Yahoo Entertainment Network, Reuters and other websites, fans and viewers who care about the ratings are the first to know about Monday's situation, and fans who love "Prison Break" are excited and understand NBC's mood. At a time when "Friends" is about to come to an end this season and lose an ace, NBC has suddenly added another new show with such a great impact, no wonder spokesperson Rebecca Marks said, "We were so surprised! It's a huge win." ”

At 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the first episode of NBC's "Prison Break" received an average of 18.65 million viewers, with a total rating of 18, and another important indicator, the ratings of adult viewers aged 18-49 reached 10.5, which is very popular with young people.

In addition to losing the 10-49 ratings to ABC's 16.49 million viewers of "Monday Football Night" of 11.2, in terms of total audience and total ratings, "Prison Break" won the Monday championship!

It beat CBS's 15.38 million viewers in the same period, with a rating of 9.8/15 for "Everyone Loves Raymond", down 3.01 million from 18.39 million last season, 14.31 million, 8.5/14 for the new drama "Two and a Half Heroes", and FOX's 3.54 million viewers, 2.1/3 for "SKIN"; UPN's "Girlfriend" and "Half and Half" with 2.16 million and 2.18 million viewers respectively; B's "Snow Mountain Town" with 3.17 million viewers...... At the next 10 o'clock, the second episode of "Prison Break" faced CBS's strong rival "CSI-Miami" and ABC's continued "Monday Football Night", with a viewership of 18.15 million and a rating of 10.3/17, while "CSI-Miami" was also sniped, with 14.87 million viewers and a 9.1/14 rating, losing 1.58 million viewers compared to last season.

On this night, counting "Who Dares to Challenge" dominated the eight-o'clock slot with 13.59 million viewers, NBC won the ratings championship in the three evening periods, and CBS, which ate a heavy punch, lost comprehensively.

So on Monday's national ratings charts, the first and second runners-up in the ratings were won by "Prison Break" with the first and second episodes, "Monday Football Night" won the third place, and "Everybody Loves Raymond" ranked fourth...... "Bang Bang!" In the Rockefeller Center building of NBC headquarters in New York, bursts of thunderous applause rang out in the conference room of the NBC entertainment department, Kevin Reilly, president of the entertainment department, smiled and showed a mouthful of white teeth, and Paul Jones, the manager of the production department who sat in two parts, was also full of happy smiles, and the senior executives almost shouted "yes" to express the refreshment in their hearts!

The ninth season of NBC's 02-03 season of "Friends", the evening ratings champion, is 21.14 million viewers, with a rating of 13.5/21, the third of the year.

Now the premiere of "Prison Break" is not 10 million, not the 11.55 million of "Critical Frontline", not the 12 million of "rest assured", not the 15 million of surprises, but an average of 18.4 million for two episodes!10.4/18!

According to the situation of last season, this rating can be ranked eighth in the year! There are only three of the top 10 NBCs in the last season, and they are all ancient artifacts that are too old to be touched at any time: "Friends" has been on the air for nine seasons, and "The Story of the Emergency Room" has been in sixth place with 19.99 million viewers (13.1/21), and "Law & Order" has been ranked tenth with 16.87 million viewers (11.4/19...... It's not the 40s of the last century when NBC dominated the screen, and with the rise of CBS and ABC, NBC has long ceased to dominate primetime. In the 21st century, in the words of Kevin Rayleigh, "the status of everyone is very, very close, the management can hardly make any mistakes, and the ratings of a TV station depends on who can get a show that is attractive enough." ”

Preston Berkman Programming Manager, FOX Program Manager, also said, "Any small change can make the first place go to the third place, or the third place to the first place." ”

For NBC and this generation of entertainment executives, the appearance of "Prison Break" is undoubtedly a long drought!

In fact, these well-dressed high-level executives are often walking on thin ice, facing pressure from higher-ups, racking their brains to get good programs and win over producers. Now with the "Thunderbolt Ranger" complex, the entertainment department is lucky to get "Prison Break", and they are also like the original Lionsgate Film Company, "discerning" to recognize the genius of Magic Young, and have achieved extremely surprising results!

"We all misunderstood what Yang meant, and now "Prison Break" is watched by 10 million viewers!"

Kevin Rayleigh glanced at the smiling faces of the heads of departments on both sides, spread his hands, and laughed, "10 million adult viewers!" Everyone immediately laughed, and then applauded with cheers, and the atmosphere was a little carried away for a while. Paul Jones and the others laughed at each other and said, "I was really scared by him." "This guy just likes to play surprises. "I mean, how can Wonder Jan be so humble?", "When I told him about the ratings, he was calm. ”…… The ratings of adult viewers aged 18-49 are very important, because this age group is the main consumption power of the market, so 4/5 of the ratings will be worth more than 2/8, and the advertising cost is particularly high, sometimes saying "how many ratings of such and such a drama" is to take the indicator of 18-49 as the default standard. This season's adult audience rating is around 1 million based points, and the 10.4 points of "Prison Break" are indeed more than 10 million.

