... With a strong lead-in from NFL overrun (6.0 adults), Fox's animation lineup saw growth across much of the two-hour block. Starting with a steady Simpsons (3.0 adults), Bob's Burgers (2.1 adults) improved half of a point -- while Family Guy (2.6 adults) and American Dad (2.1 adults) both grew by four-tenths from their last originals. Fox averaged a 3.3 rating with adults 18-49 and 8.5 million viewers. ...
Fox-News Corp. has consistently done well with animation. (Well ... done well since losing their Arizona studio a decade ago.)
Fox is the only entertainment conglomerate that's done a deal with the WGAw, and it's paid off big time. The company's Sunday night block of prime-time cartoons has been a ratings winner for a long while, and it looks to continue. Fox has also moved aggressively on the theatrical animation front, releasing the output of Blue Sky Animation Stuiods (which it owns and DreamWorks Animation (which it doesn't ... yet.)
Of course, not everything is rosy. (Nothing ever is.) The flies now swimming in the ointment?
1) Seth MacFarlane is disinclined to produce 22 new episodes of Family Guy going forward. (Eighteen is the number for the upcoming season, and the reason is: he's way busy with other projects and still likes to approve each of the episodes of his signature show. So, eighteen (18) is Mr. M.'s doable number.
2) American Dad is moving to Turner. With fewer episodes, but that isn't Fox Broadcasting's problem. Its problem is ...
3) New "Animation Domination" misfires. Bob's Burgers made the cut, but Allen Gregory and Napoleon Dynamite quickly came and went. Murder Police, with a thirteen episode order, was cancelled before it aired.
The big challenge for Fox is to find solid replacements for its old stalwarts. The Simpsons could well continue for three or four more seasons, but the rest of the lineup is open for change. Finding suitable replacements seems to be an ongoing issue.
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