GSN's new shows

When GSN decided to debut their two latest originals - America Says and Caroline & Friends - well outside prime time, I had to wonder what was up. Were the shows embarrassments that GSN execs wanted to keep out of the top viewing hours? Or was Steve Harvey's Family Feud too big a moneymaker to tamper with in prime time?

Well, the new shows haven't been embarrassments. In fact, America Says is one of the better originals ever for our little game show network. Sure, the show is a Feud knockoff, but it's an improvement, with a clock that livens up the sometimes dawdling front game. The Nielsen Company certainly likes the show, which has steadily built its numbers week by week. The latest week has been easily the show's best yet, with an average of 388K viewers and a 0.06 18-49 rating (all numbers from ShowBuzzDaily).

Okay, the demo number looks (and is) miniscule but GSN doesn't seem to mind. The rating translates to about 70K 18-49 viewers in the afternoon, which the network will take. You do know about game shows' old skew, right? And GSN execs have made it clear that they want to pursue the traditional older game show audience with "a family environment filled with winning and fun." Translation: we like lighter stuff that grandma will be comfortable with. After all, almost every TV outlet is skewing older as the entire country ages. So what's the use of the endless and often futile demo chase? Good-bye, Skin Wars.

Caroline & Friends hasn't garnered quite such good numbers, but the first two eps produced ratings that were certainly acceptable. (The show has usually been off ShowBuzzDaily's 18-49 based chart. I asked the site owners for the numbers, and they responded once but not twice. Don't want to get them too annoyed with me.)

At this point I think America Says has already won a renewal and possibly even a perch in prime time down the road. GSN doesn't like depending on Fremantle for every prime half-hour. Caroline & Friends may also get another season in the afternoon.

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