Gossip Girl Ratings Significantly Up From Last Year, Lift CW

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- CBS, Fox and the CW are off to the best starts in the new fall TV season, according to a new report from Interpublic Group of Cos. media-research agency Magna, and the key to performance this year appears to be the stability of returning series.

"Everyone understandably focuses on new programming at the start of the season, but a network's returning-series performance is actually more important to its success," Steve Sternberg, Magna's executive VP-audience analysis, wrote in a report released today.

Best start: CBS
In his estimation, CBS "has certainly had the best start when it comes to its returning series." Mr. Sternberg said "Criminal Minds," "CSI: Miami," "NCIS," "How I Met Your Mother, "Two and a Half Men" and "48 Hours Mystery" all have "started out better than last season." Fox also is enjoying success, thanks to animated comedies "The Simpsons," "Family Guy" and "American Dad," all of which "are outpacing last year, as is 'Bones.'"

CW's "Gossip Girl" is "up significantly over last year at this time," he wrote, while "Supernatural" is "up slightly," and "America's Next Top Model" and "Smallville" are "down a bit."

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Comments

[LibRS]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj3YezuNuQo