Big Time Ratings Drops For “Melrose Place,” “The Jay Leno Show”

Things did not look good when “Melrose Place” (which, based on reviews, was not going to have the benefit of post-show word-of-mouth) premiered to lukewarm numbers last week. Sure enough, the show suffered an alarming dip in week two.

Week two of “Melrose” dropped to a mere 1.4/2 household rating with 1.8 million total viewers. The adults 18-49 demographic number–a 1.0–offered nothing in the way of a saving grace.

The drop from the unimpressive premiere numbers was more than 20% in viewers and adults 18-49; it was more than 17% in households.

Lead-in “90210″ cannot really be blamed. While it suffered a drop of its own for the second week of season two, it was far more stable; it moved from 2.5 to 2.4 million viewers and slid from a 1.8 to 1.7 in the household rating department.

“Melrose Place” is already making last year’s cancelled “Privileged” (which, though similarly low-rated, garnered better reviews) look like the better Tuesday night counterpart for “90210.”

– Elsewhere, “The Jay Leno Show” took an expectedly sizable tumble for it second night. After posting premiere viewership numbers that eclipsed 18 million in Nielsen Media Research’s final report, the show could only muster 11.1 million for night two. The adults 18-49 demographic number dropped to 3.4.

The show’s performance places NBC in an interesting position from a PR perspective. It came under fire this summer for using the 18-49 demographic number to tout “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” as successful (even as “Letterman” began winning the viewership race); in the case of “Leno,” however, it appears that the total viewership figure will ultimately stack up better than the adults 18-49 number, especially when ABC and CBS get into the swing of things.

It still won its relatively competition-free hour.