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During its first season, “The 4400” received seemingly endless
critical attention for its unique science fiction premise. The USA
show averaged an impressive 5.89 million total
viewers.
But
in its second season, “The 4400” all but disappeared in the
press. Critics had moved on to hyping other new big-buzz cable shows
like TNT’s “The Closer” and Showtime’s “Weeds,” and that
pushed “The 4400” into a major sophomore slump.
The show about 4,400 missing persons who return
with supernatural abilities ended its second season on Sunday at 9 p.m.
with 3.67 million total viewers, down 40 percent from the 6.13
million viewers who tuned in to season one’s finale.
The
show averaged 3.54 million total viewers for this season’s 13
episodes, down
40 percent from season one’s 5.89 million average for five
episodes.
It didn't move timeslots and the tone and focus of the
show did not change. Thus
media
people say most of the falloff came because “The 4400” received
less publicity this year. Many of last year’s viewers may not
have realized the series, which was originally supposed to be a
limited-run show, had returned.
“It
was not as written about in media,” says John Rash,
director of broadcast negotiations at Campbell Mithun in
Minneapolis. The show did not benefit from the kind of free media
coverage it got during its first season, he says.
That’s
typical for second-year shows, says Bill Carroll, director of
programming at Katz Television Group. Critics like to tab the next
hot thing, not the old thing everyone’s written about.
The
plots stayed interesting, with season two featuring the
establishment of “The 4400 Center” and the assassination of 4400
figurehead Jordan Collier. Sunday night’s finale had several
cliffhangers.
Still,
even a diminished “4400” remains one of USA’s top shows behind
Friday night’s “Monk.”
“The
show is still an unqualified success,” Rash says. “It will still
perform quite well [when it returns for its third season] but may
never reach or surpass the first season’s ratings.”
In other cable ratings for the week ended Aug. 28:
Top
five networks in primetime (18-49s):
TNT, MTV, USA, Spike, Lifetime
Top
five networks in primetime (total viewers):
TNT, Fox News, USA, MTV, Nick at Nite
Top
movie (18-49s):
TNT’s “Gone in 60 Seconds” (Saturday 11:11 p.m.) 1.52 million
Top
sporting event (total viewers):
Spike’s WWE Entertainment (Monday 10 p.m.) 4.99 million
Shows
making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: MTV’s
2005 Video Music Awards (Sunday, 8 p.m.); Spike’s WWE
Entertainment (Monday, 10 p.m.); Spike’s WWE Entertainment
(Monday, 9 p.m.)
Show
on the rise: “Monk,”
USA, Friday, 10 p.m. The series’ fourth-season finale averaged 3.8
million households last week, up 16 percent from last season’s. It
was the No. 4 show on cable last week, with 5.3 million total
viewers. “Monk” finished the summer as the most-watched original
cable drama among adults 25-54.
Show
on the decline:
“My Super Sweet Sixteen,” MTV, Monday, 10:30 p.m. Could the
excessive spending and the incessant whining finally be taking its
toll? The show featuring obscenely lavish 16th birthday bashes was
down 25 percent week-to-week to 1.3 million viewers 18-34.
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TOP 25
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending August 28 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
TNT |
2470 |
NICK |
1723 |
|
2 |
FOXN |
1901 |
NAN* |
1233 |
|
3 |
USA |
1841 |
TNT |
1138 |
|
4 |
MTV |
1607 |
ADSM* |
1060 |
|
5 |
NAN |
1485 |
FOXN |
980 |
|
6 |
LIF |
1464 |
TOON |
940 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
1213 |
LIF |
886 |
|
8 |
TOON |
1180 |
USA |
834 |
|
9 |
SPK |
1157 |
TBSC |
732 |
|
10 |
TBSC |
1061 |
MTV |
683 |
|
11 |
SCIF |
1012 |
ESPN |
584 |
|
12 |
AEN |
960 |
TWC |
565 |
|
13 |
AMC |
909 |
AEN |
553 |
|
14 |
FX |
870 |
FAM |
524 |
|
15 |
HGTV |
815 |
SPK |
523 |
|
16 |
HIST |
776 |
FX |
505 |
|
17 |
TVLD |
773 |
HALL |
492 |
|
18 |
CNN |
752 |
HGTV |
473 |
|
19 |
FAM |
722 |
TVLD |
466 |
|
20 |
CMDY |
708 |
AMC |
457 |
|
21 |
TWC |
699 |
SCIF |
457 |
|
22 |
DISC |
698 |
DISC |
455 |
|
23 |
HALL |
695 |
CNN |
451 |
|
24 |
TLC |
677 |
HIST |
446 |
|
25 |
CORT |
669 |
FOOD |
427 |
|
* Network broadcasts
less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from
Nielsen Media Research.
