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GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK: November 9, 2013

GOOD WEEK: "THE BLACKLIST"
Oh sure, at first glance it looks like The Blacklist fell below a 3 demo for the first time this week so it wouldn't really qualify as a "good week." But then the news came that last week's episode of The Blacklist added a record number for DVR viewing in Live + 3 Day Ratings. It was up a huge 5.427 million viewers and 1.95 demo points. This show is one of DVR's biggest gainers every week which proves it is far more than a timeslot hit thanks to its lead-in of The Voice. People are watching this show even when they're not watching The Voice and that's a good sign. The same day numbers are going to mean less and less as time goes by so this news shows that The Blacklist is, without question, the biggest new hit of the fall season.

BAD WEEK: "THE X FACTOR"
Two years ago when The X Factor premiered, Simon Cowell said anything less than 20 million viewers would be a disappointment. Well it was a huge disappointment by that standard but it still regularly got over 10 million viewers and a mid-3 in the demo. Then it added Britney Spears and Demi Lovato as judges in a high profile move for season two. Again it disappointed but was still getting 7-9 million viewers and a high 2 in the demo, probably better than FOX could do with anything else in the slot as the American Idol placeholder. But this season, things have fallen apart and it is only getting worse. This week saw the show draw a pitiful 4.5 million viewers and 1.4 demo for its performance show this week. By comparison, the same week got 7.0 million/2.6 demo in 2012 and 10.3 million/3.8 demo in 2011. I know this is a tough slot because of American Idol having the slot in the spring but with the many half-season shows FOX is doing lately, it's time to cut its losses with The X Factor and cancel the show. They can do better and Factor is a reality competition that people don't seem to care about.

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