TNT, USA win '05 cable ratings
David
TNT, USA Win Cable Ratings
Anthony Crupi
TNT will finish 2005 as the most-watched ad-supported cable channel,
as the network averaged 2.57 million total viewers in prime time
through Christmas Day, a year-over-year increase of 5 percent,
according to Nielsen Media Research.
The Turner network also won the prime-time crown for the most viewers
in the 18-49 demo, averaging 1.17 million over the course of 2005, and
was tops among the 25-54 demo (1.24 million). This is the fourth
consecutive yearly win for TNT among those demos.
USA Network placed second for the year with 2.33 million prime-time
viewers, a 2 percent rise over 2004, followed by Nick at Nite (1.88
million, up 4 percent), ESPN (1.84 million, down 3 percent) and Fox
News Channel (1.77 million, up 6 percent).
TNT was bolstered by the performance of its new original series The
Closer, which was the top-rated original series on cable in 2005,
averaging 5.4 million total viewers. The net also lured big audiences
with its original miniseries Into the West and the cop drama Wanted.
USA also reaped the benefits of offering original series, hosting
three of the six top-rated basic cable originals of 2005 among both
18-49 and 25-54 with Monk (2 million in 18-49 and 2.4 million in
25-54), The 4400 (2 million in 18-49 and 2.2 million in 25-54) and The
Dead Zone (2 million in 18-49 and 1.9 million in 25-54). Since the WWE
reverted to USA from Spike TV in October, the general entertainment
net has ranked No. 1 on basic cable every Monday of the fourth quarter
among total viewers, 18-34 and 18-49.
Other networks that enjoyed a stellar 2005 include FX, which boasted
the most-watched show among 18-49 with Nip/Tuck, averaging 2.7 million
viewers in the demo, and Lifetime, which earned an average 4.1 million
total viewers with its slate of 15 original movies.
In total programming day, Nickelodeon was the most-watched net in
2005, averaging 1.23 total viewers. It was also tops among 2-11, 6-11,
9-14 and 6-14 in total day. The non-ad-supported Disney Channel ruled
prime among the 6-11 and 9-14 sets (849,000 and 737,000,
respectively), thanks to the popularity of its series That's So Raven
(averaging 919,000 among 6-11 and 812,000 in 9-14) and The Suite Life
of Zack & Cody (837,000 in 6-11 and 732,000 in 9-14). Disney also
boasted the most-watched original movie on cable this year, as its
Halloween-themed Twitches lured 7.02 total viewers.
Hallmark Channel enjoyed the greatest ratings increase in total
prime-time viewers among the more widely distributed nets, upping its
audience by 27 percent. Spike TV also showed big gains, pumping up its
prime viewership by 26 percent, although the net was down 17 percent
in the fourth quarter, a dip most observers chalk up to the loss of
the WWE. Nets that have lesser distribution that saw big prime
viewership increases are: National Geographic Channel (up 51 percent),
MTV2 (up 48 percent), CNN Headline News (+65 percent), OLN (+26
percent), Discovery Health (+41 percent) and Style (+52 percent).
On the other side of the ledger, TLC continued to struggle in prime
(down 23 percent), as did CNBC (-20 percent), Discovery Channel (-14
percent), GSN (-12 percent) and A&E (-6 percent).
Slayah
"David" <diml...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ukqnr15rcedbvas4b...@4ax.com...
> from mediaweek
>
> TNT, USA Win Cable Ratings
I thought Wanted was very good. I had expected not to like it, thinking
it'd be a total ripoff of The Shield, but I was wrong.
pkj...@aol.com
>TNT was bolstered by the performance of its new original series The
>Closer, which was the top-rated original series on cable in 2005,
>averaging 5.4 million total viewers. The net also lured big audiences
>with its original miniseries Into the West and the cop drama Wanted.
Did I miss the renewal notice for "Wanted"?