When it comes to rebranding, it's really all about perception, less about reality, and that was especially the case when at the beginning of the new year Court TV became truTV. What the network was airing didn't change all that much.
What changed was the message. We're no longer just about cops and courts. We're about high-adrenalin adventure. The new tagline: Not reality, actuality.
Just a month in, it's looking like it was just the right message for its target audience of young men. The 16-year-old network has posted its most-watched month, most-watched week and most-watched night ever.
The biggest night came last week, on Monday, Jan. 28, when the network averaged 1.87 million viewers in primetime. “Murder by the Book,” in which famous authors revisit notorious crimes, averaged series bests among adults 25-54 and total viewers in the 10 p.m. slot.
At 8 p.m., “Ocean Force,” about life-saving lifeguards, finished in the top five for its timeslot on cable among men 18-49 and men 25-54.
That came a week after truTV posted the best week in network history, averaging 1.43 million total viewers, and the best month in network history, with 1.35 million total viewers and 620,000 viewers 25-54.
The rebranding in some regards was long overdue. Founded by journalist Steve Brill, a lawyer by training, Court TV was an intriguing idea--putting cameras in courtrooms across the country for live coverage of trials--and it became must viewing during the O.J. Simpson murder trial more than a decade ago.
But Court TV never took off as a commercial venture, with an audience heavily weighted toward retirees with nothing better to do on an afternoon than follow a murder trial in some distant state. It was an audience advertisers found easy to pass up. Over time the network broadened its programming to include cop and crime-solving shows, but it was still stuck with an all-defining name. It could only stray so far.
Turner decided to rebrand the network last year after seeing the success of a new weeknight primetime block of sensationalistic true-life crime shows that first debuted two years ago with shows like "Most Shocking," about criminals who do stupid things, and "Book."
It has since added action-heavy programs like “Ocean” and “Suburban Secrets,” which ferrets out scandals in posh neighborhoods.
All but gone is the daytime trial coverage of its early years. It now says it will cover high-profile trials but not on a regular basis.
There have been growing pains, for sure. Last week, truTV confirmed that Star Jones’ daytime talk show has ended less than six months after its launch. The former prosecutor was signed before the network decided to change its focus, and Jones’ show was thus not a good fit for truTV, averaging just 131,000 viewers last week in its 3 p.m. timeslot.
TruTV will replace “Star Jones” with reruns of “Arrest & Trial,” a syndicated series produced by Dick Wolf.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Feb. 3:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, FX, TNT, CNN
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, CNN, Fox News Channel, TNT, TBS
Top movie (18-49s): FX’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.) 1.59 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 p.m.) 5.99 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.); CNN’s “California Democratic Debate” (Thursday, 8 p.m.); ESPN’s “NFL Primetime” (Sunday, 10:30 p.m.); ESPN’s “SportsCenter” (Sunday, 11 p.m.).
Show on the rise: CNN’s “California Democratic Debate,” Thursday 8 p.m. The verbal showdown between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama attracted 8.3 million total viewers, easily becoming the most-watched primary debate in the history of cable TV.
Show on the decline: USA’s “Psych,” Friday 10 p.m. Although still a top 10 show among viewers 25-54, the series fell 12 percent week-to-week in the demo, from 2.32 million viewers to 2.05 million.