The 13-year-old child in 98 is now an 18-year-old adult, and the magic of "7 consecutive wins on the screen" is unmatched in the popularity of the young people, which is unmatched in the scope of the new generation of directors, and the market positioning of "Prison Break" is a set of tense dramas that attract young audiences, so NBC attaches great importance to the number of viewers and adult ratings, and there are viewers who have ratings.

Now they really didn't disappoint, this is the first time in many years since the 90s, all the way to 2000, NBC has won the first fall Monday ratings title, and even dominated the whole Monday night!

"When the time comes, let's hear what Jan has to say. Kevin Rayleigh clicked the watch on his wrist, and under the smiles of everyone, he pressed the conference phone on the table and dialed Wang Yang in Los Angeles, and said with a smile when the phone was connected: "Hi, Yang!" Wang Yang is one of the most important creators of "Prison Break" and one of the screenwriters.

Although he is somewhat "laid-back", he is the top executive of "Prison Break".

"Hi, everyone!" Wang Yang's pleasant voice came from the conference phone, which immediately spread throughout the conference room.

There was a chuckle of greeting in the conference room, and Kevin Rayleigh made a quiet gesture, looked at the black phone, and said with a smile: "Yang, do you know the ratings of "Prison Break"?" Wang Yang over there laughed and said, "Yes, Paul told me, it exceeded my expectations." I think...... Shouldn't you be cut in half now?" Everyone laughed, and Kevin Rayleigh made a "can't do anything about this guy" expression and smiled: "No, no, we should talk about the second season." ”

Leave this to Paul to talk to you in detail. Seriously, "Prison Break" is a big surprise for NBC!" Kevin Rayleigh laughed and applauded, and the loud applause in the conference room was instantly transmitted over the phone to Los Angeles. Wang Yang said thank you a few times, the applause stopped, and Rayleigh smiled again: "We are discussing arranging a celebration banquet for "Prison Break", but we know that your engagement is coming. ”

He paused, and everyone in the conference room burst into applause of blessings, Wang Yang smiled and said thank you, and Rayleigh continued: "So we will wait until mid-October, when the ratings of "Prison Break" stabilize, and then celebrate your achievements. Wang Yang didn't care: "OK." ”

Kevin Rayleigh knew that 99% of this low-cost celebration party would be held, and the second episode against "CSI-Miami" was able to maintain 18.15 million, 10.3/17, indicating that the audience almost accepted "Prison Break" and was reluctant to leave after watching it. This has been very well verified in the market's evaluation response, and many viewers have even called for feedback, asking "Prison Break" to continue to broadcast two episodes next week.

They all think that what they should think about now is not the decline in the ratings of "Prison Break", but after the second episode that left a big suspense, will the ratings of the third episode, which will be more exciting next week?

In any case, the 23-year-old Magic Young blew up this crazy result when he first entered the screen, maybe it will not be as sensational as "Ghost Shadow" back then, TV series is a TV series, pay attention to the long flow, but God knows if in the next few years, will he produce TV shows like "Youth Musical", "Juno", and "District 9", and become a superstar behind the screen step by step?

Everyone in NBC Entertainment would not dare to slack off, if Magic Young was willing to sign a long-term co-production contract with NBC to "launch a few shows in a few years", NBC Television Group Chairman Bob Wright would definitely yell: "Send the contract over, the longer the better!" But unfortunately, Wang Yang rejected this initial intention at the beginning, and the reason was very direct: "I like freedom." ”

Despite the lack of long-term contract guarantees, they will still start to increase their efforts to promote "Prison Break" as originally planned, after all, there are still 22 episodes, a late DVD, and a second and third season, and now with such excellent results and reviews, it can be justifiably held to the sky.

"Thanks, Jan. Kevin Rayleigh thanked the phone, and the success of "Prison Break" also made a dazzling addition to his entertainment president's report card, laughing, "We're all expecting more amazing TV shows from you, like that sitcom?" He lobbied and said, "It can be scheduled for next season!" to fill the Thursday slot that was vacated by Friends......

"Haha, Kevin, you've honored me. In the elegant and bright study, Wang Yang, who was sitting behind the desk, interrupted Kevin Rayleigh's words with a smile, looked at the script text of "Firefly" on the computer screen, and did not have much enthusiasm for Rayleigh's proposal. He is getting married early next year, he has to concentrate on doing a good job of "Firefly", and a bunch of things for the company, and he has to think about how to make the second season of "Prison Break".

As for now, Wang Yang smiled into the hands-free microphone: "Everyone, now let's enjoy the championship of "Prison Break" to the fullest!"

The opening result of 18.65 million viewers and 10.5/18 ratings did exceed his expectation of 15 million, but he knew that this was actually a normal thing, and even felt a little sorry that he did not break through to more than 20 million viewers.

The original version of "Prison Break" had a 10.5 million start, with an average of 9.2 million in the first season and a rating of 4.1/10. Let's not talk about quality and publicity, it was broadcast on the FOX channel at nine o'clock, and the audience of the two sets of sitcoms "Development Blocked" and "Kitchen Secrets" at eight o'clock was 4.2 million and 3.8 million respectively, in other words, more than 6 million people turned to watch "Prison Break", and the audience generally doesn't like to turn the channel, unless it is a sports station.

