The CW Shows Confidence In 'One Tree Hill,' 'Vampire Diaries'
But still waiting to see how 'The Beautiful Life' plays out
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The season is young, but already Fox has given a full-season order to "Glee," and now The CW is doing the same with "One Tree Hill."

After two episodes, "One Tree Hill" is averaging a 1.7 rating/3 share, according to Fast National ratings from The Nielsen Co., earning nearly the exact same rating over its first two weeks. Its lead-out program, "Gossip Girl," has not been so lucky in terms of audience, premiering with a 1.7/3, but then losing nearly 18 percent of its audience in its second week to average a 1.6/3.

Last week, "One Tree Hill" was The CW's fourth most-watched program behind "Vampire Diaries" (2.5/4), "America's Next Top Model" (2.0/3) and "Supernatural" (1.9/3). At the same time, "One Tree Hill's" numbers were just slightly below The CW's week average of 1.8/3 which finished the young network in last place among its competitors.

"Vampire Diaries," which had The CW's biggest premiere numbers ever and maintained its dominance in the second week despite a 19 percent audience drop, earned nine more scripts, which could lead the way to a full-season pickup, depending on how well the show does over the next few weeks.

The CW also ordered more scripts for "Melrose Place," but that show already is on the bubble. It premiered with a 1.7/3 on Sept. 8, almost even with its "90210" lead-in, but dropped to a 1.0/2 in its third week, a 41 percent audience drop. Over the same time period, "90210's" audience had fallen just under 17 percent, and is now averaging more than 25 percent better than "Melrose Place." Last week, "Melrose Place" avoided the last slot in The CW's rankings only because "The Beautiful Life" premiered with just a 1.1/2.

The CW hasn't decided what it will be doing with that show quite yet, but it might keep it around as long as it stays above a 0.8 household rating. However, even those numbers are bad for The CW, and its continued existence on a network that was only able to manage a 1.8/3 last week is threatened.

"Melrose Place" executives are hoping they'll get a boost in time for November sweeps when Heather Locklear, who appeared in the original "Melrose Place," decides to make an appearance, Variety reports.

About the Author

Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha and the entire BlipNetwork. He owns Quantum Global Media Inc., the parent corporation of the BlipNetwork. He's a print journalist by day, and lives in Tampa, Fla.

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