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TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending February 3 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2235
|
NICK
|
1609
|
|
2
|
CNN
|
1709
|
NAN
*
|
1203
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1494
|
USA
|
1102
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
1487
|
TNT
|
975
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
1388
|
TBSC
|
837
|
|
6
|
NAN
|
1290
|
FOXN
|
828
|
|
7
|
HALL
|
1149
|
TOON
|
826
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
1071
|
ADSM*
|
743
|
|
9
|
LIF
|
1051
|
LIF
|
724
|
|
10
|
FX
|
1030
|
AEN
|
684
|
|
11
|
TRU
|
966
|
HALL
|
666
|
|
12
|
HIST
|
952
|
TRU
|
655
|
|
13
|
TOON
|
932
|
CNN
|
647
|
|
14
|
HGTV
|
901
|
ESPN
|
591
|
|
15
|
SPK
|
868
|
HIST
|
586
|
|
16
|
DISC
|
814
|
FX
|
569
|
|
17
|
AMC
|
804
|
DISC
|
557
|
|
18
|
ESPN
|
800
|
HGTV
|
550
|
|
19
|
MTV
|
768
|
TVLD
|
544
|
|
20
|
CMDY
|
762
|
MTV
|
539
|
|
21
|
TLC
|
749
|
AMC
|
525
|
|
22
|
SCIF
|
748
|
FOOD
|
502
|
|
23
|
FAM
|
720
|
SPK
|
492
|
|
24
|
FOOD
|
660
|
FAM
|
476
|
|
25
|
TVLD
|
636
|
CMDY
|
461
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending February 3 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
SR/California Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
5918
|
|
2
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
5493
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3906
|
|
4
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3881
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3553
|
|
6
|
State of the Union 2008
|
FOXN
|
3235
|
|
7
|
Law & Order
|
TNT
|
3230
|
|
8
|
St Union/Analysis
|
FOXN
|
3215
|
|
9
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
3151
|
|
10
|
Law & Order
|
TNT
|
3047
|
|
11
|
Psych
|
USA
|
3018
|
|
12
|
SR/California Republican Debate
|
CNN
|
2922
|
|
13
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2856
|
|
14
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2834
|
|
15
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2826
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2790
|
|
17
|
House
|
USA
|
2692
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2670
|
|
19
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2667
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2664
|
|
21
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2603
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2588
|
|
23
|
House
|
USA
|
2563
|
|
24
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2539
|
|
25
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2536
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending February 3 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
619
|
ADSM*
|
373
|
|
2
|
USA
|
582
|
NAN
*
|
373
|
|
3
|
CMDY
|
465
|
NICK
|
364
|
|
4
|
FX
|
460
|
TBSC
|
344
|
|
5
|
MTV
|
429
|
MTV
|
285
|
|
6
|
NAN
|
333
|
ESPN
|
268
|
|
7
|
ESPN
|
310
|
USA
|
267
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
307
|
CMDY
|
263
|
|
9
|
CNN
|
300
|
FX
|
263
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
297
|
TNT
|
231
|
|
* 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 February 3 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1618
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1571
|
|
3
|
RW/RR Gauntlet 3
|
MTV
|
1478
|
|
4
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1418
|
|
5
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1383
|
|
6
|
NFL Prime Time
|
ESPN
|
1374
|
|
7
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
1329
|
|
8
|
Nip Tuck
|
FX
|
1262
|
|
9
|
SR/California Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
1257
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1187
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending February 3 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1243
|
TBSC
|
615
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
1099
|
NAN
*
|
599
|
|
3
|
FX
|
818
|
USA
|
592
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
779
|
NICK
|
573
|
|
5
|
CNN
|
768
|
TNT
|
543
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
680
|
ADSM*
|
478
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
679
|
FX
|
454
|
|
8
|
NAN
|
604
|
ESPN
|
435
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
592
|
AEN
|
399
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
574
|
LIF
|
398
|
|
* 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 February 3 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3006
|
|
2
|
SR/California Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
2963
|
|
3
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
2850
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2788
|
|
5
|
NFL Prime Time
|
ESPN
|
2369
|
|
6
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2248
|
|
7
|
Nip Tuck
|
FX
|
2089
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1963
|
|
9
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1923
|
|
10
|
Psych
|
USA
|
1836
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending February 3 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1248
|
USA
|
608
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
934
|
TNT
|
590
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
887
|
TBSC
|
531
|
|
4
|
CNN
|
860
|
NAN
*
|
469
|
|
5
|
AEN
|
708
|
NICK
|
468
|
|
6
|
FX
|
707
|
AEN
|
414
|
|
7
|
HIST
|
611
|
LIF
|
401
|
|
8
|
SPK
|
568
|
TRU
|
375
|
|
9
|
TRU
|
565
|
FX
|
371
|
|
10
|
LIF
|
541
|
HIST
|
361
|
|
* 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 February 3 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
SR/California Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
3257
|
|
2
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
3211
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2613
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2414
|
|
5
|
NFL Prime Time
|
ESPN
|
2145
|
|
6
|
Monk
|
USA
|
2088
|
|
7
|
Psych
|
USA
|
2054
|
|
8
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
1977
|
|
9
|
House
|
USA
|
1780
|
|
10
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
1760
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
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