THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 23, 1994 TAG: 9411230084
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
CBS CERTAINLY has nothing to be ashamed about as far as ``Scarlett'' is concerned. The eight-hour mini last week pulled in big-but-not-vast numbers. The bottom line: an average 18.5 rating and a 28 share over the four nights. Translation: About 26 million viewers, on average, tuned in. That's the good news; now the bad. CBS had promised advertisers a 24 rating and 36 share, which means that it now owes millions of dollars in commercial time to sponsors.
As far as audience composition is concerned, ``Scarlett'' - as expected - got lots of female viewers (particularly women between 35 and 50). Hardly any men tuned in (it got only a 9 percent share of male viewers between 18 and 34). One last fact: The bulk of the viewers were over age 50. GARDEN OF LIGHTS
WTKR, Channel 3, will give viewers a sneak preview of the Norfolk Botanical Garden's new Garden of Lights holiday display tonight at 7:30. Garden of Lights is a $300,000 project with a four-seasons theme. Visitors can tour the display by car, truck or van. NEWSMAG SHOWDOWNS
The networks are playing Russian roulette with newsmagazines, says CBS Broadcast Group czar Howard Stringer.
CBS' ``48 Hours'' goes head-to-head with ABC's ``Turning Point'' at 10 p.m. Wednesdays, handing the time slot to NBC's ``Law & Order.'' Ditto for CBS' ``Eye to Eye With Connie Chung'' and ABC's ``PrimeTime Live'' at 10 p.m. Thursdays. Give that to NBC's ``ER.''
Says Stringer: ``Eventually, someone has to blink.''
Earlier this season, CBS blinked. With ``ER,'' NBC's new hospital drama, clobbering ``Chicago Hope,'' CBS' new hospital drama, CBS moved ``Hope'' an hour earlier, to 9 p.m. Thursdays. (``ER'' also sent ``PrimeTime Live'' into intensive care and another home as of January.)
``It's clear that head-to-head competition is counterproductive between newsmagazines,'' Stringer says. ``You hand over the leadership of the time period to a non-news audience. You have to think through your schedule. Somebody's got to move. I don't intend to show my hand.''
Come January, ``PrimeTime Live'' will be news competition for ``48 Hours'' at 10 p.m. Wednesdays. Chung - if she survives that long - will battle Forrest Sawyer's ``Day One'' at 10 p.m. Thursdays. As for the glut of newsmags, Stringer concedes the once-hot genre has probably peaked.
``When you compete with each other, you end up competing on undesirable turf, trying to out-tabloid each other. It comes at the expense of your soul,'' he said. THE STONES ON TOUR
Didn't catch the Rolling Stones on their Voodoo Lounge tour? You can Friday - and cheaper, too. The Stones, along with guests Sheryl Crow, Bo Diddley and Buddy Guy, will be in full swing during ``Hoodoo U Voodoo,'' a live, pay-per-view cablecast from Miami. It begins at 8:30 on Cox and repeats Saturday at 1 a.m. To order, call (800) 597-4004; cost is $24.95. TCI starts it at 9, with repeats Saturday at 1 a.m. and Tuesday at 8 p.m. (800) 6563-7807; $25.95. NEW ``PARTY'' TIME
Phew, a reprieve for ``Party of Five.'' Fox said that the struggling but critically acclaimed Monday show about five orphans will move to Wednesdays on Jan. 4. The frightfully bad ``Models Inc.'' will move to Mondays on Jan. 2, following ``Melrose Place,'' the show from which it was spun off last summer. The ``Party of Five'' pilot will be rebroadcast Dec. 28. TESH ON THE MOVE
``Entertainment Tonight'' co-host John ``Music Man'' Tesh will hit the road for most of next month. But not for ``ET.''
Accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra, Tesh will start a 12-city U.S. tour to promote his new album, ``A Family Christmas'' (GTS).
Tesh's recent appearance on QVC to hawk ``Family Christmas'' and last year's ``A Romantic Christmas'' was a monster hit. The segment, scheduled for two hours, ended after 22 minutes when the home-shopping network had exhausted its supply of 120,000 CDs and tapes. by CNB