This entry can be considered tangential to my previous entry that analyzed the performance of Fall 2008 shows. While compiling the data on these shows, one of the most glaring trends was the difference in audience levels between Friday and all other nights.

Friday night is considered a “death slot” given that Americans are rarely home to watch TV that weeknight. While I accept that the average viewer probably has plans other than TV on Fridays, I also believe that there is no such thing as an “average viewer.” Viewers that make Extreme Makeover and Desperate Housewives top-rated shows on Sundays are not the same viewers that make House or The Office top-rated shows on other nights. Audience fragmentation has led to segmentation of tastes and viewing habits. Networks should be able to produce ratings for every given night if they merely target to appropriate demographic that is apt to watch television on that given night.

While Fridays have always been deemed problematic, sometimes networks have created value on that night, as in the case of ABC’s TGIF lineup in 1990. More recently, CBS has made good inroads on that night with The Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs, resulting in a leading share of around 30%. While I don’t have the exact numbers, MyNetworkTV’s Friday ratings have grown tremendously this season thanks to WWE Smackdown. Interestingly enough, Smackdown was a Thursday night program back in 2005, and it was moved to Friday night without much prospects, where it became an accidental success story.

What do Jennifer Love Hewitt, advanced math and repressed anger have in common?

While I don’t have the data to prove it, I believe that Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs and Smackdown all appeal to a young, male-skewed and socially alternative demographic (read: geeky) that watches TV on Friday night due to lack of other options. Being adolescent, not being in the ‘in-crowd’ and not having a car or premium cable television could place you within this segment. The Ghost Whisperer probably also has a core female audience but given the recent cancelation of its new lead-out this season, The Ex List, I believe that CBS misread the field and thus misprogrammed the 9:00 p.m. slot between The Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs.

Given the success of these shows I can only assume that the other networks will be placing a greater emphasis on finding programming that attracts this audience to create a more sustainable value on Friday nights.