>The lack of schedule flexibility (as NBC has with its late season Sunday Night Football games) has hurt the Monday and Thursday night football franchises recently. When match-ups feature teams with little to no playoff chances, ratings drift downward (although Monday and Thursday Night Football still sit atop the weekly cable ratings chart).
Discovery’s American Chopper and MTV’s Teen Mom share the honor of being the top unscripted entertainment program on cable this week, with History’s Pawn Stars and A&E’s Storage Wars not far behind.
FX’s Sons of Anarchy remains the top scripted program on cable. HBO’s Boardwalk Empire concluded a terrific season with a 1.3 rating (matching last week’s season high). While not True Blood or Sopranos numbers, the series features writing and acting that matches HBO’s best dramas. As Mitch Salem pointed out, the preview of Luck immediately following Boardwalk crashed to a 0.4 rating (below the threshold for the weekly chart). Next week, Showtime’s Dexter concludes its creaky season (mercifully) and should be able to crack a 1 rating with any luck.
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