Pillars, InSecurity off to secure starts at CBC

InSecurity gets off to a smart start on CBC

The sword and sandal epic Pillars of the Earth and the new spy comedy InSecurity both enjoyed strong starts in a crowded first week of TV in January. The 8:30 p.m. comedy InSecurity drew an overnight, estimated 724,000 viewers Tuesday night followed by Pillars which rose to 951,000, well above what the similar drama The Tudors was averaging on CBC's schedule. The strong start by Pillars suggests that there are still plenty of Canadian viewers left to see this 10-part epic which had an earlier Canadian window last summer on The Movie Network/Movie Central.
CBC's The Rick Mercer Report also roared back with 1, 167,000 viewers. That was shaded at 8 by the barely watchable Paula Abdul talent show Live to Dance which averaged 1,216,000 viewers over two hours on CTV. The mid-season return of Flashpoint drew nearly 1.6 million overnight, estimated viewers at 10 p.m. on CTV without the benefit of a CBS simulcast.
Back-to-back NCIS's (1,030,000, 876,000) and Bones (1,045,000) kept Global in the thick of this Tuesday night three way split.The season premiere of V on /A\ drew just under 400,000. The Biggest Loser was a winner on City with 807,000 viewers. A Detroit/Edmonton tilt on TSN scored 517,000.