Viewers didn't flock to network's big shows

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Since television is the most reactive of mediums, expect the response to be development of more self-contained shows that don’t keep story strings untied from week to week. Also, “next year there will be a lot of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ rip-offs,” Beckman said.

Dr. McDreamy and the gang have settled in as television’s new kings and queens, all the more remarkable because it moved to a new night opposite the powerhouse “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” The two shows have been topping the Nielsens all season. ABC entertainment chief McPherson’s move is paying off handsomely. Coupled with the success of “Ugly Betty” before it, ABC is suddenly a major player on Thursday, the most lucrative advertising night of the week.

It’s the most significant and successful switch of a network time slot since CBS moved “Survivor” to Thursdays a few seasons ago.

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Heading into November, network executives are in the midst of one of the more agonizing parts of their job, trying to decide if new series with middling ratings are worth holding on to in the hope an audience will find them, or if it’s better to cut their losses and run. That’s what NBC faces now with “Studio 60,” for example.

CBS’ “Criminal Minds” illustrates how patience can pay off. It has blossomed into a Top-10 hit in its sophomore season, coming close to beating ABC’s “Lost” in the same time slot.

Prime-time TV’s comedy slump has continued this fall. Even with a limited number of new comedies premiering — ABC put off its “Knights of Prosperity” until January — nothing has caught on. Within the past week, NBC has decided to bunch its best four sitcoms on Thursday, much like CBS does with Monday.

“You worry that (viewers) will lose the habit of looking for comedies on TV, which would be sad and I hope that we never get there,” said Kelly Kahl, CBS’ chief scheduling executive. “But, quite frankly, we need to do a better job of getting people to laugh.”

Steady CBS remains the nation’s most popular network. ABC expected to lose viewers when it lost “Monday Night Football,” but it hasn’t, and is doing particularly well among its targeted young demographic. NBC is pleased with “Heroes,” but Metcalf will have a lot of holes to fill when football ends in January. Fox’s real season doesn’t begin until “American Idol” and “24” debut this winter but even by those standards it’s been a dismal fall for the network. The new CW and My Network TV are looking for viewers wherever they can be found.

“I don’t think there’s a real game-changer that I’ve seen so far, which tends to favor us,” Kahl said.

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