Fox ratings slip as it introduces new programs

Fox is preaching patience as its attempt to run more original summer programming has yet to be embraced by viewers.

The network finished fourth in last week’s ratings, behind even ABC, which Fox routinely beat during the winter. Fox came in third among viewers ages 18 to 49, the demographic it most cares about.

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s “The Simple Life 2,” which finished just out of Nielsen Media Research’s top 10 last week with 9.3 million viewers, is Fox’s summer highlight.

But none of the network’s five other new shows is doing well, including one by usually reliable reality producer Mark Burnett. His look at Las Vegas in “Casino” was seen by fewer than 5 million people last week.

Perhaps most disappointing is “North Shore,” a soap about young workers at a luxury hotel in Hawaii. Fox hoped it would catch on as “The O.C.” did last summer, but it drew only 4.4 million viewers last week.

Fox was hoping to attract attention during the summer by sparing viewers from the usual steady diet of reruns.

“You can’t start an entirely new way of programming a network and expect it to come out of the gate like gangbusters, especially in the summer,” said Fox spokesman Scott Grogin.

Added Fox entertainment president Gail Berman: “I’d say it’s a mixed bag right now. But if we come out of summer with three shows (that can return), it will be a pretty extraordinary strategy.”

The summer programming rollout continues Tuesday, when CBS unveils fifth seasons of “Big Brother” and “The Amazing Race.” But early returns suggest there won’t be new breakout hits to mirror past hot-weather phenomena “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” “Survivor,” “Fear Factor” and “American Idol.”

“This may be the summer where we see the reality bubble burst a little bit,” says analyst Steve Sternberg of ad firm Magna Global USA.

All told, broadcasters are down 8 percent from last summer, while basic-cable networks are up 8 percent, helped by MTV’s “Newlyweds,” FX’s “Nip/Tuck” and USA’s “Monk,” along with TBS’ “Sex and the City” reruns.

“Certainly, no new (network) shows have broken out this summer,” said CBS’ David Poltrack.

While new summer series “are a better alternative than running repeats of failed shows,” Poltrick said, “you’re still better off, if you have successful shows, repeating them.”

Case in point: CBS had eight of last week’s top 10 series, and all but one — an American Film Institute special on the best movie songs, which finished No. 3 — was a repeat.

CBS won the week’s ratings race, averaging 8.8 million viewers (6.1 rating, 11 share). NBC was second with 7.2 million viewers (4.9, 9), followed by ABC with 5 million (3.4, 6), Fox with 4.8 million (3.1, 6), UPN 2.4 million (1.7, 3) and the WB 2.3 million (1.6, 3).

A ratings point represents 1,084,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.