As we’ve been teasing for the past week, today we’re adding something new and exciting to SHOWBUZZDAILY’s cable ratings coverage. The chart below includes Sunday night’s top 25 originals, and it’s important to repeat that these are the top 25 original shows only–without the dross of reruns that clog the full list of cable telecasts, this list actually extends to the 70th most-watched show on Sunday night cable. (Sundays, of course, are particularly crowded–on most other days, the Top 25 will reach through and even beyond the 100 most-watched telecasts. We’ll also provide text ratings for some lower-rated shows of particular interest.) More uniquely, we’re now providing comprehensive coverage of key demos for all the listed shows: not just 18-49s and Total Viewers (P2+), but details about Female 12-34 ratings, Persons 18-34, Persons 25-54 and Men 50+., which will allow us to showcase everything from MTV to Fox News. Green-shaded boxes indicate demos of particular strength for a telecast, while red boxes reflect where a show is comparatively weak. Please let us know what you think about the new chart, and if there are other demos you’d like us to include without overwhelming readers with raw data.
All that being said, what kind of weekend was it?
SATURDAY: There are just a couple of shows worth noting from Saturday night: Starz’s premiere of OUTLANDER was at 0.19 (721K total viewers, with particular strength in Women 50+), which isn’t very impressive, but Starz would want us to note that the episode was also watched widely online, via VOD and all weekend on the Starz-affiliate channels, to a 3M+ total. The number of those “extra” viewers who will return for a regular airing, of course, is unclear. HELL ON WHEELS (AMC) fell more than a tenth from last week’s season premiere to 0.35 (particularly strong with older men at 1.79).
SUNDAY: This was an uncharacteristic Sunday, dominated by Discovery’s yearly SHARK WEEK extravaganza. That put SHARK OF DARKNESS at the top of the 18-49 listings with 1.88, strong in all demos except Men 50+, with AIR JAWS at #3 with 1.53. In addition, ESPN’s NASCAR coverage came in 4th for the night with 1.14, and it was huge with older men at 4.28. The usual #1 Sunday show, TRUE BLOOD, was pushed to the 2d slot, although it was up about half a tenth from last week to 1.80. Elsewhere on HBO, THE LEFTOVERS was also up a bit to 0.79, while LAST WEEK TONIGHT was steady at 0.49. Now that we have expanded demo information, it’s noteworthy that while TNTs THE LAST SHIP and FX’s THE STRAIN were nearly tied in 18-49s at 1.03 and 1.01 (although THE STRAIN was down almost two-tenths from last week), they have starkly different appeal to older men, with LAST SHIP at 3.49 and STRAIN at 0.82. FALLING SKIES, which has been flailing creatively this season, lost a tenth to 0.58. On Showtime, RAY DONOVAN lost half a tenth to 0.46, and it’s particularly weak with young viewers. MASTERS OF SEX didn’t make the list, but it was at 0.3, which was actually up half a tenth from last week. Also below the threshold: MANHATTAN (WGN America), which for whatever it’s worth nearly doubled last week’s number to 0.09. On Lifetime, WITCHES OF EAST END returned to the air after a week off at 0.4, and THE LOTTERY fell half a tenth to 0.21. On Adult Swim, a new ROBOT CHICKEN was sturdy at 0.88. The usual unscripted hits remained strong: KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS (E!) down 0.06 at 1.10 (but only 0.17 with older men), REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY (Bravo) down from last week to 0.93, and MOUNTAIN MEN (History) also down at 0.64.
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