Despite two rough weeks, NBC isn’t shoveling dirt over its new “Celebrity Apprentice” just yet.
In case you missed it, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s baton-grab from Donald Trump debuted on January 2 to just a 1.3 rating in the key 18-49 demographic and 4.9 million viewers overall. In other words, a lot of people missed it.
And then the Nielsen numbers got worse. Last night, the latest “Apprentice” installment slipped to a 1.1 and 3.9 million viewers. That’s down 15 percent further in the main demo, and 20 percent among overall eyeballs. Um, didn’t this show used to be a TV ratings giant? What’s going on here?
Well, TheWrap readers can click here to find out exactly what happened with “The Terminator’s” first turn in the high-backed chair. But let’s focus on the new news, the week-over-week decline. No one expected “Celebrity Apprentice” — or really any show that isn’t Season 1 of “Empire” — to grow from Episode 1 to Episode 2. But with weak numbers on Day 1, Night 2 sure could’ve retained a bit better than it did.
Unfortunately, Monday evening’s episode went up against an instant-classic National Championship Game between Clemson and Alabama over on cable. That’s never going to help broadcast, especially with male viewers.
NBC’s previous Monday prime was also marred with another down-to-the-wire NCAA pigskin finish elsewhere, with USC pulling out a last-minute comeback “W” against Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Though the schedule had been set and competition anticipated, the back-and-forth nature of those two postseason games didn’t help NBC catch “live” viewers.
Unfortunately, the delayed viewing on “The New Celebrity Apprentice” premiere episode isn’t exactly cause for unbridled optimism, either. In Live + 3 Day TV Ratings, the show grew 16 percent in the main demo (to a 1.5) and added 724,000 total viewers (to 5.7 million). That’s not bad for an alternative series, but it’s not “yuge,” as executive producer Trump would say. Live + 7 numbers will be rolling in soon.
Speaking of the former on-air boardroom boss, Trump’s continued involvement (in producer title) has probably turned off those that do not align with him politically. Ironically, our president-elect has been mocking the show’s soft start on Twitter, which could actually work out as an inadvertent plug. Attention — good or bad — is advertising.
For now, the Nielsen numbers are what they are. While the ratings aren’t good, they’re not (yet) in “terrible” territory. Fox, for example, would be plenty happy with a 1.1 on a Monday. That said, current No. 1 NBC is not No. 2 Fox.
So what can Bob Greenblatt’s network do to bail this franchise out? For starters, producers definitely have to start developing storylines for the C-list cast — get viewers invested in the celebrities and their drama. In other words, don’t cut out the giant fights between Vince Neil and Boy George, Mark Burnett.
The other thing NBC can do is move the show to a better time period. Maybe drop it behind an 8 p.m. episode of freshman game show “The Wall,” instead of making “Celebrity Apprentice” open primetime itself. “The Wall” was a bust at 10 o’clock, but a boon at 8. Food for thought. If a shift to a totally new night is possible, getting away from ABC’s “The Bachelor” can only help.
Neither NBC nor producers immediately responded to TheWrap’s request for comment on this story.
For now, catch the next episode of NBC’s “New Celebrity Apprentice” next Monday at 8/7c. Or, you know, don’t.