If you are used to watching a certain TV channel, you will have a psychological inertia and tendency, continue to watch it at eight o'clock, and continue to watch it at nine o'clock, and continue at ten o'clock after the nine o'clock file. Therefore, often after an episode of a certain program on a certain channel rushes to high ratings, the ratings of the next program will also soar accordingly, so the historic NBC has a title called "Must-See-TV".

Yesterday, NBC's eight-o'clock file "Who Dares to Challenge" was 13.59 million, which means that if you put a passable drama on NBC's Monday nine-o'clock file, there will basically be 7 million-9 million, and good dramas such as "Critical Frontline" will have 11 million. The audience source is very important to the ratings of the series, and if the original "Prison Break" had been broadcast on NBC at the same time "at the time" and properly promoted, it would probably have more than 12 million or 13 million viewers.

Of course, whether it can be maintained is a question. Although the original version eventually fell by 1.3 million and only had 4.1 adult viewer ratings, its 10.5 million opening results were real, and it also won the "Most Popular New TV Drama Award" at the 2005 People's Choice Awards.

Both of these aspects show that the audience does not hate the crime theme of "Prison Break", but is very interested.

gradually developed to the point that there are more elderly or young viewers than adult audiences, still because of the false plot setting and the lack of convincing characters. One reason why non-adult audiences are more likely to accept it is that in their minds, such a prison can be real! Because the prison settings of the original "Prison Break" are almost all traditional prison construction and management models, which the elderly think is OK, but the children don't understand.

It is said that "Prison Break" has a great influence in some countries and regions overseas, such as Chinese mainland, and it is those audiences who do not perceive any loopholes and focus their attention on the tense plot, but will feel a lot of excitement.

In the hearts of the current 18-49-year-old audience in the United States, they all accept the concept and impression of the "new generation of prison" in the mid-to-late 60s of the 20th century, including Wang Yang himself, advanced electronic facilities, prison guards always keep an eye on the prisoners...... These conceptual knowledge caused the original version to be highlighted, and the unreasonable characters and actors with average acting skills caused the audience to be unable to engage, and the ratings became less and less.

Now they have tried their best to solve it, the quality of "Prison Break" on the street is close to the highest level that can be achieved, pushing the tension and suspense to the extreme, enough convincing and not afraid of the audience to participate in thinking about the prison escape plan...... So for the average average 18.4 million and 10.4/18 ratings of the opening two episodes that are now making NBC ecstatic, Wang Yang was only stunned when he first heard the phone: "Oh, 18.4 million." Then he laughed happily, and calmly smiled without any excitement: "Okay, I see." ”

Of course, if the third episode of next week can soar to more than 20 million, he thinks he will still "YES!" and jump up with his fists.

"That's right, now let's enjoy our championship first!haha!" Kevin Rayleigh nodded and laughed, and it wasn't too late to lobby. Paul Jones and the others also laughed happily, and the season began with a big victory!

In the Black Rock Building, the headquarters of CBS in Manhattan, New York, there was silence in the conference room of the entertainment department, and Nancy Durham, the president of the entertainment department, who was sitting at the head of the table, looked at the subordinates on both sides, with silent faces, and completely failed on the first day of the season this year!

To add insult to injury, the newly aired eighth season of "Everybody Loves Raymond" received low reviews from viewers, and the ratings of 18-49 also suddenly dropped significantly. (The original "Raymond" ended in the ninth season of '05.) In this autumn season that has just begun and is still very long, how can it fight against "Prison Break"? Could it be that the championship of the nine o'clock file was just taken away by NBC?

Thinking of this, Nancy Tellham's old face couldn't help but tense even more, looking at this verified Monday ratings report, it was a mistake not to compete with NBC for Wang Yang in the first place, this little guy really has a magical power. Is there a way to poach him to CBS?, Nancy Tellham thought about it, but didn't have a clue, the Flames Group had apparently reached a partnership with the NBC Group.

She glanced around her subordinates and smiled faintly: "It's not terrible to lose a Monday champion, it's terrible that we lose our fighting spirit." In fact, it's not that serious, there is only one Wang Yang, one more producer on NBC, and one more "Prison Break", there will be no big changes, we just need to do our best!" She muttered: ""Raymond may be coming to an end, we need to add new sitcoms." ”

"This week, the 2003-2004 fall TV season officially kicked off, and according to Nielsen data, the new TV series "Prison Break" won the Monday championship as a dark horse. Wait, what? I said the dark horse?"

Under the bright night, the streets of New York City are flowing endlessly, and many cars are stopped by red lights, and the owner looks at the bright front as day, and listens to the radio host's surprised voice: "Then I said it wrong, "Prison Break" is a TV series produced by Wang Yang, yes, Amazing Yang, this young guy has brought another surprise." I don't know if you've watched "Prison Break" and what do you think? but I, I can't believe it's going to be that exciting......"

The red light went out, the green light came on, and the cars resumed moving forward.

(To be continued)