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|
TOP 25
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 28
|
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
2005 Video Music Awards |
MTV |
5483 |
|
2 |
Sharpie 500 |
TNT |
4250 |
|
3 |
The Closer |
TNT |
3926 |
|
4 |
Monk |
USA |
3802 |
|
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
3692 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
3443 |
|
7 |
Falcons/Jaguars |
ESPN |
3152 |
|
8 |
Fox News Live |
FOXN |
3075 |
|
9 |
SR/Hurricane Katrina Cvg |
FOXN |
3063 |
|
10 |
Real World XVI |
MTV |
3053 |
|
11 |
SR/Hurricane Katrina Cvg |
FOXN |
3036 |
|
12 |
Fox Report Sunday |
FOXN |
2970 |
|
13 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2899 |
|
14 |
SR/Hurricane Katrina Cvg |
FOXN |
2894 |
|
15 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2852 |
|
16 |
2005 MTV VMA Post Show |
MTV |
2813 |
|
17 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2811 |
|
18 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2758 |
|
19 |
Fighting The Odds |
LIF |
2724 |
|
20 |
SR/Hurricane Katrina Cvg |
FOXN |
2709 |
|
21 |
The 4400 |
USA |
2684 |
|
22 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2638 |
|
23 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2634 |
|
24 |
Law & Order |
TNT |
2616 |
|
25 |
Laguna Beach |
MTV |
2478 |
|
Source: Turner
Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media
Research.
|
|
TOP 10
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending August 28 |
|
Rank |
PRIME
TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
MTV |
882 |
ADSM* |
408 |
|
2 |
TNT |
547 |
NAN* |
342 |
|
3 |
USA |
495 |
NICK |
325 |
|
4 |
SPK |
368 |
MTV |
318 |
|
5 |
TBSC |
359 |
TNT |
291 |
|
6 |
FX |
347 |
TBSC |
264 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
318 |
USA |
220 |
|
8 |
LIF |
313 |
ESPN |
199 |
|
9 |
CMDY |
305 |
FX |
199 |
|
10 |
DISC |
279 |
LIF |
197 |
|
* Network broadcasts
less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from
Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending August 28 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
2005 Video Music Awards |
MTV |
3547 |
|
2 |
2005 MTV VMA Post Show |
MTV |
1973 |
|
3 |
Real World XVI |
MTV |
1794 |
|
4 |
Laguna Beach |
MTV |
1419 |
|
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
1386 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
1378 |
|
7 |
Futurama |
ADSM |
1341 |
|
8 |
My Super Sweet Sixteen |
MTV |
1263 |
|
9 |
2005 MTV VMA Pre Show |
MTV |
1134 |
|
10 |
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1125 |
|
Source: Turner
Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media
Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults
18-49
Week
Ending August 28 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
TNT |
1460 |
TNT |
716 |
|
2 |
MTV |
1173 |
NAN* |
641 |
|
3 |
USA |
1115 |
ADSM* |
561 |
|
4 |
SPK |
847 |
TBSC |
530 |
|
5 |
LIF |
777 |
NICK |
508 |
|
6 |
TBSC |
748 |
USA |
500 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
720 |
LIF |
466 |
|
8 |
SCIF |
717 |
MTV |
418 |
|
9 |
FX |
703 |
SPK |
384 |
|
10 |
AEN |
632 |
ESPN |
383 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour
day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from
Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending August 28 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
2005 Video Music Awards |
MTV |
4879 |
|
2 |
Sharpie 500 |
TNT |
3025 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2743 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2612 |
|
5 |
2005 MTV VMA Post Show |
MTV |
2450 |
|
6 |
Real World XVI |
MTV |
2208 |
|
7 |
Falcons/Jaguars |
ESPN |
2055 |
|
8 |
Monk |
USA |
2029 |
|
9 |
Rescue Me |
FX |
1989 |
|
10 |
The Closer |
TNT |
1876 |
|
Source: Turner
Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media
Research.
|
|
TOP
10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending August 28 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
TNT |
1651 |
TNT |
750 |
|
2 |
USA |
1169 |
USA |
518 |
|
3 |
LIF |
835 |
NAN* |
497 |
|
4 |
SPK |
821 |
LIF |
483 |
|
5 |
MTV |
804 |
TBSC |
474 |
|
6 |
SCIF |
800 |
NICK |
381 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
714 |
ADSM* |
376 |
|
8 |
TBSC |
693 |
FOXN |
367 |
|
9 |
FOXN |
672 |
SPK |
362 |
|
10 |
FX |
664 |
ESPN |
347 |
|
* Network broadcasts
less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from
Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults
25-54
Week Ending
August 28
|
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
2005 Video Music Awards |
MTV |
3587 |
|
2 |
Sharpie 500 |
TNT |
3509 |
|
3 |
Monk |
USA |
2469 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2440 |
|
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
SPK |
2273 |
|
6 |
The Closer |
TNT |
2259 |
|
7 |
The 4400 |
USA |
1984 |
|
8 |
Falcons/Jaguars |
ESPN |
1977 |
|
9 |
The Dead Zone |
USA |
1973 |
|
10 |
Rescue Me |
FX |
1963 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from
Nielsen Media Research.
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