As a comeback bid, Britney Spears’ performance on Sunday night’s “MTV Video Music Awards” was a disaster of the worst kind, drawing criticism for everything from her lousy lip-synching to clunky dance moves to that surprising belly paunch.
But as a ratings-grabber, MTV couldn’t have asked for anything more. Spears’ much-hyped appearance, her first TV singing performance in years, ended a four-year ratings skid for the long-fading VMAs.
The VMAs averaged 7.1 million total viewers, up 23 percent compared with last year’s near-record-low 5.8 million. It was the first time since 2002 that the show has seen a year-to-year gain.
Among MTV’s target audience of people 12-34, the show was up 23 percent over last year’s awards program, averaging a 6.4 rating. It was the highest-rated ad-supported cable telecast this year in that demographic.
Spears’ dreadful performance was all the buzz online following the show, with bloggers, messageboards and even a surprising chunk of the mainstream media dissecting the cultural significance of her latest public train wreck. That led to increased traffic to MTV.com, which hit a record 2.66 million unique visitors Sunday.
The site has served more than 6 million streams of Sunday’s awards show through its on-demand feature.
Spears had been hoping to launch a comeback with the MTV appearance after spending the past three years bearing two children, marrying and divorcing one of her backup dancers, bouncing in and out of rehab, shaving her head and partying panty-less with Paris Hilton. Shortly before the VMAs, Spears released her first single in several years, and her album is supposed to be out soon.
But if Spears proved that her song-and-dance days may be done, MTV did make a comeback of sorts. The network hasn’t generated this much buzz since Spears’ last VMAs performance four years ago, when she smooched Madonna and set off a days-long media firestorm.
Since then, MTV’s awards shows have seemed increasingly out of touch as ratings dipped, perhaps partly because the network is no longer known for airing the videos that the music awards honors.
Meanwhile, in other ad-supported cable ratings for the week ended Sept. 9:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): MTV, ESPN, USA, TNT, Spike
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, ESPN, MTV, Spike
Top movie (18-49s): CMT’s “Dale Earnhardt” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.) 1.7 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Florida State/Clemson” (Monday, 8 p.m.) 6.7 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Florida State/Clemson” (Monday, 8 p.m.); MTV’s “MTV Video Music Awards” (Sunday, 9 p.m.); Spike’s “UFC 75: Champ vs. Champ” (Saturday, 9 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 10 p.m.)
Show on the rise: Spike’s “The Hills,” “UFC 75: Champ vs. Champ” Saturday 9 p.m. The most-watched Ultimate Fighting Championship event ever drew 4.7 million total viewers and outdrew every other sporting event that day among men 18-34 and 18-49.
Show on the decline: HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Sunday 10 p.m. The show’s fifth-season premiere was its worst ever, averaging 1.2 million total viewers.
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TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Sept. 9 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
2076
|
NICK
|
1605
|
|
2
|
USA
|
2011
|
TNT
|
1067
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
1883
|
NAN *
|
961
|
|
4
|
MTV
|
1356
|
USA
|
905
|
|
5
|
LIF
|
1284
|
ESPN
|
902
|
|
6
|
HGTV
|
1247
|
TOON
|
852
|
|
7
|
SPK
|
1216
|
LIF
|
851
|
|
8
|
FOXN
|
1215
|
ADSM*
|
803
|
|
9
|
TBSC
|
1133
|
TBSC
|
728
|
|
10
|
TOON
|
1133
|
FOXN
|
691
|
|
11
|
AEN
|
1096
|
MTV
|
669
|
|
12
|
NAN
|
996
|
HALL
|
655
|
|
13
|
HALL
|
983
|
SPK
|
643
|
|
14
|
CORT
|
972
|
AEN
|
632
|
|
15
|
FX
|
928
|
HGTV
|
613
|
|
16
|
DISC
|
883
|
CORT
|
542
|
|
17
|
AMC
|
846
|
DISC
|
538
|
|
18
|
SCIF
|
817
|
HIST
|
500
|
|
19
|
ESP2
|
816
|
FX
|
492
|
|
20
|
TLC
|
773
|
AMC
|
475
|
|
21
|
FAM
|
769
|
CMDY
|
474
|
|
22
|
HIST
|
760
|
TVLD
|
467
|
|
23
|
CMDY
|
735
|
FOOD
|
454
|
|
24
|
TVLD
|
642
|
FAM
|
436
|
|
25
|
FOOD
|
627
|
CNN
|
429
|
|
* 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 Sept. 9 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
5839
|
|
2
|
Florida State/Clemson
|
ESPN
|
4842
|
|
3
|
2007 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
4479
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3745
|
|
5
|
Saving Grace
|
TNT
|
3672
|
|
6
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
3317
|
|
7
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3280
