ABC's John Ritter Tribute Tops Prime-Time Ratings - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Austin Tripper · 09-18-2003, 05:25 AM

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle....toryID=3462476

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An ABC television tribute to its late comedy star, John Ritter, led all Tuesday night shows as the most watched program in prime time, Nielsen Media Research reported.
The one-hour special "John Ritter: Life of Laughter," averaged more than 14 million viewers, far and away the night's biggest audience, and scored a No. 1 rating of 5.0 in the key demographic of viewers aged 18 to 49, according to preliminary figures issued on Wednesday.

The robust ratings come as a seemingly good omen for the future of the ABC sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," which starred Ritter as a family man coming to terms with his children's coming of age.

Ritter, 54, died last Thursday of a previously undetected heart ailment after he collapsed on the set while filming the fourth episode of the show's upcoming second season.

ABC announced on Tuesday the series would return as planned with its Sept. 23 season premiere, followed by two other episodes completed before Ritter's death. The network will then air reruns until fresh episodes incorporating the sudden death of Ritter's character into the story line are ready.

The show had become one of the most promising new offerings on ABC's schedule, and Walt Disney Co.-owned broadcaster was counting on "8 Simple Rules" to anchor its Tuesday night lineup.

The Ritter special featured highlights from the career of the former "Three's Company" star and testimonials from his peers, producers and friends.

The second most watched program of the night, averaging 11.2 million viewers, was the Whoopi Goldberg comedy "Whoopi," the new NBC show going up against "8 Simple Rules" on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. "Big Brother" on CBS was No. 3 with 9.9 million.

beckyc · 09-18-2003, 04:03 PM

That is good

nightc1 · 09-18-2003, 04:23 PM

Wow

I guess Howard Stern and all the other naysayers were infact wrong (as most of us thought). John Ritter was very well loved from coast to coast and more people tuned in for the tribute than anything else that night

This is great.

It's not great John Ritter died. But it's great to see that overall he was well recognized and well loved even still today in the public eye.

09-18-2003, 05:25 AM	#1
Austin Tripper Jack Tripper is GOD! Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 17, 2001 Location: United States Posts: 614	ABC's John Ritter Tribute Tops Prime-Time Ratings http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle....toryID=3462476 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An ABC television tribute to its late comedy star, John Ritter, led all Tuesday night shows as the most watched program in prime time, Nielsen Media Research reported. The one-hour special "John Ritter: Life of Laughter," averaged more than 14 million viewers, far and away the night's biggest audience, and scored a No. 1 rating of 5.0 in the key demographic of viewers aged 18 to 49, according to preliminary figures issued on Wednesday. The robust ratings come as a seemingly good omen for the future of the ABC sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," which starred Ritter as a family man coming to terms with his children's coming of age. Ritter, 54, died last Thursday of a previously undetected heart ailment after he collapsed on the set while filming the fourth episode of the show's upcoming second season. ABC announced on Tuesday the series would return as planned with its Sept. 23 season premiere, followed by two other episodes completed before Ritter's death. The network will then air reruns until fresh episodes incorporating the sudden death of Ritter's character into the story line are ready. The show had become one of the most promising new offerings on ABC's schedule, and Walt Disney Co.-owned broadcaster was counting on "8 Simple Rules" to anchor its Tuesday night lineup. The Ritter special featured highlights from the career of the former "Three's Company" star and testimonials from his peers, producers and friends. The second most watched program of the night, averaging 11.2 million viewers, was the Whoopi Goldberg comedy "Whoopi," the new NBC show going up against "8 Simple Rules" on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. "Big Brother" on CBS was No. 3 with 9.9 million.

09-18-2003, 04:23 PM	#3
nightc1 Three's Company Fan Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 10, 2003 Location: Outside of the Internet Posts: 36	Wow I guess Howard Stern and all the other naysayers were infact wrong (as most of us thought). John Ritter was very well loved from coast to coast and more people tuned in for the tribute than anything else that night This is great. It's not great John Ritter died. But it's great to see that overall he was well recognized and well loved even still today in the public eye.
	__________________ Yep it's me, the same guy from IGN. I'm a big fan of quite a few classic TV shows (3's Company is mainly why I'm here)... so I found the best site on the net to talk about it and visit every so often.

09-18-2003, 04:03 PM	#2
beckyc beckyc Frequent Poster Join Date: May 27, 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 257	That is good