Finale fizzle-out for ABC's 'Brat Camp' Wednesday
    Ratings are supposed to rise for a finale, but for ABC’s “Brat Camp,” a show that’s been falling all summer, that just didn’t happen.
   Wednesday night’s season and likely series ender earned just a 2.2 Nielsen overnight rating among viewers 18-49, a series low. It’s 29 percent lower than the 3.1 overnight rating the show had averaged previously.
   “Dance” led Fox to first place for the night in 18-49s with a 3.1 average rating and a 9 share. CBS was second at 2.4/7, NBC third at 2.1/6, ABC fourth at 1.7/5, UPN fifth at 1.0/3 and the WB sixth at 0.7/2.
   At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 2.8 average for a “Dance” pre-show (2.5) and the first half hour of a 90-minute episode (3.1). CBS was second that hour with a 1.9 average for repeats of the sitcoms “Still Standing” (1.8) and “Yes, Dear” (2.0) and NBC third with a 1.6 for “Meet Mister Mom.”
   Fox led again at 9 p.m. with a 3.4 average for the last hour of “Dance,” followed by a 2.7 for CBS’s “Rock Star: INXS.” ABC finished third that hour with its 2.2 for the “Brat Camp” finale, just ahead of a 2.1 for NBC for a “Law & Order” rerun.
   NBC took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 2.7 average for another hour of “L&O.” CBS was second with a 2.5 for a rerun of “CSI: NY” and ABC third with a 1.6 for a “Lost” repeat.
   NBC and Fox tied for first for the night among households, each with a 5.2 average rating and a 9 share. CBS was third at 4.4/7, ABC fourth at 3.4/6, UPN fifth at 1.6/3 and the WB sixth at 1.2/2.

Nielsen's new estimates: Minority demos way up
The growth of ethnic populations has spurred another uptick in the overall TV viewing audience. Nielsen Media Research said yesterday that the number of TV homes in the U.S. will reach 110.2 million, effective Jan. 1, up about half a percent over the previous year. That growth was paced by Asians and Hispanics, which increased their populations by 3.2 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. African Americans increased their population by just 0.8 percent, but that brings their portion of TV homes to 12 percent, the largest for any U.S. ethnic group. In other measurement changes reported by Nielsen, Houston moved up to the country’s No. 10 TV market, knocking Detroit down to No. 11. Phoenix moved up one spot to No. 14, Portland, Ore., one spot to No. 23, and Las Vegas up three spots to No. 48.

Martha shows some ankle & more at press session
Until now it’s only been seen in flashes, when a photographer gets lucky and the breeze is just right. But yesterday Martha Stewart hiked up her pants legs to expose her infamous ankle bracelet, which she wears to monitor her home arrest, during a press conference to promote her two new TV shows. One ankle had the electronic monitoring bracelet she's worn for five months under house arrest since her prison release, and the other had her microphone battery pack. "So I'm well balanced," Stewart quipped at her new production studio in New York City. She was there to hawk "Martha," a syndicated lifestyle show that will air daily in 98 percent of the country beginning Sept. 12, and "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," which debuts Sept. 21 on NBC. Both programs are produced by “Survivor’s” Mark Burnett. Stewart won't be using the Donald's "You're Fired" line to dismiss losing contestants on her reality show, and she wouldn’t respond to speculation on what she will say. She did say she doesn't relish firing people as Donald Trump often seems to. Perhaps she can hand losers a poncho; an early show of "Martha" will feature women who knitted the poncho that Stewart wore when she got out of prison.

Rumor I: New celebazine's circulation is not OK!
Apparently not every celebrity magazine can sell. The new OK!, the U.S. version of the hit British magazine, is selling less than half of the 350,000 copies promised to advertisers, according to London’s Guardian newspaper. The first two issues of the new stateside launch by the former British pornster Richard Desmond sold about 130,000 copies of its 1.3 million press run, the Guardian claims. An OK! spokeswoman tells Media Life that the paper’s estimates are false and that official circulation numbers won't be available until six weeks into the magazine's run. The first issue debuted Aug. 3 with Jessica Simpson on the cover. OK!, which pays its celebrity subjects for access, is trying to challenge the upscale leader in the celebrity category, People magazine. Executives at celebrity magazines feared that OK! might eat into their recent ad and circulation gains, in part by making the premium newsstand spots harder to secure. In the first half of the year, People's circulation rose 1.3 percent from the same period in 2004, to 3.78 million. US Weekly's circulation soared 23.9 percent to 1.67 million, and Star's circulation jumped 20.9 percent to 1.4 million  

Rumor II: Sports Illustrated may partner with OLN
Sports Illustrated could be back on TV soon, if you believe The New York Post. The paper reports that three years after the demise of CNNSI, SI parent Time Inc. is in talks to merge with Comcast’s Outdoor Life Network, a potential challenger to longtime TV sports leader ESPN. A source told Media Life that speculation over the deal is very premature; Time Inc. and Comcast had no comment. OLN last week began beefing up a schedule formerly known for covering more obscure sports like the Tour de France, signing a two-year $135 million contract with the National Hockey League. The Post reports that Comcast is also expected to chase rights to Major League Baseball and the National Football League. CNNSI, still the name of the Sports Illustrated website, didn’t catch on as a network when it launched nine years ago, as it was largely devoted to sports news programs and not actual events. OLN, which would likely change its name in the case of an SI partnership, still has a long way to go before it can challenge ESPN, which passed on renewing its hockey deal. 

Adios, Miss America! Pageant leaves Atlantic City
Miss America, desperate to change her fortunes, is packing her bags and leaving Atlantic City. After 84 years in New Jersey, the non-profit Miss America Organization said yesterday it has been granted permission to leave the Atlantic City Convention Center and Visitors Authority despite two remaining years on its contract. The problem is that Miss America is broke. In 2004, the organization lost millions of dollars when ABC declined to re-sign a TV deal following a record-low 9.8 million viewers for the pageant, 500,000 fewer than in 2003. CEO and President Art McMaster says that, by changing venues, Miss America can save more than a million dollars. Where will she go?  Some think Nashville; the pageant recently inked a deal with Country Music Television to air the event. For the moment, though, Miss America remains homeless.

Correction: Hughley show only yanked Sundays
A news short ("Programming short: Hughley talk show shelved") that appeared in yesterday's edition of Media Life was incorrect. Comedy Central has yanked only the Sunday night episode of the late-night series "Weekends at the DL" and not the entire series, which will continue to air Friday and Saturday. Media Life regrets the error.