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3212
|
|
9
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3111
|
|
10
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2996
|
|
11
|
UFC 75: Champ vs. Champ
|
SPK
|
2951
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2905
|
|
13
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2886
|
|
14
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
2850
|
|
15
|
Psych
|
USA
|
2843
|
|
16
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2812
|
|
17
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2788
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2738
|
|
19
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2681
|
|
20
|
Law & Order
|
TNT
|
2676
|
|
21
|
Fairly Odd Parents
|
NICK
|
2674
|
|
22
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2636
|
|
23
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2595
|
|
24
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2552
|
|
25
|
Zoey 101
|
NICK
|
2528
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Sept. 9 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
MTV
|
984
|
MTV
|
396
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
628
|
ADSM*
|
391
|
|
3
|
SPK
|
549
|
ESPN
|
359
|
|
4
|
USA
|
471
|
NAN *
|
312
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
454
|
TBSC
|
304
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
419
|
NICK
|
287
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
402
|
SPK
|
259
|
|
8
|
FX
|
388
|
CMDY
|
235
|
|
9
|
VH1
|
363
|
TNT
|
233
|
|
10
|
AEN
|
315
|
LIF
|
223
|
|
* 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 Sept. 9 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
2007 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
3941
|
|
2
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2914
|
|
3
|
UFC 75: Champ vs. Champ
|
SPK
|
2234
|
|
4
|
Florida State/Clemson
|
ESPN
|
2009
|
|
5
|
2007 VMA Pre-Show
|
MTV
|
1976
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1471
|
|
7
|
Real World XIX
|
MTV
|
1361
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1258
|
|
9
|
2007 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
1207
|
|
10
|
Pick-Up Artist
|
VH1
|
1205
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Sept. 9 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
MTV
|
1242
|
ESPN
|
645
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
1200
|
TNT
|
582
|
|
3
|
USA
|
1164
|
TBSC
|
555
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
1077
|
NAN *
|
524
|
|
5
|
SPK
|
1051
|
SPK
|
508
|
|
6
|
TBSC
|
885
|
MTV
|
505
|
|
7
|
FX
|
713
|
USA
|
497
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
691
|
ADSM*
|
489
|
|
9
|
LIF
|
646
|
LIF
|
475
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
623
|
NICK
|
472
|
|
* 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 Sept. 9 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
2007 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
5023
|
|
2
|
Florida State/Clemson
|
ESPN
|
3671
|
|
3
|
UFC 75: Champ vs. Champ
|
SPK
|
3486
|
|
4
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
3344
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2957
|
|
6
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
2613
|
|
7
|
2007 VMA Pre-Show
|
MTV
|
2518
|
|
8
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2479
|
|
9
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
1855
|
|
10
|
College Football Live
|
ESPN
|
1840
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Sept. 9 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1219
|
TNT
|
613
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1195
|
ESPN
|
584
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
1142
|
USA
|
507
|
|
4
|
SPK
|
933
|
TBSC
|
474
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
804
|
SPK
|
464
|
|
6
|
HGTV
|
716
|
LIF
|
457
|
|
7
|
MTV
|
704
|
NICK
|
400
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
700
|
NAN *
|
399
|
|
9
|
FX
|
664
|
AEN
|
370
|
|
10
|
LIF
|
653
|
DISC
|
354
|
|
* 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 Sept. 9 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
3511
|
|
2
|
Florida State/Clemson
|
ESPN
|
3290
|
|
3
|
2007 Video Music Awards
|
MTV
|
3172
|
|
4
|
UFC 75: Champ vs. Champ
|
SPK
|
2767
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2558
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2207
|
|
7
|
Saving Grace
|
TNT
|
2132
|
|
8
|
Monk
|
USA
|
1902
|
|
9
|
College Football Saturday
|
ESPN
|
1899
|
|
10
|
Psych
|
USA
|
1881
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
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