'Battle of the Network Stars' Premieres Well, 'The Gong Show' Steady

Nolan Gould in Battle of the Network Stars

Also 'Big Brother' season 19 premiered on CBS with very good rating in 18-49. Format news update.

Sunday, July 02, 2017

ABC revived 'Battle of the Network Stars', based on the ‘70s and ‘80s television classic. The show premiered Thursday, June 29 (9-10PM), to 4.1 million total viewers and 1.0 rating in 18-49. It is a good result for summer, especially considering poor lead-in of a new singing talent show 'Boy Band' (0.5 rating in 18-49). 'Battle of the Network Stars' is also "solid" according to The Hollywood Reporter, while TV by the numbers calls it "decent". More about the format and THR review.

Following at 10PM, ABC's 'The Gong Show' averaged slot-winning 0.9 rating in 18-49 in week 2, in line with series premiere. Read about the format.

On Wednesday, CBS launched 19th season of 'Big Brother' and achieved very good 1.7 rating in 18-49 with 2-hour premiere. 'Big Brother' won the night crowded with reality offerings. The main competitor, MasterChef on Fox (8-9PM), had 1.0 rating in the demo, while all the other shows ended below 1 rating. "Big Brother's 19th season premiered in line with the previous one — though it was off two-tenths of a point in the key demo," The Hollywood Reporter adds.

 
Upcoming premieres and format highlights:

  • CBS launches 'Candy Crush', a new live action game show based on the mobile game, on Sunday, July 9. More about the format
  • Co-production scripted series 'Loaded', premieres Monday, July 10, on AMC. The series is based on Israeli format by Keshet Interational