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October 11, 2002
'West Wing' Slips in Ratings, Critics Not Worried
By Ben Berkowitz
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Is President Bartlet's popularity slipping ahead of the election?
While America's real-life president seems to be doing just fine in the opinion polls ahead of mid-term congressional elections, NBC's political drama "The West Wing," whose fictional president Josiah Bartlet is up for re-election this season, is slipping in the ratings.
Although "West Wing" remains one of the highest-rated shows on television and just won an Emmy Award as best dramatic series for a third straight year, the show has seen a steady decline in viewers from one episode to the next since the debut of its fourth season last month.
Most notably, the show is losing adult viewers under age 50, the demographic most coveted by advertisers, in stiff Wednesday night competition this season against ABC's romantic reality show "The Bachelor."
Through Oct. 6, "West Wing" was ranked No. 13 in prime-time viewership overall and No. 5 among dramas, with an average audience of 17.7 million viewers. That's slightly higher than last season's average, but the show is down substantially from last year in ratings for adults 18 to 49.
"West Wing" also is having its ratings chipped away by the CBS reality show "Amazing Race" and two new dramas -- an update of "The Twilight Zone" on UPN and the WB's "Birds of Prey."
"This is one of the most crowded time periods on television," Matt Roush, senior television critic for TV Guide magazine, told Reuters, adding he thought "West Wing" also was suffering from a creative rut.
"I think last season was shaky creatively and I think this season is continuing that creative malaise," he said. "I'm not nearly as passionate about it as I was a year-and-a-half ago. The payoffs aren't as pleasurable as they used to be."
Nevertheless, the show still commands top dollar from advertisers; NBC frequently mentions, with pride, the show's heavy draw among people with high incomes.
Neither network officials, nor representatives of Warner Bros. Television, which produces the show, were immediately available for comment on the series' fortunes.
The ratings hiccup comes as NBC and Warner Bros. prepare to negotiate a new licensing agreement for the show. NBC reportedly pays producers as much as $2 million per episode.
The ensemble drama is also preparing for the departure of one of its co-stars, Rob Lowe, in March.
But TV Guide's Roush said that, even with a dip in the ratings, "West Wing" remains a top-tier program.
"It's not like it's in danger or anything, it's still a huge prestige item," he said. "It's still clearly, in Hollywood's mind, a totally blue-chip show."
Posted by MorganG at October 11, 2002 03:41 PM